7 Informative IT PMO Resources to Leverage in 2014

As we begin to tackle everything the New Year brings, I wanted to share this list of informative IT PMO resources from 2013 I thought you may find helpful as you work through your 2014 goals. These resources feature best practices from IT executives in today’s leading organizations, trends from industry analysts, and our own...

Getting Started with Visual Management: Mapping Your Workflow

The hardest part of getting started with visual management can be figuring out your workflow process. If you’ve never tried visual management before, terms like “value stream” and “mapping your workflow” can sound quite intimidating. So let’s rewind and go over the basics. Visual management is based on the principles of Kanban. Step one for getting...

Four Picks on the Biggest Trend in Professional Services for 2014

As it has been for the past several years, the concern over the state of professional services organizations has not been about if they are going to grow; but rather how. Since 2010, the state of the industry has seen double digit growth in personnel and revenues despite economic and political uncertainty.¹ Of the primary...

Long-Range Planning and FP&A: A Crash Course for 2014

Last year produced an amazing number of qualitative and quantitative recommendations for the FP&A professional. Early in 2013, Ventana Research and Financial Executive Research Foundation (FERF) published the first of its kind: New Benchmarks in Long-Range Planning. The comprehensive study spawned both an Executive Summary from Ventana Research and a complementary set of actionable recommendations...

Business DevOps is really what we want…

I remember the famous blog by Mike Gualtieri, an analyst at Forrester stating, “I don’t want DevOps, I want NoOps,” creating a passionate debate in the DevOps community about the importance and value of operations. After reading all the comments, it seemed that the solution was a sensible one: Organizations need balance – releasing software...

Tips 6-10 for Better Project Estimates

In my blog post, 10 Tips for Better Project Estimates, I introduced the white paper by best-selling business author, Jerry Manas, titled Bigger Than a Breadbox: 10 Tips for Better Project Estimates — Part I, which outlines five out of 10 suggestions project managers should consider when estimating projects. Effective estimating drives project success, better...

Key Project Management Trends to Watch in 2014

Last year, we predicted that in 2013 we would see the three Cs: Consolidation, Change and Collaboration—and we most certainly did. These forces will no doubt continue to shape the project management landscape in the year ahead. Yet trends on the horizon point to a renewed focus on the alignment of IT operations and strategic...

Myth: Multitasking Saves Time

You might believe that multitasking is an efficient means of getting stuff done quickly. You might also believe that there is a Sasquatch population thriving in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. For each case, I want to believe it is true. However, facing the facts, I have reluctantly accepted that each is a myth. While my agnostic love...

Doing the Right Thing vs. Doing Things Right

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”¹ Businesses have always had tremendous decision-making challenges due to lack of relevant, complete, accurate, and timely information. And this problem has become more acute as businesses expand or down-size, the pace of change increases, and the breadth of change expands. So with all of...

The State of Product Portfolio Management in Europe

More than 500 product development professionals participated in a global survey on the state of product portfolio management in Europe. The outcome is the Fourth Product Portfolio Management Benchmark Study which provides product development executives key trends into the priorities, risks, and pain points as well as perspective into how they compare to their peers....