In This Issue:
From the Editor
Geof Lory gives us A Few Closing Words
Featured Templates:
Yes, But HOW Will We Do It?
Let Your Fingers Do the Talking
Oh, That's What Opportunity Looks Like?
Why Don't We Try Hiding Their Chairs?
Agile Corner:
Building a Data Warehouse in an Agile Manner
When Cutting Clients Isn't an Option...
Project Practitioners Blog
Where's ProjectConnections?
- Iowa and Japan!
Corporate Subscriptions
From the Editor
In most newsletters, it's traditional to start the year with an article or three about our New Year's resolutions, our goals and aspirations, and where we want to be a year from now. Quite often we do that too; it's an easy set piece to fall back on at a time when none of us really wants to think too hard.
But, for better or worse, there's very little that's traditional or easy about the transition to 2009. Most of us are facing a year full of challenges and changes we hadn't expected, and there's a large swath of the business world that isn't at all where they wanted to be a year ago. It'd be a lot easier to just crawl back into our vacations (for those who got them) and tread water for another month, but that's not a realistic option. So for this issue, we're going to borrow a different set piece instead: Taking charge and moving ahead with life and work even when it's hard and we'd rather be on a tropical beach.
Columnist Geof Lory kicks off the year by resolving to watch his words and coach his team members to do the same. Several of our bloggers have offered ideas to help individuals and organizations survive challenging economic times. And the resources we've chosen to highlight this week talk about taking on new tasks, or trying new approaches. Let's take a fresh approach to the New Year; accepting and dealing with reality doesn't have to mean surrender to the same old set piece.
Featured Article
A Few Closing Words, by Geof Lory
I am a big believer in the power of words and in fact receive a daily dose from A.Word.A.Day to keep my vocabulary challenged and fresh. What I find most interesting about words is how they can be used to optimally express my true intent when communicating. The more specific the word, the more specific the meaning, which hopefully better expresses intent. I find that it is easy to get lazy with the use of certain words that, over time, program beliefs and behaviors we might not consciously choose.
While it may be true that many words are colloquially used interchangeably, I contend that the subtle differences in the undertones or implicit meanings of words set a framework for our actions and values. And when it comes to programming our core system, our operating system, we can't be too careful with the quality of our code. Read more »
Featured Templates
NEW – Yes, But HOW Will We Do It? – Plan Development: Creating a Project Plan Document – SPECIALThis Premium resource is free to registered Members until January 20
We all know that planning will be more important than ever this year, but planning is more than just creating a schedule. A good project plan is a broad management summary document that explains not just when the project team will start and finish things, but also what the team will do (and not do), and how they will meet those goals. It includes things like how the team will manage the work, and how many people with what kinds of skills will be required to pull it off. This guideline explains how to create that kind of plan. Whether you're launching a new project or reviewing your existing ones to make sure all the bases are covered, this is a great resource to help you assess where you really are.
Let Your Fingers Do the Talking – PM Support Website Requirements Checklist – PREMIUM
With so many organizations in straightened circumstances, building a virtual project management resource has become a high priority for many. Here's how one multi-site company went about putting together a list of critical success factors for the website resource they wanted, to insure not only that it would have all the features they wanted, but also that the features they really needed would be developed first. When you line it all up, you might be surprised what your project managers are really craving.
Oh, That's What Opportunity Looks Like? – Ways to Gain Career-Enhancing PM Skills and Experience – SPECIAL
This Premium resource is free to registered Members until January 20
You're probably doing more with less. You may be worried about getting it all done, or even about being there to do it at all. Or you may be chomping at the bit to take on the extra responsibilities that are available for someone willing to take the lead these days. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, there are things you can do to make your project management resume look more appealing now, instead of ten years from now. This guideline suggests several ways you can accelerate skill development and experience by taking stock of your current skills, assessing your options and choices, and developing a personal plan to pursue them.
Why Don't We Try Hiding Their Chairs? – Agile Techniques: Stand-Up Meetings – PREMIUM
Trying to get the energy flowing again? Rearranging the furniture might be fun, but it would probably take too much time. Consider borrowing this technique from agile project teams as a stand-in (so to speak) that only requires ten minutes a day. This guideline explains how to get team members into the habit of keeping each other in the loop without spending hours every week in endless, agonizing status meetings. It's geared toward agile teams, of course, but is there a project team out there—agile or otherwise—that couldn't use better collaboration and cooperation?
Speaking of Agile...
Agile Corner
NEW – Building a Data Warehouse in an Agile Manner – MEMBERData warehousing, or Business Intelligence applications, are becoming increasingly important to organizations as they seek to be able to utilize all of the information generated by their business to make better decisions. The general consensus is that data warehouse development requires a great deal of design work up front, and could never be delivered in an agile manner. This paper contains some advice on how to counter the general consensus, based on experience with a real-world project. Being agile—whether on a data warehousing project or a typical development project—is really all about focusing on the right things and doing them in the most efficient means possible.
When Cutting Clients Isn't an Option – How do I deal with late Agile projects?
Sometimes projects are late even agile projects. On really bad days it might be tempting to consider a customer revamp, but generally speaking it's the project that we need to adjust. Project managers in traditional environments have the iron triangle to wiggle around. What about PMs on agile projects? Brandon Carlson discusses the options in this blog post from December.
Project Practitioners Blog
Our bloggers for the last month have been anything but pensive -- driven is probably closer to the mark. If you've been following our blog for a bit you've probably noticed that the comments feature hiccupped during December. We've got a work-around up now (let us know if it stops working), and our bloggers have been contributing some very valuable insights you'll want to consider and discuss.Lisa DiTullio has read the headlines, and she sees opportunity for project and portfolio managers.
New blogger Sinikka Waugh suggests ways we can build our own crystal ball for our projects.
Laura Erkeneff predicts business trends in 2009, Ann Drinkwater considers the forecast for portfolio management, and Niel Nickolaisen suggests a sea change in how we measure progress.
Where's ProjectConnections?
Kent McDonald will be speaking at the John Deere PM Forum on January 28. Plus, he's already knee-deep in plans for the Central Iowa IIBA's Business Analyst Development Day (BADD) 2009 in May.Kimberly Wiefling is back in Japan this month kicking off another series of the Global Leadership Program.
Corporate Subscriptions and Licensing
Want your team members to have their own access to templates and how-to resources for their project work? Need to share documents and deliverables beyond your project team? We make it easier with affordable corporate subscriptions and licensing. Detailed information regarding corporate options is available online. Give your whole team, or even the entire organization, cost-effective access to our comprehensive online library of resources. You already know how helpful it's been for you. Now it's time to share with everyone else. Find out more »Not sure if corporate terms apply to you? Check out our licensing terms at the top of our Terms of Service page, in refreshingly ordinary, everyday English.