Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The paradoxical triangle
Scope/Features ... Time ... Budget
You preference for one has to come at the cost of the other two.
You preference for one has to come at the cost of the other two.
Friday, April 30, 2010
What is a project dashboard?
Project dashboard is a place where you keep *ALL* information related to a project. It provides complete transparency and ensures that everyone is on the same page.
It is okay to use emails where applicable, but you make sure that all communication becomes available on a project dashboard that is typically prepare specially for each client.
Some common features:
* contact list (names, titles, phone numbers, email)
* project list. For each active project:
=== detailed schedule (MS Project style; gantt chart)
=== links to all documents (including versions)
=== all communication (email, audio files, chat sessions, etc)
=== discussion forum (like a blog; you can read everything, comment on others' comments or pose new questions)
=== email notification that sends links to specific pages that require a certain action
=== action list / task management
=== bug reporting
* overall dashboard that displays red-yellow-green lights for all project phases
It is okay to use emails where applicable, but you make sure that all communication becomes available on a project dashboard that is typically prepare specially for each client.
Some common features:
* contact list (names, titles, phone numbers, email)
* project list. For each active project:
=== detailed schedule (MS Project style; gantt chart)
=== links to all documents (including versions)
=== all communication (email, audio files, chat sessions, etc)
=== discussion forum (like a blog; you can read everything, comment on others' comments or pose new questions)
=== email notification that sends links to specific pages that require a certain action
=== action list / task management
=== bug reporting
* overall dashboard that displays red-yellow-green lights for all project phases
How do you train your employees?
You could be a leader if:
You provide an extensive training to your people. They don't just learn by CBT (computer based training), or by reading a book. They get training.
You spend a lot of money by sending them to the best outside training centers. Then, when these people start working for you, they are paired with senior mentors who closely work them to make sure that they learn your internally developed best practices.
You are constantly checking these people as they go through the training program, and if they don't have the potential, you let them go. Harsh as it may sound, it's ultimately your success that feeds others, and not the fact that you exist.
This ensures that
* only the best people remain with you
* your people do not learn at your clients' expense
* you have a very high retention rate
* you pay them above the market rate
* you have established a reputation that you are the best place for someone to become an excellent developer.
You provide an extensive training to your people. They don't just learn by CBT (computer based training), or by reading a book. They get training.
You spend a lot of money by sending them to the best outside training centers. Then, when these people start working for you, they are paired with senior mentors who closely work them to make sure that they learn your internally developed best practices.
You are constantly checking these people as they go through the training program, and if they don't have the potential, you let them go. Harsh as it may sound, it's ultimately your success that feeds others, and not the fact that you exist.
This ensures that
* only the best people remain with you
* your people do not learn at your clients' expense
* you have a very high retention rate
* you pay them above the market rate
* you have established a reputation that you are the best place for someone to become an excellent developer.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Dissecting a project
Let's take a detailed look at the various elements that comprise of a project. We will rely upon the textbooks on this topic.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Quality versus Quantity
They say you cannot please two Gods; you cannot work for two masters; you cannot put blind faith in two different principles.
They are right. You cannot. Quality and Quantity are two such areas. In an extreme case, one boss (“quality”) tries to get you to do what is right, no matter the cost. If something is broken, fix it. Buy the best raw material, engage in the best (and often the most expensive) tools and produce something that passes the ultimate test in quality.
The other boss (“quantity”) is all about churning. Producing numbers and meeting with production goals. Something is a problem only if it halts the assembly line and deters us from the goal.
We all understand that our reality lies not at either of these extremes, but somewhere in between. It is a compromise. It is a decision that while we might be concerned about and watchful observers of one, we are actually fixated on the other. It is an internal decision, where our bosses are the shareholders, stakeholders and their elk. And for many companies out there, it is this internal decision that makes them who they are. It defines them. It brands them with this reality.
Everything else is just a façade.
I hope, and wish, that we would all do the right thing. I hope we find a way to please both the gods, and if there’s ever a conflict, I hope we find a way to do what’s right, no matter the cost!
They are right. You cannot. Quality and Quantity are two such areas. In an extreme case, one boss (“quality”) tries to get you to do what is right, no matter the cost. If something is broken, fix it. Buy the best raw material, engage in the best (and often the most expensive) tools and produce something that passes the ultimate test in quality.
The other boss (“quantity”) is all about churning. Producing numbers and meeting with production goals. Something is a problem only if it halts the assembly line and deters us from the goal.
We all understand that our reality lies not at either of these extremes, but somewhere in between. It is a compromise. It is a decision that while we might be concerned about and watchful observers of one, we are actually fixated on the other. It is an internal decision, where our bosses are the shareholders, stakeholders and their elk. And for many companies out there, it is this internal decision that makes them who they are. It defines them. It brands them with this reality.
Everything else is just a façade.
I hope, and wish, that we would all do the right thing. I hope we find a way to please both the gods, and if there’s ever a conflict, I hope we find a way to do what’s right, no matter the cost!
The First Post: Defining our Mission
In our training as Project Managers, we learn to fit everything into boxes where it could be labelled and explained. We often task ourselves to change things, looking for continuous improvement, total quality management, process re-engineering and many such mantras. We solve problems, and over time, learn to do so at break-neck speeds.
And since we often go at such warp speeds, we lose sight of where we are, and what it really is that we're trying to achieve. This blog is an attempt to share some thoughts, to hopefully get us to slow down, breathe deeply, and take a renewed look at the vistas around us. Life is not just about the destination; it's also about the journey.
With that aim, I hereby declare that this blog breaks one of the basic tenets of Project Management: we will be operating in an open, boundary-less environment, with no consideration for scope or charter.
Intrigued? Come along for the ride!
Welcome to the blog!
And since we often go at such warp speeds, we lose sight of where we are, and what it really is that we're trying to achieve. This blog is an attempt to share some thoughts, to hopefully get us to slow down, breathe deeply, and take a renewed look at the vistas around us. Life is not just about the destination; it's also about the journey.
With that aim, I hereby declare that this blog breaks one of the basic tenets of Project Management: we will be operating in an open, boundary-less environment, with no consideration for scope or charter.
Intrigued? Come along for the ride!
Welcome to the blog!
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