PMcrunch

Yes, I asked if YOU are agile…because I think agile project management starts with the individual…and then the team…and then the organization…  Let me explain my thinking…

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A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with a colleague, and I told him that “we were getting pretty close to ready” with our upgraded and substantially overahauled web site. He replied that it’s common wisdom and good practice among some of the most successful entrepreneurs to go when you’re 85% of the way there. I know exactly what he meant…and I agree. But, as usual, in practice it depends on a number of details…leading to my project Lessons Learned.

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I’ll get to coach in just a sec… First, have you read the recent article “The Path to PM Mastery” on Gantthead? It acknowledges that there are differences – major ones – among all of us folks that are PMs in one way or another. I hate to rate myself according to the PM mastery hierarchy specified – I’m afraid I might embarrass myself – but I will say that I see elements in myself up and down the scale…but not all clearly at one point. My guess is that you might, also. But I think there is an element missing in there. ..and that’s where my coach comes in.

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One of the most profound and ubiquitous management concepts over the past 30 years is “systems thinking”. Systems thinking is all around us. One example is that project management has in essence been “systematized” by the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide!

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Project Management, Six Sigma, Business Analysis, and ITIL all provide domain frameworks, all have associated business certifications, all live largely in the ‘business’ versus technical realm, and all have a strong process orientation. But what does that mean to business professionals and organizations? Here are some thoughts on implications based upon the ITIL framework.

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What do Six Sigma, ITIL, and Project Management have in common? These three disciplines all have associated business certifications, living largely in the ‘business’ versus technical realm, and all relate in some way to processes. But how can these disciplines relate to one another in such a way that greater value is created for the individual as well as the organization?

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Whenever you need to introduce a new service, which typically is intended to take the form of a process, you need to create a project. This is much like building a bridge, setting up a new bank brankch, or implementing an IT project. There is an idea for a project end state, and the project is getting to that end state. All of this is particularly applicable to IT projects.

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Often it is hard to decide to what to do first, or what to do next. In fact, in my experience, it is often easier to make such decisions on large projects than smaller projects. The Theory of Constraints is a neat concept that can help.

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“Performance metrics” is an especially popular topic in management today. The idea is to try to measure everything by some sort of metric that gives a true picture of our degree of success or effectiveness. But like many management techniques, it is subject to misuse. Here are my suggestions for identifying relevant metrics and using them effectively.

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“Performance metrics” is an especially popular topic in management today. The idea is to try to measure everything by some sort of metric that gives a true picture of our degree of success or effectiveness. But like many management techniques, it is subject to misuse. Here are my suggestions for identifying relevant metrics and using them effectively.

[Read more →]