Project Management
Let’s start this by saying that if you are truly complicated, or at least if you think you are, it means that you might generate a lot of problems but war is something that you don’t do. So, it’s not that bad! Have you ever heard someone that […]
Every profession has their myths and things that are accepted as true, and the Agile and project management world is pervasive with all sorts of them. Here we will look at a few things in Agile that may be accepted by some to be an established fact within […]
If you are interested in getting your Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) or Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) designation, now may be the time to do it. Temporarily, due to concerns related to COVID-19, the Scrum Alliance and certified training providers are allowing these classes to be taken online. If […]
(E) Existence Needs: The basic needs to meet the minimum level of existence (R) Relatedness Needs: Social and family needs, the need to feel loved and belong somewhere (G) Growth Needs: The need to produce something useful; to be creative or engage in meaningful tasks The ERG Theory […]
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias (See Controlling Your Personal Bias) where you are essentially blinded by your own perception of your abilities. In summary, the Dunning-Kruger effect simply means that you don’t know what you don’t know, so you may believe that you know more than you […]
In 1960, Douglas MacGregor, a student of Abraham Maslow, introduced the management concept of Theory X and Theory Y (Rice University, N.D.). They are essentially different approaches to management. Within the XY Theory of management, employees are believed to fit within one of two distinct and opposing groups […]
Abraham Maslow first developed the idea of a hierarchy of needs in 1943 (Cherry, 2018). The purpose of the hierarchy was to show what motivated people and when that motivation would occur. As the needs are met on the lower levels of the pyramid model, people are motivated […]
Orientation Trust Building Goal Definition Commitment Planning Implementation Reassess and Renew Most people have some familiarity with Tuckman’s Model – 5 Stages of Team Development. It’s simple and easy to understand, but it may not show the whole story and sometimes it is nice to have a bit of […]
You have a big project coming up that seems like it may take months or even years to complete. You know generally what you want, but you aren’t quite sure yet how to get there. The path seems long, complex, and things may change along the way as […]
One of the reasons user stories are used over a traditional requirements list is that they can become part of a persona for the users of the end product of the project. It helps the project manager, developers, and other members of the project and other stakeholders view […]
Is there room for a Project Manager in Agile? Agile on its own does not define any roles. Scrum Master and Product Owner are Scrum roles, not Agile roles. Even within Scrum, duties often considered Project Manager duties still need to occur (Who is the Project Manager in […]
Lean identifies several areas that cause or create inefficient systems. Originally part of the Toyota Production System, these inefficiencies are classified into three distinct groups. Muda: Waste (See 8 Types of Muda Waste in Lean) Mura: Irregularity Muri: Overburden These Lean inefficiencies apply to Agile and are just as […]
I hated Agile once. Some days I still do. What do you call a project with two-week development increments and then a release of a potentially done product? If you said Agile (or Scrum), you are missing some of the most important parts of Agile. Where is the […]
User story creation should not be a difficult process. You may encounter the occasional “what do I do here?” situations, but generally, the process should be fairly easy as long as you have the right people helping with understanding the requirements. At times through your project or product […]
You don’t need to have iterative and incremental development practices, or even a project, to be Agile. Don’t focus on what the Agile frameworks say, focus on what is the best way. Iterative and incremental don’t always make sense – Agile doesn’t actually require iterative and incremental. Even […]
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