Competence and loyalty are both important in situations where team members must trust each other. Competence is the ability to do something efficiently and effectively. Loyalty is a strong feeling of allegiance and support. Which is more important and why?
Is there any redeemable quality of the micro-manager? Can it be argued that there are circumstances that call for micro-management and that it is not always bad? In the business world micromanagers have a bad reputation but is it really deserved? This episode of the PM Debate Podcast explores micromanagement to determine if it is at all necessary on some projects. Listen to the debate and take part in the online discussion.
Measuring project performance has always been a challenging task. Many approaches exist to determine how close the project is to being done. Project manager use this information to identify issues, remove obstacles, and find root causes of delays and slippage. But is percent complete an effective measure of performance? Percent complete its ability to reflect progress is the focus of this episode's debate.
Measuring project performance has always been a challenging task. Many approaches exist to determine how close the project is to being done. Project manager use this information to identify issues, remove obstacles, and find root causes of delays and slippage. But is percent complete an effective measure of performance?
Recognizing a project is in trouble may be easy but deciding what to do about it is a whole lot more complicated. Similarly it might be easy to put a stop to a project that has no business justification, dealing with a poorly performing project is a different story. Is it better to stop the project and restart it again, or is it better to push forward to keep the momentum?
Recognizing a project is in trouble may be easy but deciding what to do about it is a whole lot more complicated. Similarly it might be easy to put a stop to a project that has no business justification, dealing with a poorly performing project is a different story. Is it better to stop the project and restart it again, or is it better to push forward to keep the momentum? This is the topic of this episode of the PM Debate podcast. Listen to the discussion and let us know what you think.
European and U.S. leaders of the Agile education movement met at the Scrum Gathering last month to create a learning manifesto — the Agile Education Compass — to serve as an adaptable guide for applying agile principles and values in schools and classrooms of all kinds. [17 min.]
David Bland, founder and CEO of innovation management consultancy Precoil, shares what he’s seeing in the Lean Startup, Design Thinking and Agile spaces, and how he’s helping teams and organizations bridge the gaps between the methodologies to deliver better results. [44 min.]
Mob Programming pioneer Woody Zuill discusses the principles and benefits of this fast-emerging software development approach in which the entire team works on the same thing, at the same time, in the same space, and at the same computer. He says all you need to get started is a “spirit of discovery.” [56 min.]
“Personal Kanban guy” Jim Benson discusses distributed teams, including communication systems that help us pay attention, interact and build trust — even if “distribution” is just people working on separate floors. He also shares examples of limiting work-in-progress in healthy, actionable ways [46 min.]
Agile coach Johanna Rothman discusses the skills that go into becoming an influential agile leader, including indirect problem-solving, relationship-building, feedback, working with senior managers, being in the moment, and the art of saying “no.” But you have to actually practice these things to get better at them. [45 min.]
Dean Leffingwell believes in business results over method debates, be it Agile, Lean, Scrum or Kanban. Here, he talks about the latest update to the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe 4.0), which features extensive refinements and new guidance to help enterprises organize around value delivery. [38 min.]
Saving Priceless History! In this episode, we discuss three very different CRM projects: the restoration of the most iconic building in the United States (the Capitol Dome), the identification of a lost town in Idaho, and the memorable recovery during the Iraq conflict of some of the most important cultural artifacts of antiquity. We see the efforts of these professionals, Christine Merton, Bob Weaver and Colonel Matthew Bogdanos through a PM Point of View.
Security issues are everywhere, and it turns out, it’s a lot of projects and there is a need for both the PM discipline and PMs. From Law Enforcement, to National Security, to the world of private security, issues of scope, schedule, risk and quality abound…and communication can be everything. Listen in to this episode as three experts in Crime Scene Investigation, a Navy Seal, and a corporate security consultant, lead us through the PM related activities of the security sphere.
You’ve seen the movies: satellite imagery tracking the perfect storm, a landing on Mars, scientists peering into scary Deep Space. Now hear the professionals on this episode that actually manage, the real activities that puts humankind into this realm, this outer space. With NASA’s Roy Maizel, Dr. Eric Smith, Sandra Smalley, and Jim Watzin you can hear the costs, size, complexity and hoped for outcomes of these very non-fiction programs are, from a Project Management Point of View!
Projects exist within the context and value requirements of their organizations. This episode looks at three angles the organization can (should!) take to get the right projects designed for the strategy set by executives and the organization as a whole. Listen in, learn and get a free PDU!
As one of the largest project-generating bodies in the world, the US Federal Government faces challenges related to size and budget processes…and yet, the culture of Project Management can mature and flourish throughout. Hear how three distinct organizations use Project Management techniques in various ways to achieve very different outcomes
PMs are often the product of their education—their technical education of how to handle the 10 knowledge areas and perform the activities required to maintain sound processes. Sadly, that’s not enough to show real value in the discipline, but rather a focus on getting the project completed, getting the team to function soundly, and wielding the influence necessary to navigate organizational challenges are some of the key strengths that are needed.
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"You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair." - Chinese Proverb |
