Month: July 2010

Agile Project Management, Risk Management, Teams

Agile Adoption Anti-Patterns

Agile methods are powerful approaches that bring many benefits to how we undertake project work. However, they are not immune to misuse or failure. The following list of 5 common pitfalls are often seen in organizations switching to agile. “To be forewarned is to be forearmed” as they say, so look out for these pitfalls and if you see any developing, a side step can be useful to help avoid the mistakes of others. 1) Agile as a silver bullet – Yes, agile methods can save time, increase business buy-in, and create a high quality product, but they are no silver bullet. They will not bend space or time and allow you to deliver more work that is possible within […]

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Agile Project Management, Books, Leadership, Planning, Teams

Agile Communications

Why so much Communication?“We work with bits not atoms”. This phrase speaks to the distinction of IT projects from physical construction. Our tools and processes manipulate ideas, concepts, and models, not steel, concrete, or plastic. Given the intangible nature of software, it is no surprise we need more focus on communications, collaboration and information sharing to keep everyone informed and aligned towards a common goal. Agile methods recognize this increased need for communication and provide a variety of tools and checkpoints to help avoid the classic project mistakes of mismatched expectations and confusion. In the absence of a visible physical product to point at and measure, we need to be constantly confirming understandings and aligning ideas against increments of the […]

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Agile Project Management, Events, Weblogs

New Postings

I am posting my recent Gantthead articles here for those of you without Gantthead access. This is also a ploy on my part to keep some regular contributions coming to this site during the short Canadian summer while I am out enjoying the trail running and mountain biking prime time. Summers in the mountains here are just spectacular and every event and race in the high elevations is crammed into a short 2-3 month window. So, for now I will post my recent Gantthead articles to keep the content rolling. There are also some exciting developments at the PMI I am itching to tell you about, but am sworn to secrecy under a non-disclosure agreement for now, but stay tuned.

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Agile Project Management, Books, Events, Weblogs

PMBOK 5 – Rejected

Recently I volunteered to help write the PMBOK v5 Edition and encouraged other agile project managers to get involved in the initiative also. Well, last week I heard back that my application to serve on the PMBOK v5 Core Committee was not successful. The email explained that because they “…had received over 250 applications from a highly qualified group of candidates.  Unfortunately, we had more qualified candidates than available positions…” but I can’t help wondering if my “PMBOK v5 – Raise a Little Hell” post might have set off a couple of alarm bells with them too. Anyway, apparently they are still looking for people to work on the Content Committee and Review Committee so perhaps I will get a […]

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Agile Project Management, Books, Events, Weblogs

New “Agility Now!” Newsletter

As one door closes another one opens, and Gantthead.com the online project management portal and recourse site with >470,000 members, has launched an agile newsletter called “Agility Now!” and have asked me to help. I have been writing for them for a couple of years now as part of Doug DeCarlo’s eXtreme Project Management department and so was thrilled when they offered me the role. Each month the newsletter will contain new articles on agile project management and highlight agile blogs, tools, and events of interest to agile project managers. Fellow PMI Agile Community of Practice cohort Jesse Fewell will be contributing a regular “Agile People” article too and I am looking forward to seeing how it develops. To sign-up […]

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