Problem Solving and Shared Leadership

Problem Solving and Shared Leadership

In the previous blog I described how the numbers of the Enneagram are the sequence in which humans would naturally solve problems.  As an engineering manager, when I was challenged to address some large structural problems like the type I described in the first blog of this series, I looked to the Enneagram to provide [...]

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Problem Solving and the Enneagram

Problem Solving and the Enneagram

In the previous blog, I provided you with a link to a blog about a problem-solving tool that I am describing in detail on the SD Forum Engineering Leadership SIG (ELSIG) blog site: http://sdforumelsig.blogspot.com/search?q=matt+schlegel
And, while you will find the steps of that problem-solving approach in the ELSIG blog, I include them here for your reference:
 
 
1. [...]

A Book about Problem Solving

A Book about Problem Solving

I am writing a book. I plan to finish writing this book by the end of March 2010, and  plan to publish it by the end of March 2011. Those are my big goals.  The book is about solving problems, and not just any problem, but solving a specific class of problems. It is the [...]

Project Processes Part III - The tangled web of dependencies

Project Processes Part III – The tangled web of dependencies

Can the perfect process weather the perfect storm ?
In the first two parts of this series we saw what the mechanics are of introducing processes and how processes can be tailored to your project(s). So now you’ve got the perfect process, but you’re still not meeting timelines or quality and performance objectives ! Why ? More often [...]

Project Processes Part II - Choosing the right process for your project

Project Processes Part II – Choosing the right process for your project

I’ve seen too many examples of good process initiatives that went wrong because there just wasn’t a an effort to match the process with a project. Below are examples of process intiatives that went wrong -
1) Organization-wide processes that only work for certain project types. Would you use the same hammer or spanner for different DIY projects ? Probably not. It’s a good idea to [...]

Project Processes Part I - The mechanics

Project Processes Part I – The mechanics

The task of managing project processes usually falls upon the project management organization. This, in my opinion, is a good thing. The project leaders have the the ear of the management team, the trust of the project teams, and a unique cross-functional perspective.
I was once asked by the CTO of an engineering organization to help him design the “RIGHT” project process for his [...]

Project Management on Knowledge Management projects

Project Management on Knowledge Management projects

My first two guest posts were about the intersection of Knowledge Management and Project Management; in this post I would like to talk about what I think are some of the peculiarities of Knowledge Management projects.
For the most part Knowledge Management projects are just like any other projects, tasks have to be delineated, risk managed, [...]

Project Management and Knowledge Management, Part 2: After-Action Reviews as a Knowledge Management Activity

Project Management and Knowledge Management, Part 2: After-Action Reviews as a Knowledge Management Activity

In my first post about Project Management and Knowledge Management I spoke about Collaboration, in this second post I will talk about after-action reviews.
After-action review also known as a project snap-shot, lessons learned, or any number of other names is an important Knowledge Management activity to complete at the end of a project. They don’t [...]

Project Management and Knowledge Management, Part 1: Collaboration as a Knowledge Management Activity

Project Management and Knowledge Management, Part 1: Collaboration as a Knowledge Management Activity

When Loyal first asked me to guest post on this blog, I said sure without thinking about it too much, I knew that Project Management and Knowledge Management went together, that’s what I do after-all as part of any project I do. Then I thought how am I going to explain it and make [...]

A Tale of Three Cities - London, Toronto, and Redwood Shores

A Tale of Three Cities – London, Toronto, and Redwood Shores

It had all the earmarks of a disaster, a real career-sinker of a project. And here was my old friend and former colleague calling me up enthusiastically, on the phone: “Hey Lisa, we need a Technical Project Manager for this start-up I’m working for, in Redwood Shores… you’ll love the project and the team. It’s [...]

Sorry is not the final word, just the beginning

Sorry is not the final word, just the beginning

After years of managing online products and projects, you’d think it would become old hat… but never, not for this gal. There’s always something new to learn, and a different twist on old scenarios, if you’re open to them. People and team dynamics are endlessly fascinating, and you never know how it’s going to go [...]

Lead by Fear and Intimidation or Lead by Positive Motivation... - Your Choice

Lead by Fear and Intimidation or Lead by Positive Motivation… – Your Choice

As Project Managers, I’m sure we’ve all seen the kind of scenario where there is a project team member who is generally uncooperative or can’t seem to get the tasks done on time – and the different approaches you can take in order to solve this problem. You can take the dictatorial “Do as I [...]

So one muffin says to the other...

So one muffin says to the other…

I’d like to start things off in this posting with a joke I heard on the US Television show, Two and a Half Men. Now keep in mind that the show is full of gratuitous innuendo and juvenile comedy, much of it not easily translatable in (nor suitable for) the context of project management.  In [...]

LinkedIn (yawn) to the new PMBOK?

LinkedIn (yawn) to the new PMBOK?

Taking advantage of the social networks that we PMs have started to form on LinkedIn, I did some polling in early 2009 to gauge the interest level (see post below) in the brand-spanking-new PMBOK(R) Guide.
Using a completely non-scientific scale that I made up in 17.4 seconds, and asking the question on the larger LinkedIn Groups [...]

Identify your Stakeholders: by Heineken

Identify your Stakeholders: by Heineken

The new PMBOK(R) Guide has a new process called Identify Stakeholders.
As a person invloved with creating PMP(R) Exam study materials as well as developing and delivering PM courseware, I always want to keep my material up-to-date with the latest PMBOK(R) Guide.  Of course, this means searching for practical examples from organizations and real applications.  Sometimes, [...]

Challenges in Implementing Agile

Agile development methodologies put forth a set of guidelines for helping to navigate the complex world of software development.   For agile to be truly effective, it needs to be supported throughout the organization, and encourages reaching out to the customers.  In working with the agile projects at different companies, I found challenges in getting [...]

Quality Costs

While Ford announced that “Quality is Job One,” it is Toyota and Honda that continue to build the most reliable cars year after year.  Many, if not all, software companies want to build a quality product, few actually do build products that meet their own internal management quality expectation and external customer’s satisfaction.    The [...]

What’s Required of Requirement Management?

Good Requirement Management is perhaps the most important factor in many projects’ successes or failures.  Some research had mentioned that it can be as high as 65%.   Requirement specification greatly affects the scope of the project, which in turn affects the resource and time required.  In this blog, I will share my thoughts and [...]

Creating the Project Office

Participants in the UCSC Extension advanced course on the “Project Management Office” had ample opportunity to explore their environmental challenges, share questions with others, and prepare action plans on implementing a project office for organizational change.  They came with real questions and left with renewed understandings about the potential for anything from a Project Office [...]

Risk?  What Risk?

Risk? What Risk?

Every program manager has run into the same situation at some point in their career. You put together your program plan with lots of spreadsheets, Gantt charts, requirements documents, resource requirements, risk management plan, etc. You present the plan to management and everything goes reasonably well until you start to talk about risks and how [...]

Getting Teams Unstuck

B. W. Tuckman discovered that teams go through development stages beginning with the forming stage and ending with the adjourning stage. Just after a new team is formed it usually migrates into the “storming” stage where conflict develops over how it is going to reach its team goal, how its members are going to work together efficiently, and [...]