A very common question that I see asked is: Should I make the transition from technical to management? Let’s talk about this. Why are you even asking the question? The answer is probably because you’re looking for a raise, or for career growth, and your company/peers/mentors/society is telling you that making this transition is the […]
or, The Art of Writing Requirements. When you are writing software for an end user, if you strip away all the fluff and bells and whistles, you are doing something very simple: You are solving a problem for someone. The heart of this issue is a simple concept: when you are writing software, what are […]
Why doesn’t the classic PMP process work with software? The official Program Management Body of Knowledge provides a well-defined process workflow for the initiation and execution of projects. At a very high level, the workflow is something like this: Define Scope -> Create WBS (deliverables list) -> Create Activity List -> Estimate Activity Durations -> […]
I think they are, when used properly. Many companies and organizations have wonderfully generic and blank mission statements. “We synergize technologies to provide innovative solutions!” Well, great. So does everyone else. But what do YOU do? A useful, good mission statement has to start at the top, and should be the driving strategic goal of […]
I realized after this last blog post I had more I wanted to say, mostly to clarify some points. In that last post, I discussed the differing management approaches of more strict project and task tracking (Type A), as opposed to a laissez faire approach where staff is communicated strategic goals and then given free […]
I know a lot of people like to tout Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) as the future, and have all these success stories. For those of you not in the know, ROWE is where there are no office hours or expectations of a 40-hour work week. Instead employees are given goals to meet and as […]
I distinctly remember a few years ago reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I recall that at about halfway through there’s a discussion on Quality. Specifically, the speaker asserts that Quality itself is not truly definable, and Quality is the breakpoint between rationality and…whatever the opposite of rationality is. One interesting thought experiment […]
“Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.” – Gen. Robert H. Barrow, USMC (Commandant of the Marine Corps) noted in 1980 Many of you have probably seen the movie Gladiator. A key point near the beginning of the movie is the Roman army, under the command of Maximus, defeats the Germanic horde in a brilliant […]
Knuggets of Knowledge 