Project Management

Continuing our dive into project estimating, let’s talk about two more problem areas: dependencies and project creep. These two can turn your pristine project plan into a tangled mess. No matter the size or scope of your project – whether you have just a few dependencies or tight integration with multiple systems – you’ll be […]

Estimating is a precarious business – part science, a lot of guesswork, and a bit of psychic magic! The goal is to forecast the effort, time, and cost of a project with enough accuracy to avoid disaster. Project managers use some go-to methods to estimate projects. Some approaches are scientific while others are based on […]

“Double, double toil and trouble,” is a line repeated by the witches in Macbeth as they lay out the ominous prophecies of greatness and dire consequences for the titular character. Macbeth’s ambition envisions a perfect ending though desperate actions and moral weakness ruin it. So too are the misguided actions in pursuit of perfection which […]

In 1968, psychiatrist Stephen Karpman modeled what he called the Drama Triangle. With this, he illustrated dysfunctional mindsets that can derail social interactions. The three roles defined in this model are the rescuer (hero), persecutor (villain), and victim. This is another view of the lies we tell ourselves. Since the dawn of history, we’ve loved […]

Agile is a Cliché, a widely used Phrase in today’s Industrial timeline. Evey Organisation, Group, Team wants to be Agile. But is it adopted in the name only??? Agile frameworks hold such promise. From focusing on value driven delivery to empowered investors or stakeholders, it is the time to be part of enthusing Software development. […]

Do you ever wish you had more time to focus on strategic thinking, to wrap your arms around a long-term vision, instead of spending your days drowning in administrative tasks? Digging deep into your idea factory takes time and energy, and a never-ending cycle of burn reports, meetings, and timecard approvals can drain both – […]

Quality innovation is not for the weak at heart! Innovation myths may have you thinking it is for the lucky or the extremely talented – that’s not true. Pablo Picasso said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” Thomas Edison quipped, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls […]

We’ve all heard of servant leadership. The concept of “being a servant” to your teams and treating employees as critical individuals to be cultivated and empowered, has strong merit. However, many organizations fall short, with those at the top of the hierarchy viewing employees as interchangeable cogs in the corporate machine. Instead of diving deep […]

A top-leading bank, grappling with business and regulatory challenges, faced scrutiny after failing the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test. Addressing these deficiencies required a comprehensive approach, leading to the establishment of critical programs like the US Bank Holding Company (BHC) regulatory and comprehensive capital analysis and review (CCAR) program. To bolster its capabilities and ensure […]

A powerful, forward-thinking exercise used in project risk management, the project premortem exercise preemptively addresses risks, and helps prevent costly disasters. It ensures that your project stays on track and minimizes the chances of failure. During a premortem the project team collectively imagines that the project has already failed. Instead of waiting for actual failure, […]

If you were to pop open any social media platform or news app right now and scroll through a couple dozen posts, you’ll easily get the feeling that everything is #%&$ falling apart. Everyone is mad at something. We now use the term “doomscrolling.” In the past we had Yellow Journalism and we are there […]

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is the final stage before launching new functionality.  What should be an exciting time can turn to frustration and exhaustion.  Over the years, I have found tactics that can improve the UAT outcome. UAT involves key business stakeholders validating the system prior to go-live.  My background is primarily around website and […]