Your path to business agility
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...
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...
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...
“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...
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....
While cloud computing ostensibly makes us more efficient, it has yet to make us omniscient. However, key trends are emerging that merit attention in 2014 to fully leverage the power of the cloud, particularly by effectively managing project and application portfolios. Those organizations that can capitalize on the potential that these trends promise for businesses...
The findings from the Fourth Product Portfolio Management Benchmark Study and the Innovation Management Maturity Model™ have spawned some important dialog around innovation maturity for medical devices firms and across multiple industries. In a recent article published Dec 3 on Medical Design Online, Jim Pomager poses the question, “Does the medical devices industry have an...
The negative impact of scope creep on projects is a well-documented fact. Scope changes – no matter how small or large – can affect the timeline and cost of a project. Whether it’s new requirements being added or modifications of existing requirements, scope creep is the source of a lot of project management headaches. But how does scope creep impact...
Have you ever looked at a body of work and wondered how you would get it all done? They say the best way to eat an elephant is to take one bite at a time.* This analogy does a great job of explaining why it is a good idea to break down your work into...
Open source projects have it good. Their issue tracker serves as the single system of record for all development, support, quality management and planning activity. The result is a theoretical ideal in terms of a connected software lifecycle. For example, every vote that a user makes for a particular bug is immediately visible to developers....
