Archive for February, 2010

The Critical Path Week Ending February 28

– February 28, 2010Posted in: Project Management

Due to working crazy off hours in preparation for my v1.0 launch, I not only forgot to do a week in review on the 20th, I also missed meeting my writing commitment on the 24th and 25th. Whatever the excuses, I was feeling a little burned out. I have to remember this is a marathon and not a sprint. Writing a daily blog takes a lot of discipline. Though I have so much to say, it can escape me if I don’t get the idea captured quickly. Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s almost March. At least there should be viewer posts about snow removal.

2/26/2010

Putting Things In Perspective

I had mild chest and shoulder pains this morning. I am in the ER waiting to see the doctor. I’ll let you know the outcome and my status shortly…

2/23/2010

Satisfying Needed Scope Versus Wants

There are many templates and means to ensure your project meets the requirements. But I can’t stress enough how important it is to ensure you’re working to satisfy the requirements (or scope) first…

2/22/2010

The Hateful Cycle of Apathy Hits a Nerve

Have you ever stuck your neck out and get no support? Did the trust among that team start to break down? I’ve seen it happen first hand and Geoff Crane wrote an awesome post over at Papercut Edge about it…

2/21/2010

How To Prevent Your Project From Hemorrhaging

This post is in response to a post written by Jennifer Bedell on the PMStudent blog about goldplating. Goldplating is very common in application development and can be very expensive…

2/20/2010

How Owners Managers and Leaders Differ

I was asked a very interesting question today, requiring me to stop and think. How do I believe being an entrepreneur and a business owner differ? It’s a very good question because…

2/19/2010

What You Need Is Some Kaizen

While sitting in a governance meeting the other day, I heard how (before I joined the team) a vendor brought in some high paid six sigma black belts to…

2/18/2010

How to Thank a Managed Camel

I was informed I am the winner of the very first Freedom of Speech February (FOSF) giveaway from How to Manage a Camel. My comments last week on a blog post by Gary Holmes earned me a free copy of the Method123 Project Management Methodology (MPMM™) Professional from their partners at Method123…

2/17/2010

Creeping Ever So Closer To Closure

As my startup project is creeping ever so closer to its closure and the actual launch of the product happens, I’m feverishly completing activities late into the night. It’s not easy working crazy hours to get this done. My family goes to bed, I drink a pot of coffee, and get to work…

2/16/2010

Interesting PMI Perspective On Claiming PDUs

…Based on the telephone conversation I had, if you’ve worked as a PM for at least 6 months, you can claim 5 PDUs. Otherwise, if you are able to say you spend more than 1,500 hours per calendar year in that roll, you also qualify to claim the 5 PDUs…

2/15/2010

Getting Exactly What You Want

I just wrapped up a week long logo design project at 99Designs, with an intellectual property transfer agreement. Flash back to August 2009, when I was watching Episode 13 of This Week in Startups…

Putting Things In Perspective

Derek Huether

– February 26, 2010Posted in: Project Management

The last few weeks I’ve been focusing on numerous things. I’ve been working 3-4 hours a night, preparing to launch a product to the Project Management community. I’ve been writing at least one blog post every day. I engage my client for at least 8 hours a day. Lastly, I’ve been reading a lot more blogs, in the hope to understand the perspective of others. That’s just the work list! Time I get to spend with family is limited to a brief few hours a night and on the weekends. I thought I had figured it out. Sleep less, drink more coffee, work harder, engage more.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I love this roller-coaster I’m currently on. Yesterday the roller-coaster stopped, at least momentarily. I received an email from my work counterpart yesterday morning.

I had mild chest and shoulder pains this morning. I am in the ER waiting to see the doctor. I’ll let you know the outcome and my status shortly.

I can’t remember a time when I stopped and just thought what would happen if we lost her. I’m not saying that in a selfish way, in relation to the program. She’s what Seth Godin would define as a linchpin. Though yes, she is a very passionate and intelligent leader. I mean personally. This is someone’s daughter, someone’s wife, and many a someone’s friend.

I don’t think my vantage point has changed. I’m still as stubborn as I was 2 days ago. I’m just as determined to sleep less, drink more coffee, work harder and engage more. But, it really did make me take pause, put things in perspective, and appreciate the people I interact with.

Your life is like a project. It is a temporary endeavor.

Popularity: 1%

Tags: Perspective, Seth Godin

Satisfying Needed Scope Versus Wants

Derek Huether

– February 23, 2010Posted in: Project Management

What is the definition of Requirements Traceability Matrix? It’s a table that links requirements to their origin and traces them throughout the project life cycle. Not everyone uses them. There are many templates and means to ensure your project meets the requirements. But I can’t stress enough how important it is to ensure you’re working to satisfy the requirements (or scope) first. I reviewed a vendor’s progress report today and realized the very last task they had on their activity list was requirement mapping. When asked why it was the last item on their list, their response was the activity wasn’t on the critical path. So, how on Earth were they going to know they were done, if they didn’t map the requirements first? Here they are, at the end of a development cycle, and we’re being told the requirement mapping activity is just basically a clerical process.

Imagine the frustration I suffered, knowing all too well they may have missed something. Imagine how expensive it could be, to fix at the end versus the beginning of the development cycle? I’m not saying the vendor didn’t do a lot of work or deliver a lot of product. Unfortunately, they spent way too much time satisfying the daily wants of a stakeholder and took their focus off the needs of satisfying project requirements in the process.

What do you think? I’m a being too much of a control freak?

Popularity: 4%

Tags: Activity, Needs, Requirements, Scope, Wants

The Hateful Cycle of Apathy Hits a Nerve

Derek Huether

– February 22, 2010Posted in: Project Management

The post hit a nerve with me. At my previous engagement, the Engineering Department was used to being railroaded by management. Promises were always made on their behalf and they found themselves working long hours and weekends. If they didn’t make the goals, those who made the promises would never take ownership. If goals were miraculously accomplished, the same person(s) would jump into the spotlight. After I was brought on board, I didn’t have a problem looking a Director or CIO right in the eye and telling them I disagreed with them. Sometimes they backed down and sometimes they didn’t. But everyone at that company knew I was honest and would speak up if I didn’t agree with something. Everyone knew I was looking out for my people, my department, and my company. I believe positive change rolls up hill, just as sh*t rolls down. Though I’m no longer with that team, I have no regrets for backing them up and providing support when they needed it most. Those who bullied so many are no longer there either. Though there was an attempt to silence my voice by decapitating my team, others in the organization saw through the ruse.

I think sticking your neck out is worth the risk. If I think you’re right, I’ll support you. By doing that, I build trust with my teams. With trust, my teams will do anything for me. With that, anything is possible. What can I say, everyone is happy but the party you had to confront in the first place. Yep, it’s certainly worth it.

Thank you Geoff for getting me fired up. Now go check out his site!

image courtesy of Papercut Edge

Popularity: 1%

Tags: Apathy, Engineering, Papercut, Risk, Support, Team, Trust

How To Prevent Your Project From Hemorrhaging

Derek Huether

– February 21, 2010Posted in: Application Development

This post is in response to a post written by Jennifer Bedell on the PMStudent blog about goldplating.

Goldplating is very common in application development and can be very expensive. If you’re dealing with Waterfall, it’s a little more obvious when it’s happening. Some may argue, but I’ve seen it happen in Agile as well. I’ve sat across the table from a vendor and asked, are you prepared to roll back every one of these changes? Their eyes get big because why wouldn’t the client want these changes? Well, too many times a developer is in the code and they think, while here, why not make this additional change we planned to do next month. Or, now that I’m here, it makes a lot more sense if I do it like this versus what we originally thought.

In short, Jennifer wrote about goldplating caused by testers. She asked

why is it always the developers who get blamed for goldplating? When you consider the cost of change increases as the project timeline progresses, it becomes evident that, in addition to increasing scope, goldplating by a developer can also be costly. Goldplating by a tester can occur when a tester goes beyond the stated requirements in an effort to produce a “quality” product. A tester may feel that their suggestion would improve the customer experience so they log this in the defect log. While their suggestion may do exactly what they envisioned, if it was not within the scope of the stated requirements, it becomes a form of goldplating or “feature creep”. A tester’s job is to ensure that a quality product is delivered, but many testers rely on their own definition of quality rather than using the requirements to define quality…

I’ve seen team members at every stage of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) attempt to goldplate, with the best of intentions. Regardless of where you are in your development process, any time there is a requested change to the baseline, there should be a control mechanism. I call that mechanism a triage. Be it the customer or a customer representative (Project Manager, Product Owner, or BA), someone needs to vet anything and everything which could impact the baseline. These changes need to be prioritized and reviewed. I’m not saying changes should not be made. I’m saying they need to be properly vetted. Changes impact the schedule, the budget, and in the end…customer satisfaction.

Without this control point, I think you’re guaranteed to see creep somewhere in your project and you will see it begin to bleed time, money, or both.

Yes, we certainly want to deliver the greatest value to the customer. But, creep increases risk and that’s not value.

Am I just a control freak or do you agree with me?

Popularity: 1%

Tags: Creep, Goldplating, Quality, Risk, Scope, SDLC, Triage