Raven's Brain v1.0: Project Management

Raven's Brain - NEW FEED and Domain: www.RavensBrain.com

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:00:09 GMT

Raven's Brain has moved to http://www.ravensbrain.com/. If you receive your updates via email and you haven't received a "Newsletter Transfer Confirmation" email yet, you'll need to sign up again to receive updates from the new site via email.

If you subscribe via a RSS reader you will need to update your feed to receive updates from the new site:

Raven's Brain V2.0 FEED: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ravensbrain2

The new blog still needs some tweaks and edits, but it's a decent start. You can check out the welcome post at the new site here: http://www.ravensbrain.com/2008/07/raven-youngs-blog-ravens-brain-has.html. I plan on continuing to post regularly - while continuing to enjoy my lazy summer!

Final change - I have an updated email address to match the new domain:

If you're wondering why I decided to make these changes check out my last post here: Raven's Brain - Lost In Transition.

I will post another entry here with some summary thoughts on my Windows Live Spaces experience and the accomplishments of this blog in the last 30-something months.

Thanks to everyone who has (and will continue to) stop by. You've made blogging a great experience!

- Raven
www.RavensBrain.com

Project Managers: Team Coaching Helps Boost Performance

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:06:41 GMT

MindTools has a great article to help project managers (or any manager) build high performing teams and increase productivity through better relationships. Coaching for Team Performance outlines the benefits of team coaching and explains the importance of team dynamics. It's written to help you develop an established team with a solid foundation to build upon and shows how team members can gain useful insight by trying to understand each others perspectives and see each other differently.

If you're looking for ways to develop and grow your team in a positive direction, check out this excerpt:

Coaching to improve team performance can need different approaches for different teams and different people. What works for one team may not necessarily work for another.
Effective working relationships are built by understanding team members' needs, preferences, and styles of work. By helping people understand their own styles and appreciate the different styles of others, you can work with them to change their behaviors and use everyone's strengths.
The process of improving team performance takes time, and it may involve looking deeper than team processes. Organizational systems – like reward and recognition, performance management, and training – may need to be addressed as well.
However, the end result of this work is usually well worth it; improved collaboration and communication will benefit the organization as whole.

Read the full meal deal here: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_66.htm

Avoid The Top 5 Pitfalls Of Managing Technology Projects

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:03:25 GMT

The July 2008 issue of PMWorldToday (an informative global project management e-zine, by the way) has an interesting article for tech PMs and others working on technology projects: Avoiding the Top Five Traps of Technical Project Management (PDF). It's written by Bob McGannon, PMP, who has a long history of providing solid project management training, consulting, & coaching services. He shares his experience in working on technology projects and provides tips for avoiding some common "traps" when managing them. Here's an excerpt:

Managing technology projects can be one of the most challenging arenas of project management. Ironically, it is rarely the technology itself that presents obstacles for the technical project manager. Being mindful of the most common traps that await the unsuspecting project manager can help ensure your technical projects don’t end up as financial disasters that don’t deliver expected function, and diminish the reputation of yourself and your technical organization.
1. It is about business process, not the technical tool
The intent of a project is to move the business to a better place. That better place can mean increased efficiency, additional capabilities or an improvement in the accuracy of the business’ output. Regardless of the nature of the business improvement, it is enhanced process that will drive the superior results. It is not necessarily as a result of a tool, a new IT system or improved technology – these are only the catalyst for the improved process which drives business results. Many project managers and their teams mistake the new technology as being the output of the project, rather than the enhanced process that results in conjunction with implementing new technology.
Read the rest here (PDF): http://www.pmforum.org/library/tips/2008/PDFs/McGannon-7-08.pdf

The other four "traps" discussed include:

2. Moderate the amount of change your technology users must absorb
3. We understand the business better than our customer does!
4. There are no "small" changes
5. New function isn't necessarily new value

My thoughs - a decent list. #3 is very common - and not just to technology projects, and #4 "there are no small changes" would make a great tattoo for ANY project manager's forehead - or, at a minimum, burned into their memory for life!

Posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Project Management, IT Project Management, Technology Projects, Project Management Blog, Project Management Posts

Project Managers: Just Say No!

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:23:04 GMT

Much has been written about the importance of open, effective communication, but often "saying no" isn't a focus in the articles and lists of communication tips. I just read an article at ProjectConnections with a telling title: The Hardest Word in the Project Management Vocabulary. Now, One may be the loneliest number but "no" has got to be the loneliest word in the in project management - we just don't use it enough, even when it's perfectly appropriate! How do get better at it? Check out the intro to Carl Pritchard's article below and learn how to Just Say No!

For project managers, "no" is often the toughest word in the English language to deploy. We often prefer the classic PM strategy of "Yes, but..." as the softer, kinder, gentler alternative. "No" sounds harsh. Uncooperative. It sounds reticent and recalcitrant. It sounds negative. And yet, for many of us, the time has come as professionals to set "yes, but..." aside and venture into the world of "no."
I say this because I note that with increasing frequency, clients are not taking "yes, but..." as an answer. No sooner do we offer a "yes-we-can-do-that, but-it-costs-you-another-million" response that the customer hears only the first half of the equation. They often seem far more interested in capability than cost. As a result, when we come to the table with the costs for their ventures, they balk.
One of my clients recently asked for a much higher level of review and a much higher degree of involvement in my consulting work than that to which I have become accustomed through the years. I agreed to a single review, but during that review, it became very clear that this was not to be a one-time event. They wanted more and more involvement in the work I have historically done to great accolades. And so, at the end of the first conference call, I tried a "yes, but.." approach.
Read more here: http://blog.projectconnections.com/carl_pritchard/2008/05/the-hardest-wor.html

You'll need to read the complete article to get the whole story, but it's a good piece on the importance of learning to say NO tactfully and guilt-free. There is a lot of good info in the blogosphere on "how to say no" or "learning to say no" and each piece offers it's own insights, perspective and unique tips. Here are a few great resources to help you learn how to Just Say No:

Posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Project Management, Project Communication, Effective Communication, Project Management Blog, How To Say No

Ten Golden Rules Of Project Management Maturity & Team Effectiveness

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:45:46 GMT

allPM has an article by Dhanu Kothari discussing "the human side of project management" and detailing Ten Golden Rules Of Project Management Maturity & Team Effectiveness. Some interesting thoughts are outlined and there is a questionnaire at the end to help you assess your own team's effectiveness. You'll want to read the complete post for proper context, and to get all the great insights, for now here are the "10 golden rules" (truncated):

Golden Rule # 1: Develop a Project Organization

Are there specific individuals who are identified as the Sponsor and the Customer or Client for the project?
Does everyone know who has the single source of responsibility for the project?
Golden Rule # 2: Formulate a Team Purpose

Is there a common understanding of project objectives and deliverables among all players?
Are the “Vision, Purpose, Goals” of the project documented and supported by a scope definition with SMART objectives (i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Target-driven)?
Golden Rule # 3: Scope and Sell the Project

Do you know who your clients are and do you have their enthusiastic support?
Do you have a presentation that explains the business benefits of the project, its major components, how the project will be implemented and why it takes as long as it does?
Golden Rule # 4: Insulate Team from Management Issues

Is there a process for escalating problems to management and resolving issues?
Does the Project Manager resolve internal team conflicts expeditiously, and stand up for the team when dealing with external influences, management and stakeholders?
Golden Rule # 5: Teams Optimize, Individuals Maximize

Does every team member clearly understand his/her deliverables, acceptance criteria, and the individuals who will be approving or accepting the deliverable?
Is there an agreed facilitation process for team discussion and issue resolution?
Golden Rule # 6: Encourage & Facilitate Open Communication

Is there a formal and structured communication process in place consisting of reviews, status reports, minutes of meetings and management updates etc.?
Does the Communication Plan include weekly “One on One” reviews with team members?
Golden Rule # 7: Institutionalize Positive Mindset

Do your team members believe that their meetings are generally productive?
Do you invite team members to provide feedback on the content and process of the meeting so that you can continually improve the management and performance of meetings?
Golden Rule # 8: Remember the Five “R”s

Does the project team practice and follow through the 5Rs - Respect, Recognition, Rewards, Rest and Recreation?
Is the project baseline schedule realistic and based on reasonable assumptions?
Golden Rule # 9: Implement Consistent & Predictable Processes

Are team members trained in the fundamentals of Project Management and are they familiar with the organization’s business terminology and Project Management Methodology?
Do team members clearly understand the differences and context of the various methodologies used for project management, system design, systems development, proprietary solutions and IT operations, etc.?

Golden Rule # 10: Transition the Team Graciously

Do you get a formal signoff from the client whenever a project deliverable is approved and accepted?
Do you take the time to provide feedback to team members on their project performance?

Read complete article here: http://www.allpm.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1924&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

I love to hear from readers - your comments matter! WL Spaces comments require login - feel free to drop me an email if you have something to say! Even better, let me know if you'd like to post a guest article here at Raven's Brain - You know you want to!

Posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Project Management, Project Management Article, Project Management Links, Project Management Blog, Project Management Posts

Project Management Link-Fest July 1st, 2008

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:57:20 GMT

The Project Management Link-fest - a list of links focused on project management and related business topics, hand picked by yours truly! The last time I posted a link-fest was the end of March, and I hope to post them more regularly going forward.

Wondering how posts get added to my Project Management Link-fest? Like Bas at Project Shrink, I follow a TON of project management blogs, not to mention the numerous management, personal/professional development and leadership blogs I subscribe to. I read a lot of solid, project management focused and related content, and don't have time to do a post on each item I come across, so a lot of good stuff gets put in the bucket for the next link-fest. I want to highlight some of the great thoughts out there, as they are what fuel my blog's fire! Of course, if you have something PMish you're really proud of you can always send me an email and I might just add your piece to the project management link-fest pie - yum!

Project management links you might have missed:

Motivational Theory in Project Management & Uncertainty in estimates of software projects, fort building, and anything including a toddler, Ron Holohan
PM Tools - The Nature of Scope, Larry Cone
Free Intro to Project Management Presentation, ProjectPerfect
There Is No Iron Triangle In Project Management & Experienced Project Managers Stop Learning, Bas De Baar
5 Opportunities to Question for Effective Project Leadership, Project Management and Risk Management: Is Risk Managing You? & Personal Feelings and Project Performance, John Reiling
The Curse of Knowledge and Making Decisions, Max Wideman
A Primer for Embracing Project-Based Work, Randy Englund
Taking Over a Project in Progress, Tim Millett
Are you 'On Strategy, Craig Brown
Webinar: Ten Tips for Driving Better Project Outcomes, Jack Vinson
Emotional Intelligence for PM's - New Webinar Available & People Skills - Not So Important to Project Managers, Anthony Mersino
Models of PM Success & IMP/IMS and Deliverables Based Planning, Glen Alleman
Handoffs Don’t Work, Johanna Rothman
What’s Wrong with Requirements, Stacey Douglas
Building trust by making different promises, Clarke Ching
The Right Stuff: Measuring What Counts & Do You Know Your Stats?, gantthead
RUMBA- The Fail Proof Project Management Dance, The Project Management Hut
“Negotiating Using a Project Charter” Published, Alex Brown
Successful projects are led not managed, Great Project Management
Managing Across Cultures - Not So Easy - Podcast, Lisa A. Grant
Project Engagement (MMP#46), David Zinger

Related links:

Book Review: Dreaming in Code & Improving Employee Engagement, Eric D. Brown
Age, Gender, and Culture: The Human Brew & The Gen Y-Friendly Workplace, Jerry Manas
10 and 1/2 commandments of visual thinking & How to get the mentoring you need Craig Brown
New Software Executive Report Available: Managing Core Development, Steve McConnell
Productive Jealousy - Is There is Enough Sun for Everyone to Tan?, Christopher Hawkins
Listening and Respect, Stephen Seay
Seven Personal Development Books - Free!, Mike Ramm
Are stronger professional associations the key to better work literacy?, Eclectic Bill
The contemplated action contains the seed of its result, Jack Vinson
Here Be Dragons - An Introduction to Critical Thinking, Adam Goucher
Leaders vs. Managers….. Are they really different?, George Ambler

Stay tuned for the next batch of e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t links and do feel free to drop me an email if you have something you'd like referenced in the next project management link-fest - you just might get included! Even better, let me know if you'd like to post a guest article here at Raven's Brain - You know you want to!

Project Management "Tricks of the Trade®" Contest - Win $500 - $2,000

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:19:53 GMT

I read a question at LinkedIn and it reminded me of an ongoing contest for project managers. Below is my answer to the question: What is your Best Project Management Trick that works?

This reminds me - RMC is running their "Project Management Tricks of the Trade® Contest" for 2008. Multiple submissions are allowed and top three winners will be announced in September. Top three tips cash prizes of $500, $1,000 and $2,000.
Last years winner wrote about a newsletter he created for his project team. If you can think of a creative PM tip or technique, give it a shot. You only need 500 words or so and there are samples available. (FYI - I'm not affiliated in anyway with RMC.)
One good PM tip is to factor non-project work into your schedule. We often forget that people take vacations, get sick, need last minute personal days, jury duty, etc. and how often do we factor in "work time" that isn't on the project - like corporate events, non-project meetings, training, professional development, commitments to other teams and projects? Not very often. Committing every resource to a given project for 8 hours a day without factoring these time-eaters in might give you a better looking schedule (quicker delivery) but it iwon't be realistic, and organizations that don't consider these common schedule factors probably don't care about reality (just get it done!).
Read more answers, or respond yourself here: http://www.linkedin.com/answers/business-operations/project-management/OPS_PRJ/259984-21068376

For more info on the Project Management "Tricks of the Trade®" Contest:

Do you consider yourself an innovative project manager? Do you have a project management trick, technique or creative way to use a tool that helps get your projects completed on time and on budget? If so, you could win up to $2,000 for your knowledge in RMC’s Project Management Tricks of the Trade® Contest. The requirements are simple: you submit your favorite trick using the form below, a panel of experts from RMC will evaluate it and assign it a grade, and the best three submitted tricks will win a cash prize
$2,000 for the best trick
$1,000 for the second best trick
$500 for the third best trick

Learn more here:

If you submit a tip or answer the LinkedIn Question, I'd love to hear your response and share here. Email me and spread the project management tips and techniques that help make you a success!

posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Project Management Tips, Project Management, PM Tips, Project Management Techniques

7 Reasons for the Rapid Growth of Project Management in IT

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:22:21 GMT

PM World Today's June 2008 edition has an interesting article for those working in Tech/IT: Seven Good Reasons for the Rapid Growth of Project Management in IT and why that Trend will Continue (PDF). As a project manager who focuses on web and software development projects I was interested in reading author David L. Pells thoughts on the future of IT and project management. Solid insights - Here's an excerpt to get you started:

Over the last decade, modern professional project management (PM) has been embraced by organizations involved in information technology (IT) more rapidly and more seriously than in any other sectors. The increased use of PM in technology organizations has been astounding, as reflected by the rapid growth in membership in the Project Management Institute (PMI). PMI has seen its membership increase from 50,000 to over 270,000 worldwide over the last 12 years, with 80% of the new members working in IS, IT, Telecoms and other technology-oriented organizations. In particular, PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP) certification has been widely embraced and adapted by IT organizations, to the point where the PMP is now one of the most sought after certifications within the IT sector.
Many of us who have been involved with the PM profession for many years have been amazed at these trends, wondering what it all means. Is the PM profession now to be completely dominated by IS and IT organizations? Why haven’t we seen similar growth in adapting PM among older, more traditional, project-oriented industries and organizations, for example, in aerospace, construction and defense? What is really driving these trends? Why all the interest in PM by IT professionals and companies? Will this trend continue?
In this paper, Seven major reasons why I think that PM has been so rapidly and fully embraced by IT organizations and professionals are outlined. In the context of this article, I include software, hardware, systems and subsystems development in the IT sector. The factors discussed below apply to all of these industries, and the projects and organizations within those industries. The reasons described below have all put pressure on technology organizations to embrace professional PM. When considered together, these factors have created enormous pressure to improve performance on IT programs and projects.
Read more here (PDF): http://www.pmforum.org/library/editorials/2008/PDFs/Pells-6-08.pdf

In case you're wondering, The "Seven Good Reason for rapid growth of project management in the IT sector" discussed are:

Massive investments in IT worldwide
The natural project-orientation of IT
The increasing complexity of IT programs and projects
Rapidly changing technologies
IT project failures
The Information Age - The Third Wave has arrived
IT crosses all industries, organizations and projects

And author David L. Pells does a good job of detailing each item in the article. Definitely worth checking out if you work in/around IT. The paper is in PDF format and is 14 pages in length, including graphics, references, resources, bio, etc. Ch-Ch-Check it out!

posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: IT Project Management, Project Management, Software Development

Project Leaders: Seven Skills for Effective Leadership

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:56:48 GMT

I just read an interesting article over at PROJECTmagazine: Seven Skills for Effective Leadership. It's a brief discussion of Dr. Peter J. Dean's "L.E.A.D.E.R.S. Method", which is basically an acronym for the seven key leadership skills mentioned in the title. The method is detailed in more length in Dean's book Leadership for Everyone, but here are the seven skills mentioned to get you started:

1) Listen to Learn- Leaders who listen to learn understand that true listening employs consistent eye contact, facing the speaker, avoiding distractions and waiting until the speaker is finished before responding.
2) Empathize with Emotions- This entails aligning the leader's personal feelings with those they are in contact with without letting sympathy for the other person cause a loss of objectivity.
3) Attend to Aspirations- Personal goals should be acknowledged and encouraged in order for aspirations to thrive in a positive climate.
4) Diagnose and Detail- A leader must have the skills to diagnose and detail the facts in any conversation in order to avoid wrong assumptions and undesirable conclusions.
5) Engage for Good Ends- Leadership entails selecting the right course of action in planning, decision making, and business practice to help bring the best overall results for the company while adhering to ethical standards.
6) Respond with Respectfulness- Respectful leaders honor the worth and dignity of individuals, are sensitive to power differences, and resolve conflicts with honesty and patience.
7) Speak with Specificity- Speaking reveals leadership skills as well as the personal power and sphere of influence one has in an organization.
Read more here: http://projectmagazine.practical-project-management.com/content/view/256/110/

As with any list, there are always good arguments for adding or removing items, but I think these leadership skills stand alone just fine. Take a quick review of Dean's method and you'll find seven essential skills for the savvy project leader to keep in their toolbox. It's hard to single out one critical skill for an effective leader - all items are important - but I do think "Respond with Respectfulness" is über important. Respect is quite essential to effective, high performing teams and your projects won't be as successful as possible until you're able to instill a sense of respect within each member - and it's critical that you, as project leader, set the example.

Who's That Girl? Interview With Raven Young Posted

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:10:29 GMT

David Daly runs a project managment blog called Outside of the Triangle. He recently interviewed me as part of his PM Interview series: PM Interviews: Raven Young. It was fun to talk a bit about myself and discuss my thoughts on various project management topics. You can read the full interview here: http://outofthetriangle.wordpress.com/2008/06/09/pm-interviews-raven-young/

Other PM Interviews in the series include:

Post by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Raven Young, Project Management, PM Interview, Raven's Brain, David Daly, Outside of the Triangle

Free E-book: Fundamentals of Project Management

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:25:36 GMT

I was browsing through old bookmarks and came across one from AMA titled 25 Project Management Tips. The tips were extremely basic, though I suppose they could be useful to folks new to project management or serve as a basic checklist for part-time PMs. I did find something more useful and interesting for PMs though - a free 157 page e-book titled Fundamentals of Project Management (links to free PDF download, quick registration required). There was also a link to The Rookie Manager, a free 167 page e-book, but that's for another day, new managers!

Fundamentals of Project Management seemed like your average "beginners guide" to project management, but then I read this under the heading of "Not Just Scheduling!":

One of the common misconceptions about project management is that it is just scheduling. At last report, Microsoft had sold more than a million copies of Microsoft Project, yet the failure rate remains high. Scheduling is certainly a major tool used to manage projects, but it is not nearly as important as developing a shared understanding of what the project is supposed to accomplish or constructing a good Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to identify all the work to be done (I discuss the WBS later). In fact, without good project management, the only thing a detailed schedule is going to do is allow you to document your failures with great precision!

Agreed! Let's say it together "Project Management is about more than scheduling!" Of course, this book is geared toward the newer PM, but I find I can glean insights from well-written text, no matter the audience. Fundamentals does cover basics like the ever popular triangle, basic project life cycle, planning, and so on, but my favorite part has to be this figure from "The Phases Of A Project" section:

Ahh, I love a little humor with my reality!

You should definitely register and download the free e-book if you're looking to beef up your project management knowledge or want to get a refresher on the basics. Enjoy!

posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Free Project Management E-book, Project Management, PM E-Book

Survey Says Microsoft Project Still King In IT PM World

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 03:33:26 GMT

Projects@Work has an article discussing a recent survey with some interesting stats on Microsoft Project usage - Microsoft Project Still Rules IT PM Space:

New survey finds 80 percent of North American IT departments use Microsoft Project to manage projects, citing minimal training needs and low implementation costs.

Microsoft is "the de facto leader" in the North American IT project management software space, with 80 per cent of respondents to a recent survey by IT analyst firm Info-Tech Research Group indicating they rely on Microsoft Project to manage IT programs in their enterprise.

"The current competitive landscape for IT Project Management software appears to be limited for anyone except Microsoft. Companies are turning to Microsoft Project because users require minimal training and it brings enough functionality without high implementation costs," said Jennifer Colasanti, senior research consultant with Info-Tech Research Group. "Many organizations begin with Microsoft Excel for basic project management needs, so adoption of Microsoft Project is a natural progression."

The 2008 Info-Tech study, which surveyed more than 250 senior IT managers in companies located in the U.S.

Read more here: http://www.projectsatwork.com/content/Articles/242714.cfm
Note: quick registration is required but worth all the excellent, free PM focused content you'll have access to

posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: IT Project Management, Project Management, Microsoft Project

Emotional Intelligence and Project Management: Learn about HALT

Thu, 29 May 2008 01:50:28 GMT

Anthony Mersino is author of a fine new project management book called Emotional Intelligence For Project Managers (check out Elizabeth Harrin's solid review). He also runs a blog called EQ4PM, which contains some e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t thoughts, opinions and insights on the softer side of project management - a big focus for myself and this blog. A recent post of Anthony's caught my attention: The Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired Project Manager. It discusses how we can be better managers if we're aware of our reactions and responses, and calls to attention some common pitfalls managers should be aware of using "HALT", which stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired. I found the post entirely interesting - Here's a clip from the post for more info:

The key to being able to choose a response versus just reacting emotionally is our level of emotional resilience. At a recent speaking event, a participant reminded me of a short and simple acronym for helping us gauge our level of emotional resilience. It is the acronym HALT.
HALT stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired. Those four serve as a gauge of our level of emotional resilience. Whenever you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired, your resilience is low and you are at risk of having a negative reaction or emotional breakdown. You are less likely to make good choices about your responses to stimulus.
The key thing that HALT tells me is that I am at risk. It is a quick test. And those HALT items are pretty common indicators for most people. If you wanted to elaborate, you could come up with additional things that might set you up for a breakdown. This is a list that my audiences have given me:

Illness and Fatigue
Criticism
Lack of Exercise
Failing to reach my Goals
Feeling Overwhelmed
Always on with WIFI and my Blackberry

Read more here: http://eq4pm.typepad.com/eq4pm/2008/05/think-halt-befo.html

Anthony goes on to note some of his own potential failure points and ways to handle these types of emotional risks more effectively. I fully believe that being self aware and using/building your own emotional intelligence can have a positive impact on your success as a manager. The more you learn, the more you develop and grow, the more you'll be able to deal with "risky business" (or HALT situations) gracefully.

I recommend digging around EQ4PM for some great emotional intelligence articles, such as:

And tons more of project management goodness awaits. You probably won't find much on scope/specs/estimation and other core PM skills, but you will find a LOT of interesting, thought provoking posts on working better with people, EI, emotional/self awareness, and other topics that will help make you a better, more wll-rounded PM.

posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Project Management, Emotional Intelligence & Project Management, Emotional Intelligence, Soft Skills

Info: P2M - Japan's Project & Programme Management Methodology

Mon, 26 May 2008 19:19:06 GMT

I live in the US so it's interesting to read blogs written by folks in the Netherlands, Australia, the UK, India, Japan and more. It allows me to gain interesting insights and learn from a global pool of experienced, talented and multi-faceted people interested in the same things as me. One solid International PM & BA blog I continue to learn from is Craig Brown's Better Projects. A recent post of his highlighted a new methodology I hadn't heard of before, so I thought I'd share here: P2M - Japan's Project and Programme Management. New and better ways of doing things are always popping up and, while I'm certainly not an advocate of switching methodolgies at whim, I do find I learn new things or a get a different perspective when reviewing new (to me) methodolgies - and ways of doing things in general. Craig shares a few key P2M links if you're interested in learning more about this new international Project and Program Management methodolgy: http://www.betterprojects.net/2008/05/p2m-japans-project-and-programme.html

posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: P2M, Project Management, Project Management Methodologies, International Program Management

Tech PMs: Steve McConnell on Classic Software Development Mistakes 2008

Wed, 21 May 2008 04:34:12 GMT

Steve McConnell has an interesting post at his blog 10x Software Development worth checking out for IT/Tech PMs: Software's Classic Mistakes--2008. You might want to check out the complete white paper Software Development's Classic Mistakes 2008, which "includes the complete list of mistakes, descriptions of each mistake, and results from the survey for every classic mistake (login required).", but there are some some great excerpts in the post if you want a quick summary of the interesting information compiled from the "2008 classic mistakes survey". Here's some more info on why you might care:

In 2007 my colleagues at Construx Software and I updated the list of classic mistakes from my 1996 book Rapid Development. Throughout 2007 we conducted a survey to determine the frequency and severity of these classic mistakes. In other words, we wanted to get a more quantitative sense of just how "classic" these classic mistakes are.

More than 500 people responded to the survey. The majority of them were involved with web and business systems. A significant minority were involved in shrink wrap/commercial systems, and about 10% were involved in embedded, system critical, systems, SaaS, or other kinds of software. About half the respondents were in lead/architect roles, about one-quarter in individual technical contributor roles, and the rest were in management or dual management/technical roles. The results are available in a white paper, "Software Development's Classic Mistakes 2008." You will need a login our main web site to download the white paper. (The log in is free.)

Excerpts from the Classic Mistakes Survey
Based on the survey responses, we computed the approximate frequency of the mistakes surveyed. Here is an excerpt from the white paper that shows the approximate frequency of occurrence of the most common classic mistakes:

Read more here: http://forums.construx.com/blogs/stevemcc/archive/2008/05/13/Software_2700_s-Classic-Mistakes_2D002D00_2008.aspx

Enjoy!

posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: IT Project Management, Project Management, Software Development

Heaps of Risks (Why Managing Too Many Risks is Too Risky)

Tue, 20 May 2008 01:49:25 GMT

A post by Rolf Götz, guest voice inside Raven’s Brain.

Risk management is a source of unusual human behaviour: euphoria or excessive gambling when risk is underestimated, and panic attacks or depression when we predict that things are riskier than they really are. Both are risks by themselves.

In this post I'll address a risk that is also closely related to human behaviour and presents a risk: Overly extensive risk registers, i.e. a list of several dozens of risks for a given project.

This is a fluffy topic, more fluffy than the concrete principles, rules and processes I usually write about over at Clear Conceptual Thinking. However, it is an interesting one I wanted to write about for quite some time. Thank you to Raven for letting me share it.

Some Context

An issue is a problem that must be dealt with NOW.

A risk is a potential issue that can be avoided with the right mitigation.

A risk register is a table documenting risks, often including an assessment of probability and damage potential for each risk.

I have seen risk registers with close to a hundred risks that were all actually being managed on a bi-weekly basis. Oh dear, that's what I call risk-driven project management. While these presumably are extremes, risk registers tend to grow instead of shrink. Among the root causes are very human ones:

Fear ('I need to cover my ass here!')
Uncertainty ('Huh, honestly I don't know what to do best. This is an unsettling feeling.')
Lack of experience ('I have never been in this kind of situation before...')

In essence, these causes threaten the success of the entire project.

A word of WARNING: Please don't just add the risks presented here to your risk register.

Fear

Long (or ever growing) risk registers can be a sign of the behavior of some individuals aiming at creating an excuse in case of project failure. "Look, our project had so many risks, it was kind of impossible to achieve the project's goal!" This is an excellent argument to ensure that risk-countering measures are not effective. Every risk cancelled out is a risk to this strategy. (It also is an excellent argument for investing a lot of effort in risk management, for self-preservation reasons, as we will see below.)

Uncertainty and unsettling feelings

Besides this observation of mine, recent neurological studies by Professor Peter Bossaerts (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312093854.htm) suggest that risk is assessed in the area of the brain (anterior insula) which otherwise integrates and processes emotions. Therefore 'rational' risk prediction seems to always involve emotions – they seem to help (or hinder?) the process somehow.

Risks stay in the register, because we do not think of the actual time-gestalt of risks. Therefore, we really don't know whether our mitigation strategies take the desired effect. I bet 8 out of 10 risk registers do not make visible how the assessment of the various risks have evolved over time and what the counter measures have to do with it.:

Concerning the time-gestalt of risk assessment, my hypothesis is that even if there's no new information, people cannot keep their assessment of a non-trivial set of interrelated risks consistent. This needs proof, of course, and I haven't done that yet. (Information, anyone?)
The real effect of counter measures is quite difficult to find out, as in the majority of cases there is a considerable time-lag between 'action taken' and 'effect noticable' on one hand, and there are complex cause-effect relationships in any non-trivial project on the other hand, so you can never be sure whether this is the only measure which has affected this other risk (Doerner 2007).

We, that is today's business people, tend to conserve a positive self-image as a person who is competent and capable of acting. So everything that could harm this image falls prey to a self-preserving process that excludes several strategies from our thinking, like: building sophisticated hypotheses (that would be easier to falsify), gathering more contrary, telling information (that could lead to uncertainty by itself), or elaborating on the effect of risk-mitigation (that could take time and therefore would hinder action).

On the other hand, we can work on our risk registers at length to 'show' our competence in planning and risk management. One advantage of elaborate work on gathering information, discussing risks and detailing mitigation strategies (e. g. planning) is that we can postpone when we have to come in contact with reality.

Lack of Experience

There's a significant correlation between 'years of experience in decision making' and 'outcome of decisions' (Doerner 1997, Putz-Osterloh 1987). What percentage of risk managers in your organization would you say is experienced? Inexperienced people tend to revert to methods, 'best practices' and the like. To them it seems like a good idea to shop at directories of pre-defined risks, like common project risk checklists and the like. A rather unconfident risk manager thankfully accepts the suggestions of these lists. "One way or the other, this specific risk could affect us, too!" There goes another risk on the register.

Curiously risk registers seldom play a role in post-mortems, lessons-learned or whatever your organization calls the reflection on a project after it has been labelled a success ;-). All of a sudden, the risk register, still containing great many risks with a certain probability and potential damage, falls prey to some collective amnesia. Wouldn't it be nice to challenge the remaining (all?) risks after the fact? Are they really that probable and potentially damaging? Is this why we learn so much more from failure than from success?

Speaking of lack of experience, self-reflection has a statistically proven record as being quite effective towards learning.

In conclusion, my advice two-fold:

1) Focus on planning value in, not on planning risk out.

2) While it is wise to do risk managment, keep your risk register brief, perhaps a dozen or fewer items and focus on really clearing out risks and removing them from the register but not the history. New ones will pop up on their own.

My friend Sven Biedermann says, risk is inseperable from project organizations. An endeavour without risk would be conducted by a line organization, i.e. existing staff.

If you are a project manager, risk manager or a method-savvy person in general, read more about project risks, objectives and ways of incorporating real-life models into daily work at my blog at http://www.clearconceptualthinking.net/. I’d be happy to discuss this post’s topic there, too.

Resources

There is a link between our emotional states and our ability to learn. See the Reflections on the Dalai Lama's Visit in Seattle, http://blog.emergenceconsulting.net/2008/04/reflections-on.html

I highly recommend reading: Doerner, D, The Logic of Failure, Basic Books 1997
Putz-Osterloh, W. and Lemme, M., Knowledge and its Intelligent Application to Problem Solving. German Journal of Psychology, 11/1987, p. 286-303
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_management

This was a guest post by Rolf Götz. Learn more about him at Clear Conceptual Thinking.

Guest post by Rolf Götz at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Planning, Project Management, Risks, Risk Management, Risks Registers, Risks Assessment

Follow your mind, not your rules!

Sun, 11 May 2008 18:34:52 GMT

A post by Jurgen Appelo, guest voice inside Raven’s Brain.

Last week I drove all the way from The Netherlands to Slovenia --which is a 1200km trip-- to pick up my boyfriend, who went there earlier (by plane) for a conference. The idea was to spend a long weekend enjoying whatever this little country had to offer.

Spontaneous and Unconventional
In an earlier post I explained why I didn't travel to Slovenia by airplane, which would have been faster and only slightly more expensive. It's because I like driving, and I was looking forward to a nice relaxed 12 hour trip --all by myself with a stack of my favorite CDs-- that would take me through Germany and Austria. It was a spontaneous idea. I was eager to find out if my unconventional trip would give me some compelling new views and surprise encounters. And it did. But not in the way I had hoped.

Bad Idea?
On my trip through Europe I encountered so many road works it led me to believe Europe's Post-war Reconstruction was still far from being finished. A couple of big traffic jams made my ETA climb faster than Jerry Yang's chance of being kicked out of Yahoo. And maybe worse: I didn't get to see much of the foreign countryside either. The Germans have shielded off many of their highways with a number of trees that should easily compensate the CO2 emissions from their entire car industry. And the only things I remember of driving through Austria were the inside walls of numerous tunnels, the backsides of numerous trucks, and my rapidly dwindling amount of cash. (The Austrians make you pay through the nose for using their infrastructure.)

Maybe Not!
Did I regret going to Slovenia by car? Well, maybe for a short while. But after picking up my boyfriend in the town of Bled, it turned out they had already shown him around, and he had seen just about everything there was to see of this little country (which is caves, horses, mountains, and some more caves.) So we quickly decided to head for Croatia, where we had a nice evening and a delicious sea food platter in Rovinj, down by the sea. And the next day we drove to Italy, just a few hours away on the other side of the Adriatic Sea, where we spent two days eating pasta and watching gondolas in Venice. I'm sure we would have organized our time differently if I had simply gone to Slovenia by plane.

Spontaneous ideas trigger themselves!

Solving problems the unconventional way opens up room for even more alternative ideas. It's as if spontaneous ideas, once started, are self-generating. Let me give you some examples:

On AgileSoftwareDevelopment.com I wrote about having automated our project evaluation process. It's a very unconventional idea, but it works for us. And it has opened up other new possibilities for data-mining historical projects.
Our offices are housed in a famous old coffee factory. The building --being a monument-- allows for only few modifications. Therefore our unconventional floor plan flies in the face of common best practices for office space management. But never mind, because people love it! We never expected it, but our office is now one of the main incentives for people to apply for a job. And the renovated building itself got a European award yesterday.
For important announcements in our company, I had the idea of introducing the Bell of Success. The bell (a heavy old ship's bell with a cord) is situated in the middle of our big office space and it is rung (loudly) once every few weeks, when we've landed an important new contract, or delivered a great new web site. Everybody immediately comes together for a 5-minute celebration around the coffee machine. Sure, we could have posted these successes on our intranet. But this is more fun!

New Risks
Naturally, unconventional ideas can lead to unconventional risks and problems. I am still surprised I survived traffic on the highways in Italy. The Italians drive like mad men. And it's a wonder we could find our way out of the country, as the road network seems to have been modeled after Italy's most famous kind of pasta. And I've learned that, when you're heading for Switzerland, you must realize that "Genova" is not the Italian name for "Geneva". And once we finally found Switzerland, the Swiss welcomed me with a gigantic traffic jam and food poisoning. This I found particularly uncalled for, since the Swiss are among the few people left in the world I haven't offended yet in any of my previous posts. But I might come to that later...

Defined Process vs. Empirical Process
Ken Schwaber, in Agile Project Management with Scrum, tells us that agile projects should follow empirical processes, not defined processes. I would translate it to this: Be prepared to ignore the textbook rules, and open up your mind to reinvent your processes along the way. Do what it takes to reach your goal by being smart and spontaneous. Don't just stick to conventional ways, even when they seem to work adequately. Rules and conventions are useful and important, but it's nice to escape from them once in a while. And even if your alternative solution doesn't work, it may have opened up some unexpected new opportunities...

Follow your mind, not your rules!

I carried out my last spontaneous act when were having a wonderful dinner in Venice. I had never planned to do this. It just crossed my mind earlier that day because the location, the weather, the surroundings and the food were simply perfect. I had the idea, thought about it for two hours, and just couldn't think of a better time nor place.

I asked my boyfriend to marry me.

Spontaneous ideas, once started, are self-generating. I'm sure there wouldn't have been a dinner in Venice if I had taken the plane to Slovenia.

This was a guest post by Jurgen Appelo. If you like his writing, be sure to subscribe to his feed over at www.noop.nl!

post by Jurgen Appelo at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Spontaneous Ideas, Project Management, Risks

Project Management Insights: Improving Knowledge in Projects

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:21:24 GMT

Time is short so I'll be brief. I just read part of Eric Brown's excellent post: Improving Knowledge in Projects. It's very detailed and I need to read the complete piece, as well as the full paper the post/excerpt came from, but I found the subject interesting and want to learn more. Here's a clip from the framework section:

Blaize Horner Reich, an Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University and Visiting Associate at Templeton College, Oxford University has developed a framework for knowledge management within IT Projects which seems promising. This framework, published in the Project Management Institutes’s Project Management Journal in an article titled “Managing Knowledge and Learning in IT Projects: A Conceptual Framework and Guidelines for Practice“, proposes a three level model that addresses the following topics:

Describes what “knowledge management in IT projects” is
Provides a typology of critical IT project knowledge
Identifies the top ten knowledge-based risks found in IT projects. In addition, key principles for knowledge management in IT projects are provided for use in helping build strong knowledge management capabilities within IT projects.

Reich’s framework is a good place to start as it provides a model built upon sound principles and research in the IT project space.
The first ‘level’ in Reich’s framework defines IT Project knowledge management as:

Knowledge management in the context of a project is the application of principles and processes designed to make relevant knowledge available to the project team. Effective knowledge management facilitates the creation and integration of knowledge losses and fills knowledge gaps throughout the duration of the project (Reich, 2007, p. 8).

Read more: http://ericbrown.com/improving-knowledge-in-projects.htm

Good stuff - Thanks to Eric for sharing his thoughts!

Quick post today - Enjoy!

posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: IT Project Knowledge Management, Project Management, Knowledge Management

Project Management: What to measure

Thu, 01 May 2008 17:48:34 GMT

Jerry Manas has a great post for project managers: Project Success Criteria: What to Measure. In this insightful post Jerry outlines 5+ items that are critical to track during a project to determine true project success. These items are in addition to typical project metrics like budget, schedule, scope, so you'll want to read the entire post to get the context and all details on the thoughts in this excerpt:

1) Client Satisfaction (on an ongoing basis, not just at the end of our project when it's too late for course corrections)

2) Employee Satisfaction (this gives us insite into the culture we're promoting. A good list is to use the 12 questions Gallup has determined that employees ask themselves to determine their satisfaction level, as noted by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in First Break All the Rules. Then, management can be measured by how their employees answer those questions.)

3) Outcomes (progress on current milestone deliverables and interim results as they are delivered ---even if some outcomes can't be measured until the project is technically over. This focuses on the work completed and its tie to real value -- not just time being ticked off on a clock. Also it's best to measure a team's success against those outcomes as opposed to individuals---or their respective departments---and their discrete objectives. This promotes a team atmosphere in which all collaborate toward common goals.)

Read the rest: http://www.pmthink.com/2008/04/project-success-criteria-what-to.htm

I enjoyed this post because it forced me to think beyond the traditional PM processes and look deeper into what "project success" really means. Is it a project delivered on time, within budget? One that leaves the customer with a smile and feelings of satisfation? Or is it all of this and more? I think so. Jerry's asking for opinions on his post so feel free to engage and interact with one of project management's better bloggers!

posted by Raven Young at Raven's Brain under Project Management
Technorati tags: Metrics, Project Management, Project Teams, Project Success