Herding Cats

Compendium of Works to Increase Probability of Project Success

This collection of presentations, briefings, journal and conference papers, essays, and book content has been used to increase the Probability of Project Success (PoPS) written and applied over my career in the software-intensive system of systems and other business and... Read more →

A Solution Looking for a Problem to Solve (Part II)

When you come across a product or service and think Who wants or Needs this? What would I do with this if it were free? Why would I pay 100's if not 1,000's of dollars for this? From Solution Looking... Read more →

What Does Done Look Like?

I started using the phrase "do we know what DONE looks like?" at Rocky Flats. It was first coined by a project manager in our PMO (I was VP PMO). He started reminding me "No Glen it's not Done, it's... Read more →

Quote of the Day

He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet - Joseph Jourbet a French moralist and essayist, remembered for his Pensées, published posthumously. A corollary in our software development domain might be he who has practices without principles... Read more →

Strategies to Detect, Prevent, and Correct Causes of Project Stress and Failure

From yesterday's How to Think Like A Scientist, which spoke to encountering and countering, claims with no evidence, here's what was going to be a Master Class at PGCS 2020, but was canceled because of Covid. Hoping we'll be in... Read more →

Agile Development Processes? Pick Your Domain First

The use of Agile Processes in many software domains is straight forward. Start with some notion of what Done looks like in units of measure meaningful to the decision-makers, start developing Features, get feedback from the Users, iterate on the... Read more →

Book of the Month

In our current political turmoil, as well as project management and software development turmoil, claims are made - sometimes wild unsubstantiated claims - of how to NOT do something, how some process can fix your problems, without ever stating what... Read more →

Resources for #PMChat Talk

I was invited to participate in the Twitter #PMCHAT session today to speak about the principles of Increasing the Probability of Project Success. The #PPChat process is based on asking questions and engaging with those providing answers. Here are the... Read more →

Quote of the Day

“If a profession is to sharpen its skills, to develop new skills and applications, and to gain increasing respect and credibility, then theory and practice must be closely related” – Martin Shrub Opening quote in IMP / IMS Step By... Read more →

Four Root Causes of Project Failure

In a previous blog, Root Causes of Project Failure, there were four root causes from research at the Institute for Defense Analyses. In that Blog there were measures missing. Here's the details of those measures, defined in the Technical Measurement... Read more →

Applying Project Control Processes to Agile Development Projects

Known Success Factors From Government Research For Aerospace And Defense Programs Are Augmented With Agile Development Good Practices And The Enablers Of These Good Practices. Good Practices and Enablers of Good Practices, based on a report from Comptroller and Auditor... Read more →

The Practitioner's Handbook of Project Performance

Our two chapters in The Practioner's Handbook of Project Performance: Agile, Waterfall and Beyond, edited by Mark Phillip's Routledge, 2019 is now out. Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 are principles and practices of risk management contributed by me, Tom Coonce,... Read more →

Five Immutable Principles of Project Success (A 5 Part Series)

This series of articles provides answers to the questions asked by the five (5) immutable principles of any successful project. Answering these questions is the role of the project management team. What Does DONE Look Like? How Do We Get... Read more →

Capabilities Based Planning

Over the years, the success rate of traditional project management methods applied to software development projects has been underwhelming. These traditional methods are based on a retrospective approach that measures variance against plan rather than providing a performance–forecast that can... Read more →

Rechtin's Paradigm and Project Management

The Agile Project Management discussion is built around a supposed paradigm shift from the past to the future. Although not as strongly worded recently, the notation that the processes of the past have failed us and we need to move... Read more →

Presentations from PGCS 2019

This was my second year at the Project and Program Symposium in Canberra Australia. This year's conference focused on the integration of Systems Engineering and Project and Program Performance Management. Here are my talks and a workshop and other papers... Read more →

Project Management + Systems Engineering = Increased Probability of Project Success

My workshop for the Project and Program Management Symposium in Canberra this August on the topic of integrating Systems Engineering and Project Management is now complete. The charts are available to the attendees and available here Projects delivered in complex... Read more →

Increasing the Probability of Project Success (PoPS)

All project work, agile or traditional, operates in the presence of uncertainty. There are four fundamental root causes of Project or Program Failure, and their drivers that are addressed by Risk Management and the Estimating processes that go with them.... Read more →

Quote of the Day

If we understand what Capabilities are needed to produce business value or fulfill a mission, we can then identify what technical or operational requirements are needed to deliver those capabilities — Glen B. Alleman This is a closing quote from... Read more →

Podcast Interview

On a recent flight, I met Rory Rowland. Rory is in the Missouri House of Representative, a former CEO of a Credit Union, and a consultant and author. We started talking as well traveled travelers do, sharing backgrounds and current... Read more →