Max's MusingsShort articles I have assembled from time to time.
- Why Continuous Learning Is Vital for
Better Project Management By Anila Scott
- Lives are longer and so are careers that change more than once, to say nothing of how we do projects these days. That puts your project management in a constant learning mode - August 2023
- Common Misconceptions About Careers
In DevOps By Jackie Edwards
- DevOps involves working with advanced technologies, not just with "tools" that you buy off the counter. - August 2023
- In Search of Project Management Principles
By Nigel Blampied, Robert Buttrick,
George Jucan, Crispin Piney, Chris Stevens, David Violette,
and R. Max Wideman
- Seven experienced PMI project management members report on
their research to find rigid basic project management prineciples
that support and justify the practice of project management
- July 2023
- Using Your Startup Capital Wisely
By Clarence Wilkins
- Starting a new business or some similar financial venture,
but with limited capital? Then to proceed wisely take heed of
Clarence's advice - May 2023
- Project Management Learning Tips for Content
Marketing Managers By Odessa Powell
- xxx - May 2023
- Modern Leadership With Innovative Project
Managers By Aisha West
- A good leader can inspire all employees, help them achieve
their own and company goals, and create a positive work environment
where only good results are acceptable - April 2023
- Project Cost Inflation
- On longer term projects, inflation of project costs should
be included when estimating for well into the future -
April 2023
- Smaller Details Go a Long Way to a Successful
Job Interview
- Alex Smith of alex@serbinmedia.com observes
that, since Covid restrictions have been lifted, it is time for
steady employment. This reminded me of a short article by Angela
Civitella on the subject of self-presentation at a job interview.
Angela points to 7 Smaller Details you should focus on in your
next interview - May 2022
- How to Avoid Risk in Running Your Project
By Dennis Spangler
- According to Dennis Spangler there are five types of project
risk in particular that you should anticipate in running your
project - April 2022
- 10 Reasons Why Your Brain Hates Long Business
Meetings By David DiSalvo
- David DiSalvo has extracted 10 Reasons Why Your Brain Hates
Long Business Meetings and what you can do to make it happy -
March 2022
- Five Tips for Setting Project Priorities
- In some organizations, especially technology, there are more
project requests than the available staff canhandle, so a major
issue is which should take what priority. The worst case is when
that decision is left up to you. Jason at method123.com offers
five Questions to resolve this dilemma - February 2022
- PM Discussed on Harvard Business Review
- So the Project Management Economy Has Arrived!
- According to contributor Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, "The project
economy has arrive" — because his article has been published
in the Harvard Business Review printed magazine, complete
with an editorial from the magazine's chief editor! - January
2022
- Five Steps to Hiring the Right Staff
- The folks at method123.com recommend that you take the following
five steps to ensure that you find and hire the right staff for
the right roles - January 2022
- Our Ecological Footprint & Ultimate
Survival - An Alarming Atory of Fuzzy Numbers
- This story is about what each one of us consumes to survive
and enjoy life compared to what the earth is capable of providing.
That is, without decay or degradation as measured in terms of
our collective ecological footprints. The findings are not good,
only four in a list of 12 countries are self-supporting - December 2021
- Crossing to a Different Industry
- Is it possible to take your project management experience to
a different industry? The answer is "Yes, but —." Kiron Bondale
explains how - November 2021
- How to Make Things Happen & How
to Leave - 10 Quick To-Do Lists for Each
- Two separate pieces in this presentation provide excellebt check-lists
for (a) 10 ways to make things happen and (b) 10 ways
to leave your job gracefully. File them away somewhere for when
you need them! - October 2021
- The Biggest Project of All -
Revisited An Update of a June 2001 Musings
- Two decades later, we are in the middle of a covid-19 pandemic
with massive restrictions on our commersial and daily life activities.
I, at least, have learned four important lessons - see article
- September 2021
- How to Write a Motivation Letter to Your
Team - With a View to Getting Work Done By Lisa M. Shepherd
- Don't let your team get stuck and making no progress - send
a Motivation Letter to move things along. Lisa tells you how in
six easy steps - August 2021
- Common Delegation Pitfalls and How
to Avoid Them By Angela Civitella
- Delegating is the key to a successful project and what sets
bosses apart from true leaders. Angela points out eight top pitfalls
to avoid when delegating work to your team - July 2021
- A Quick Guide to Creating a Project Communication
Management Plan By George J. Newton
- Effective communication is essential for achieving a successful
project. George provides a quick guide to developing an effective
communication management plan providing clear guidelines to the
sharing of information across your project team and stakeholders
- June 2021
- Communication in Times of Lock Downs -
It Is More Than Just Turning On Your Camera
- In these endless days of covid‑19 lock downs, getting
teamwork done is a serious challenge. Virtual meetings are a whole
new experience. Extracts from co‑authors, Karin Reed and
Joe Allen's new book Suddenly Virtual - Making Remote Meetings
Work will give you a good start - May 2021
- Five Things Hiring Managers Expect
- But Won't Necessarily Tell You By Angela Civitella
- Looking for a job? Angela offers five pieces of homework advice
before you go and talk to anyone - April 2021
- Challenges of the New World of Isolated
Work - Eight Ways to Stand Out By Angela Civitella
- Angela promotes focus, direction, strength, power, and fearlessness
in the continued quest for personal excellence. Here she gives
correspondingly excellent advice on working from home - March
2021
- Asset Delivery Methodology Spectrum
- A light hearted explanation of Dr. Paul Giammalvo's important
ADMS chart (with no definition of terms for the uninitiated) and
the obvious question: Do you want your project to succeed by design
or by accident? - February 2021
- Managing with No Assigned Project Budget
- Wait! Don't type another business email until you read this.
Whether it is to your boss, your client, a business colleague,
your professor, or job interview recruiter, all need to reflect
your capability, clarity, and professionalism - January 2021
- How to Write a Professional-Looking Email
- 7 Rules for Professional Emails in English
By Annemarie Fowler
- Wait! Don't type another business email until you read this.
Whether it is to your boss, your client, a business colleague,
your professor, or job interview recruiter, all need to reflect
your capability, clarity, and professionalism - December 2020
- How to Write an Effective PM Charter
By Molly Crockett
- Molly Crocket writes to remind us how to write an effectve project
management Charter, what it is, what it should include, and three
steps and tips for getting it done - November 2020
- How to Be an Empathetic Leader Without
Being a Pushover By Angela Civitella
- Angela says that now is not the time to rule with an iron fist
[but do be] likeable as a leader and offers five ways to do so.
On the other hand, Angela says, don't be a pushover either, and
suggests five ways to avoid being a doormat - October 2020
- Why Energy Is the Key to Time Management
- CSCE President's thoughts on managing your personal time and
offers 3 tips on finding solutions by looking in the right direction
for answers to your challenges - September 2020
- Writing an Effective Project Management
Charter
- Know the value of a good PM Charter, why you need one, what
it should include, and how to go about it, based on Molly Crocket's
Guide - July 2020
- What Is Culture and How Do You Handle
It?
- Learn about culture, especially how it relates to managing project
teams. In case you didn't know, culture refers to the social behavior
found in human societies, including their knowledge, beliefs,
customs, capabilities and habits of individuals especially when
working in groups - June 2020
- The Biggest Project of All (That Never
Got Started)
- A lesson from nature, another from childhood, what it means
to mankind, and PMI project managers' attempts to launch an awareness
campaign. Now we currently have a world-wide death-causing pandemic
teaching us the same lesson - May 2020
- How to Avoid These Top 10 Project
Management Mistakes
- The title says it all. The point is, what happens if you don't?
Read the article to find out - April 2020
- PMI History and Climate Change
- Thoughts on Climate Change by David Pells, and a call to action
by PMI Fellows from around the world - March 2020
- Cyber-Security: What Project Managers
Need to Know
- Creating a web site is a wonderful tool for facilitating project
communications. However, will you be transmitting confidential
information? Highly probably - yes, so give careful attention
to means for establishing cyber-security by heeding Ashley Halsey's
advice - February 2020
- Humor and Leadership by author Drew Tarvin
- Drew says that humor is really a Missing Skill for encouraging
Success and Happiness at work - January 2020
- Asking Powerful Questions and Listening!
- Yes, really! This is how you get project stakeholders on side!
As Sharon Lechter observes, "You must get it right if you
intend to get in your customer or prospective customer's shoes",
an essential part of a project manager's job - December 2019
- Making Meetings More Effective - Part 2
- If meetings are normally boring, J. Elise Keith presents Five
Ways to Make Meetings Effective. As she explains, to be effective,
each meeting needs to engage the individual talents of the people
involved - November 2019
- Making Meetings More Effective - Part 1
- As an attendee of many meetings, I've often thought that an
awful lot of valuable time is wasted. Author David DiSilvo provides
ten reasons why many meetings are so boring and ineffective -
October 2019
- More on Program Management & Matrix
Organizations by Dan Pedersen
- Following our discussion of the reality of Matrix organizations
last month, Dan goes on to high-light three significant problem
areas in typical Program Management setups and what can be done
about it - September 2019
- Dan Pedersen on Program Management &
Matrix Organizations
- In a recent Email, Dan asks how a discussion of the reality
of Matrix organizations got missed in the development of the PMBOK.
Max tries to answer that question, and coincidentally questions
the validity of the expression "PM" - August 2019
- The Project Manager's Environment
— A LinkedIn Discussion circa December 2013
- A LinkedIn discussion, and recent update, reveals the lack of
consideration for the bigger picture by PMs when working on an
individual project. Then, how that may affect the selection of
methodology applied - July 2019
- Differentiating the Management
of Different Types of Projects
- For the benefit of large numbers of people who are doing the
job of a project manager without realizing it, I draw attention
to the need to distinguish between managing the project and managing
the work that goes into creating the project's deliverable. It
is this latter that distinguishes one project type from another.
My observations conclude with a handy little table that lists
the essential differences - May 2019
- Project Management - A Look into the Future
- I make yet another attempt to see what changes the future holds
for project management. Not least of which are an increase in
the number of specialties, more project effort carried out independently,
and a legal framework for offering project management services
- April 2019
- Sound Advice
- In rummaging through my archives, I came across a couple of
short pieces that seemed to deserve the light of day. The first
part answers the question: What are the characteristics of
your ideal project sponsor? The second part lists 15 items
that characterize what consititutes Good email etiquette,
and WHEN YOU DON'T HIT THE SEND BUTTON - March 2019
- A Look Back at the Original (PMBOK)
Framework - Part 2
- Like last month, this Musings looks back some 30 years to compare
our current view of the project management environment and our
expectation back then. Note that we are referring here to the
social working environment of project management rather than the
physical, save-the-planet type, environment. This Musings points
to some useful gains, some serious "off the rails", and a surprising
suggestion. Read it together with our Paper: PMBOK
- Part 2, The Framework Rationale - January 2019
- A Look Back at the Original PMBOK
- It is typically a valuable exercise to look back over the years
to examine how you got to where you are today. Similarly, this
month we draw some comparisons between our project management
expectations of over 30 years ago, and compare that with
where we are today. Please read this musings in conjunction with
our paper: PMBOK
Revisited - December 2018
- Accurate Forecasting of the Future
- This is a surprisingly accurate description of today's general
working environment that was forecasted back in 1974, nearly half
a century ago. If they could do it, then so can you today - November 2018
- The Meaning of Project Success —
Translated
- A case for not including the responibility
for sustainability of a product into the hands of the project
manager. That is the product manager's job - October 2018
- Project: A Simple Park Stairway: Demolition
& Final Accounting — A Case Study Account of an Actual Simple
Project - Part 3
- Remember the "Simple Stairway" built by a resident
but replace by the City that we reported on last March? Well,
we now have the details of the project - September 2018
- Fuzzy Language Anyone? A Lesson in Bafflegab
- For people who really do want to talk in riddles, here is a
quick lesson in Fluent Jargonspeak.
Just think of any three-digit number and then select the corresponding
buzzword from each of the three columns in the table provided.
Very useful for anyone engaged in a politicized work place! -
August 2018
- The Political Dangers of Large
Projects — and why don't we do something about it?
- Owning part of a large project through the taxes we pay is one
thing, but the politics surrounding their creation when undertaken
by government is quite another. In short, everyone wants a piece
of the action, regardless of cost and schedule - July 2018
- Eight Actions to be an Exceptional
Listener - by Stacey Hanke
- Project Communications Management, or variant versions thereof,
is an area of study amongst standards, but is often given short
shrift. As for listening, there is barely a mention. Yet listening
is a completely different bodily function that is just as important
and requires just as much careful attention and learning. In this
short article, Stacey contributes eight valuable listening insights
- May 2018
- Project: A Simple Stairway to, Well,
More Trouble — A Case Study Postscript of an Actual Simple
Project - Part 2
- Remember the Simple Stairway project
we reported last September? Well, that was not the end of the
story. The Mayor of Toronto got involved, and the City dismantled
the homemade stairs and built their own - but not without recrimination
- March 2018
- Conveying Bad News on Your Project
- Surprisingly, I have not dealt with this topic before, but this
Musings covers the best advice I can find. But you can find related
and more useful information by using the Search Engine on this
web site. In particular, this article: Conveying
Bad News on your project - Febuary 2018
- Optimizing Project Administration
in this Digital Age — Are You Doing Enough?
- This article is adapted from Xerox Canada guest column, circa
July2017, and offers Five Suggestions as to how to find out, based
on the findings of a Digitization at Work report by Xerox - January 2018
- The 10 Rules of Holiday Party Etiquette
- A timely reminder of appropriate etiquette at formal Christmas
business parties — and an opportunity to wish all our Musings
readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - December 2017
- The Way of the Leader — Greatness
is Not Found under a Rock
- You want to be a great project management leader? In this Musings,
Marianne Clyde shows the way. As she observes: "[We need] leaders
that think for themselves, leaders who can validate one's right
to an opinion while holding a conflicting or opposing belief.
This is the kind of thinking that can lead to compromise and solutions
- December 2017
- Training Your Brian to Handle Your Work
- Today,the pace of information delivery is overwhelming to our
brains that have not adapted to cope. As a result, we become easily
fatigued and more forgetful. Lisa Evans recommends four significant
steps to ease the load and enable you to perform more effectively
- November 2017
- How Big is Your Project? Interesting LinkedIn
Responses
- Have you ever asked this question? If so, what answers did you
get? Here are a variety of responses found on the Internet. But
perhaps you asked the wrong question! - October 2017
- Project: A Simple Stairway to, Well,
Trouble — A Case Study Account of an Actual Simple Project
- Project management written by yours truly, with tongue in cheek
- September 2017. Now more to follow, see March
2018.
- Going from Public to Private Project
Management
- These are two very different working environments because the
inherent purposes are very different. That can make you feel very
uncomfortable until you accept a different slant on project objectives.
The remedy? Only accept assignments relevant to your new environment
- August 2017
- Sustainability in Project Management: Darya's
Daydreams
- In case anyone may not have noticed, I hold strong views about
the relevance of "sustainability" in the context of
project management, and its relationship to the population at
large. My friend Darya Duma set out to put me straight in a piece
she chose to call Darya Duma's Daydreams - June 2017
- Praxis! Really, What's That?
- A newcomer in project management standards. A framework that
encompasses three groups of five interconnected elements ranging
from knowledge content to practical experience from the pm community.
All free! - May 2017
- Another Accolade for maxwideman.com
- Rob Bronson writes to say: "It has been a few years since
I've used your website. It is like returning to an old friend.
... maxwideman.com is like an elixir. I can find the information
I need on Project Management ..." - April 2017
- The Waterfall Technique
- An educational exchange from a LinkedIn discussion on a process
that is much maligned in the IT world - March 2017
- The Importance of Reading Body Language:
And What it Means to Project Teams
- This Musings describes how to read both positive and negative
body language and hence how much valuable information may be lost
in virtual team communications compared to face-to-face meetings
- February 2017
- Issue: Is a Project a Process?
- Where do projects come from, why are they complex and how do
management processes fit together? We conclude that a project
in itself is a process, though a process is not necessarily a
project - January 2017
- More on Project Management Hierarchies
- Hierarchies seem to pop up everywhere. Here the focus is on
those inside the domain of project management, especially those
that should help us to develop project management further - November 2016
- Green Project Management
- If there is one thing to get us worked up, that is any discussion
of "green" project management. Read here what Max thinks
about it, and who he thinks is really responsible - October 2016
- Communication Failure means Project Failure
- How so? Getting a project to its objective requires work. Work
requires people. They must know what to do. That requires a plan
that is communicated. If poorly communicated, no project success
- September 2016
- ISO and Program Management — A Challenging
Standard
- What ISO is, does and why – in brief. Similarly, a realistic
definition of Program Management and why it is difficult to tie
it down into a standard - August 2016
- Crossing the Sector Expertise Chasm
- So you want to take your project management skills to another
industry? Kiron Bondale presents some warnings and advice while
Max does a reality check - July 2016
- Getting into Project Management —
An Answer to a Visitor's Inquiry
- So you want to become a project manager? Max Wideman offers
his advice and recommendations - Febuary 2016
- Project Governance — What's all the
fuss about?
- Let's get serious: The implications of "governance"
in the project domain is not that difficult to follow, nor is
it that new. But the detail does differ with the level of application.
Read this Musing for the what, who and how of "governance"
in project management - January 2016
- Word Hierarchies in Project Management
— Part 2
- Starting with the intriguing Data-Wisdom hierarchy, we offer
another six such relationships that help to put project management
parts into their place - December 2015
- Word Hierarchies in Project Management
- It's all a matter of opinion based on individual experience
— Part 1
- In developing a project paper or report, ever wondered about
the next size up or down? Perhaps the most significant is from
project to portfolio management. See the full scale and other
comments in this Musings - November 2015
- Sustainable Project Management Practices
in Construction
- What does this mean? Is this a realistic idea and, if so, under
what circumstances? Our thoughts on the issue - October 2015
- A Wonderful Testimonial
- My appreciation for an unsolicited applause spanning the last
25 years, received by Email from a follower - August 2015
- Bridging the Business/Project Divide
- There are two generally accepted approaches to management within
organizations today. The oldest is characterized as "Business-As-Usual"
and the other is "Project Management". As most of us
well know, the two are not exactly compatible. Author John Brinkworth
describes the viewpoint of each and the effects of the resulting
"Divide". We add our own views from our own experiences
- July 2015
- Review of Project Success - How Soon
and What Do You Measure?
- Simple questions difficult to answer. But the subject is much
larger than these questions suggest. Read more to learn more -
June 2015
- How Do Project Risks Impact Programs and
Portfolios?
- The risk assessment of multiple related projects is not that
simple. Here's why. Executives beware! - March 2015
- Challenged by the Word "Scope"? - Part 2
- This month I really do get to grips with the meanings of "scope",
"project scope" and "product scope" and conclude
that people do not have to slavishly follow "official"
glossaries — provided they say what they mean before they
speak or write - February 2015
- Challenged by the Word "Scope"? - Part 1
- I try to answer a reader's question about the meaning of "scope"
and find myself questioning whether we should even have an "official"
glossary of terms and consequently issue a warning to all PM authors!
- January 2015
- PMOs Challenge: Achieving Project Process
Compliance
- Some advice with which we disagree. The PMO is not a ruler,
it is a leader through providing a management service - December 2014
- Implementing a Standard Project Management
Methodology: Part 3
Thoughts on an Interesting Discussion
- Larry sees some of Max's suggestions differently. For example,
the project life span is not the project, it is the project that
travels through the required life span. When does a project start?
Well, it's before the Business Case. And more ... - November 2014
- Implementing a Standard Project Management
Methodology: Part 2
Thoughts on an Interesting Discussion
- Encouraged by Larry's responses, Max suggests other lessons
such as: Not everyone understands the word "project"
the same way; even "project management" is seen differently;
and when does a "project" actually start? We seem to
have a problem with labeling terms - October 2014
- Implementing a Standard Project Management
Methodology: Part 1
Thoughts on an Interesting Discussion
- Following a lengthy but interesting discussion on LinkedIn on
the merits of settling on a standardize PM methodology, Max invites
one of the participants, Larry Moore, to describe what he learned
from the discussion - September 2014
- Is it Time to Scrap Project Status Reports?
- Danielle Smallwood explains and maybe she is right! We need
a new perspective. How about "Project Expectation Report"?
- August 2014
- What is Project Success?
- Talking about "success" without qualification is fruitless,
and practitioners should know better. By what measure, and from
whose perspective, should be established at the outset of any
conversation as described in this Musing - July 2014
- How Do Corporate Hiring Practices Affect
You?
- Further thoughts by Jim Brosseau on project manager hiring practices,
and by Luis Alarcon on the glacial pace towards implementing more
progressive employee-hiring techniques in the engineering and
construction industry (see Motivate
Your Project Team) - June 2014
- What Was Your Last Salary?
- An unnerving question early in an interview. What does it mean
and how do you handle it? Simple. You ask the questions and let
the inteviewer answer. Liz Ryan elaborates on this theme, although
Max begs to differ somewhat - May 2014
- Knowing your People: Loyalty, Value and
Coercion
- We asked the author of our Guest paper: Know
Your People to describe his experience and got his thoughts
comparing the value of a "good worker" with that of
machinery, robotics, automation and technology - April 2014
- The Origins of the Project Management
Body of Knowledge
- We call it "PMBOK". How and when did it start and
why is it different from ordinary Operations Management? - March
2014
- Do PMP Boot Camp Classes Help Pass the
Exam?
- According to one LinkedIn group, they think that this is not
the best approach - February 2014
- Are Project Management Guides Useful?
- An interesting LinkedIn discussion on the relative merits between
a Pocket Guide [giving a brief high-level summary on] ISO 21500
Guidance on project management and PMI's PMBOK Guides - January
2014
- Reinventing the Project Management
Wheel
- Why do we keep doing this? It should not be so. Every effort
should be made to build on the work that has been done in the
past. We provide a number of key examples. Note to researchers:
It's called "lessons learned" - December 2013
- Project Management in Lehmann's Terms
A Q&A session with Oliver Lehmann
- Oliver Lehmann lives in Germany, across the Atlantic from us.
His perspectives and our rejoinders display different views -
November 2013
- Should Team Members Show Appreciation
to Their Leader?
- In attempting to answer this question, the discussion contributors
not only summarize what you already know but probably do not do,
but also add things you may not have thought of. Either way, as
a leader, do not necessarily expect expressions of gratitude -
October 2013
- More Powerful Than Just Listening
- If only 7% of a total message is conveyed by words, how can
we read the rest of the non-verbal message. Read up on a number
of our typical inadvertent western signals - September 2013
- Motivating Your Project Team
- What do you mean by "motivation"? Enthusiasm, gusto,
zest? There's much more to turning on a project team! - August
2013
- Do We Have Enough Innovative Projects?
- Terry Jones is the innovative baby boomer that transformed the
U.S. travel industry by creating Travelocity in 1996. He
offers 4 definite steps to get from ideas to execution - July
2013
- How Critical is the WBS to Project Scheduling?
- And what is a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) anyway? We set
out to answer these questions by working through the logic starting
from a real understanding of "project" - June 2013
- The Power of Definitions
- If you want to be understood, using the right words is essential.
But even then, do your readers or listeners really understand
your technical terms? Always define your special
terms before you start! - May 2013
- Having Trouble with the Latest PM Lingo?
- This is not surprising because the acronyms are getting progressively
more obscure. We have a proposal to make many of them more self-evident,
based on recent developments - April 2013
- Project Management Issues for Discussion
and Research
- The title says it all. Here are twenty suggestions. If you just
want an argument, try defining project management success! - March
2013
- Thoughts on a Global System for
Categorizing Projects:
Have we really learned anything new?
- Have we really not learned in the past 25 years that managing
the project is not the same as managing the technology and that
it is the latter that is different for different project categories
and not project management? - February 2013
- Good Advice from an Experienced Project
Manager
- How popular music helped to resolve conflict with a difficult
sponsor by being determined - January 2013
- Is Max's Scope-Pak Project Planning
Serious?
- An avid reader, Al Johnsons, questions the sincerity of Max's
Scope-Pak exercise for getting a project going. Max explains how
it is serious and when - November 2012
- Out of WACC
- LinkedIn is an excellent way of finding people you may not know
but wish to contact anyway. Extraordinary conversations can result.
This one is about Weighted Average Cost of Capital or
"WACC" as applied to projects - October 2012
- Project View of Bank Robbery
- Even bank robberies need to be properly project managed, and
the successful ones usually are, even though the benefits are
questionable! - September 2012
- Showering, Window Washing and Brick
Walls
- How to manage the project is well established. This is a lesson
in managing the technology, and knowing the difference - August
2012
- Measuring and Estimating Progress
- We borrow from Joseph Heagney's book Fundamentals
of Project Management reviewed this month in our Papers
to target "Brain work versus Brawn work" and the added
challenges of estimating progress in the IT industry - July 2012
- Using the Right Vocabulary
- Need to Communicate? Then choose the Right Vocabulary! It so
happens that we have just released the Wideman
Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms v.5.5. This
Musing's Appendix A lists the most
recent labels added - June 2012
- Be Honest About Failure - "Call a Spade
a Spade"!
- Use failure as a strategy? Doesn't sound like a good idea –
unless you choose to redefine "failure". In "Agile" it seems you
can, if you accept the risk - May 2012
- Project Requirements Documents -
Why Bother?
- Max questions current thinking about requirements gathering
and has his own suggestions on what to focus on - April 2012
- The Trouble with Continuous Multi-tasking
- Max entertains three authors to talk about multi-tasking and
why it is so difficulty to get things done. The authors offer
eight helpful suggestions and conclude that "How we choose to
allocate time to our tasks determines what we are able to get
done." - March 2012
- Sightings of Lessons Learned
- A collection of experiences and what we might, or might not,
learn from them - February 2012
- Defining Project Success within a Range
- In most cases, absolute success is bound to be a failure because
the ultimate is bound to take longer. In most cases, it is better
to get near enough and deliver. How close is "near enough"? Consider
adopting Tom Mochal's concept of success tolerances - January
2012
- Back to PM Basics in Education
- Max suggests it is time to get back to project basics and clearly
establish that management is both an art and a science. He explains
why and the practical implications - November 2011
- AACE's Significant Shift in Intellectual
Property Policy
- Authors now retain intellectual property ownership to their
contributions to AACE's publications. But could they do more?
- October 2011
- A Lesson Learned in Project Management:
Transportation Charges
- The importance of knowing exactly what you are buying - October
2011
- Literature Sightings
- Max takes aim at Bud Baker's quote that "[Project] people want
to be with [project] people" as well as writers who talk about
"project success" without explaining what it means in their context
- September 2011
- PMP Lecturers need Real Experience
on Real Projects
- "To teach a practical subject you must have practical experience
in it" so said an eminent UK civil engineer. Should this not also
apply in project management? - August 2011
- Yes Minister - A Lesson for Project
Managers?
- This hilarious BBC-TV series has serious overtones for project
managers - December 2010
- Beware These Common Estimating
Errors
- Tom Mochal of TenStep highlights eight sources of estimating
errors that you should consciously avoid, especially in IT, with
a footnote from Max's experience - November 2010
- When Does a Project Really Start
and Finish?
- Tom Mochal of TenStep fame poses the question and provides a
variety of answers. Then Max expresses his opinion - October 2010
- Why is Good Project Decision-Making
So Difficult?
- Project management involves a complex sequence of decision-making,
and our batting average is apparently not good. Perhaps because
of so many biases—there are just so many of them - September 2010
- Buckets versus Pipelines
- Are you a "bucket carrier" or a "pipeline builder"? Learn how
rich people get very rich - August 2010
- Selling to the Top
- Valuable information for aspiring program managers - if only
you could understand the jargon - July 2010
- Cockup Management
- A new project management discipline, a new field of study, a
new body of knowledge! Settle down to a comfortable read about
the CUMBOK - June 2010
- That Dam Case Study Again
- In their project planning, those dam construction beavers overlooked
one important stakeholder - the Regulatory Authority! But the
Authority went after the land owner and not the perpetrators.
Read how the issue was resolved - May 2010
- Other People's Washing
- Steve Jenkin, Australia, advocates for "skin in the game" which
implies that project managers should have some personal financial
responsibility for their projects. Good idea or not? - April 2010
- Estimating Corporate Man-hours and the
Place of Emails
- A conversation with my friend Tom Mochal of TenStep on the issue
of lost productivity due to Email interruptions and who should
pay: the project or corporate administration? - March 2010
- School Projects: A New Vision
of Education
- The Wideman Education Foundation (WEF) introduces high school
students to project management, and author Jeremy Schneider shows
how these pm techniques could improve efficiency and effectiveness
in education - February 2010
- Managing Small Change Requests -
An Alternative Process
- A stream of changes on a project, especially small ones, can
be a serious disruption to organized planning and scope control.
Tom Mochal suggests three ways of coping and Max points to the
downsides - January 2010
- 30 Ways to Avoid being Fired
- More suggestions, albeit tongue-in-cheek - December 2009
- So You've Been Fired!
- Be ready and "recession-proof" yourself. Fifteen tips
on how to do that - November 2009
- Must You Be an Alpha to Be a Good Project
Manager?
- What is an "alpha", what is a "good project manager" and what
you can do about either - October 2009
- Scheduling: Examining the Start to
Finish Relationship
- Norris Goff argues for a more accurate definition in the PMBOK®
Guide - Fourth Edition. We agree - September 2009
- Information Technology: Management and
Oversight of Projects Totaling Billions of Dollars Need Attention
- US Government Accountability Office director reports: in 2008,
42% of 840 projects worth $23.4 billion (36% of $65 billion
annual budget) were poorly planned based on cost, schedule, performance
or other issues. But, we think, recommends the wrong solution
- August 2009
- The Most Important Senior Project Manager
Characteristics
- Have you ever wondered what best makes a senior project manager?
You'd be surprised - July 2009
- Our Way with Numbers in Life Cycles and
Percentage Progress
- A humorous look at the reality of how we look at our personal
life cycles compared to project life spans - June 2009
- Is Your Project At Risk From the "Economic
Downturn"?
- The chances are that it is, not just from the loss of key workers
but also from the loss of the critical information that they may
take with them - May 2009
- On Institutions, Collaboration and
Projects
- Ed Fern's personal story demonstrates how the Internet has revolutionized
virtual project collaboration, and provides a valuable lesson
- April 2009
- Comments on Professionalism and Professions
- Steve Jenkin likes to define "Professional" as "Paid Practitioner"
and draws on aviation and health care to explain why - March 2009
- Comments on "The Top 10 Ways Software Projects
are Different"
- Steve Jenkin, a Systems and Design Specialist, reflects on James
Bullock's piece: The Top 10 Ways Software Projects are Different
and offers a different perspective - February 2009
- The Effects of Institutionalization
- History demonstrates how institutionalization can stifle project
management progress - January 2009
- Study Demonstrates Cultural Differences
- Does the North American culture inhibit communication in multicultural
teams? - December 2008
- Top Ten Trends in Project Management
for 2008
- We found ESI International's 2008 top ten PM trends, as presented
by Diane Johnson, most interesting — but we didn't always concur
- November 2008
- Corporate Governance and Project Teamwork
- Peter Halas's amusing allegory of body management shows how
confrontation in IT can quickly get out of control - October 2008
- About PMOs and their Responsibilities
- We list 10 critical questions about Portfolio Management Offices,
and ask for your response - September 2008
- Going Green: Is Your Project a Part
of the Great Con Game?
- Many so-called "green" ideas are just good housekeeping as demonstrated
by aphids. But are people just climbing on the latest bandwagon
and making a killing – literally?! We provide some examples -
August 2008
- The Curse of Knowledge and Making Decisions
- How many buttons do you have on your TV remote and how many
of them do you understand? See how this relates to quality decision-making
and your current project! - July 2008
- The Value of Project Management
- We didn't exactly write this one. Instead, Tom Mochal allowed
us to quote a very simple and lucid description he wrote a few
months earlier. We just added our comments - June 2008
- Identifying a Client's Project Sponsor
- I try to answer a visitor's question: "How do you identify a
Client’s Sponsor, whether internal or external, when one is not
identified, is reluctant to come forward, or is unwilling to take
responsibility?" - May 2008
- A Little Bit of PMI History
- In a serious attempt at "decluttering", we came across
our own forecast for PMI, exactly two decades ago. Were we right?
You be the judge - April 2008
- Change in Project Method Sparks
Litigation
- New public transit line causes uninvited hardship to shopkeepers
- March 2008
- Old Wine in New Bottles?
- A PRE-mortem before a post-mortem? Sounds like project risk
management to us - February 2008
- Oil Industry Leadership and the Price of Gas
- Oil industry chiefs may be on the defensive, but the problem
is not that the price of oil is too high, but rather that it is
too low - January 2008
- Should Project Managers Retire?
- The place of elders in our community, respect for their knowledge
and wisdom and the data to wisdom hierarchy - December 2007
- Supercharged Brainstorming
- Five-step brainstorming may be the default approach, but now
you can supercharge your sessions with the Kishore Dharmarajan's
Eight-step INNOVATE approach - November 2007
- Scope Changes, Good or Bad?
- How constructive opportunities switch to destructive interventions
- October 2007
- The Duties of a Project Secretary
- A missing job description is explained - September 2007
- Managing Project Metrics
- A popular word these days, but what does it really mean and
which are most important? - August 2007
- Formatting Project Templates
- Why I provide "Issacons" and not Word templates for
standard forms (because I want you to think!) Instead,
I offer some helpful tips on formatting your own templates - July
2007
- Am I a Good Project Manager?
- A good question for any project manager to ask. This writer
obviously is - June 2007
- The Role of a Leader
- A recent email criticizing "leaders" generally, prompted
my thoughts about the project manager - May 2007
- Is the Project Manager's Job Really Any
Different?
- A site visitor asks us whether the project manager's job is
really any different from a line manager. We think it is - April
2007
- Estimating Task Durations
- Harvey Levine thinks it's like catching fish. It's anybody's
guess, but that's not good enough - March 2007
- Project Start Date
- When does a project really start? Well apparently, it all depends
. . . - February 2007
- Career Change Decision: To Be or Not
To Be a Project Manger?
- Our thoughts on this tantalizing question - January 2007
- Planning and Construction - Dam Case Study
- A light-hearted case study from the environment somewhere in
Ontario - December 2006
- Projects to Green Vancouver
- Bicycles versus cars in greening Vancouver, BC - November 2006
- Is Sustainable Development an Oxymoron?
- A tongue-in-cheek look at the implications of sustainable development
in our local area of Vancouver, BC, and the real problem facing
the world's environment - October 2006
- Taking Over an Existing Project: Things
You Can Do
- Some useful tips - September 2006
- A Lesson in Simplicity - Case Study
- It's fun to poke fun at management but these examples are not
so far from reality, just not all on the same project as this
is - August 2006
- PMBOK® Guide 2004 and PRINCE2™
2005 Compared
- This month's Guest paper by Colin Bentley comparing PRINCE2™
(UK) and the PMBOK® Guide (US) is a major contribution to
this web site. We couldn't help adding our own comments on the
merits and shortcomings of both documents - July 2006
- Contract Selection for Infrastructure
versus Software/Hardware
- We try to answer two more questions raised by readers: How do
you outsource management of multiple contracts? and How do you
create a contract template for software/hardware installation
and training services? - June 2006
- Virtual Management and Cost
or Time to Projects
- We try to answer two questions raised by readers: Can a project
manager manage a project remotely? and How much time should a
project manager be allocating to a project? - May 2006
- What is the Answer When You Don't Know the
Question? (aka Fiscal Budgeting for Project Portfolios)
- Each fiscal year organizations involved in IT project portfolios
face a conundrum: how many projects can they undertake and how
much will each cost for budgeting purposes when all they have
is need statements. We present some ideas - April 2006
- "Groupthink", Good or Bad?
- A reader expresses his difficulty over dealing with groupthink
and seeks our opinion - March 2006
- The Way to Get Ahead
- We reflect on how a thirteen-year-old prediction by Dr. Martin
Barnes has come true that project management would explode into
the corporate business world - February 2006
- Project Vision: Yes or No?
- Does your project have a vision? A vision that everyone in your
team is familiar with, inspired by, and focused on? What is a
"vision" anyway? - January 2006
- Process Groups and the Profession - Part
II
- In spite of people's claims, this article explains why project
management is a long way from being recognized as a true profession
- December 2005
- Process Groups and the Profession - Part
I
- A persuasive argument for changing the labels of the so-called
project management process groups, a plea to stop perpetuating
further confusion! - November 2005
- Project Management: An Ever-Changing Flux
of Messy Situations?
- My observations on serious research by two authors who compare
"hard" and "soft" systems perspectives of
project management - October 2005
- Best Practice: The Holy Grail of Project
Management, or Fallacious Argument?
- "Best Practice" is touted as the benchmark by which
your project should be judged, but how reliable is it really?
- September 2005
- Methodologies: A Metaphor
- Just another word for design of project life span? Much more
important than that! Jason Charvat writes a whole book on Project
Management Methodologies - August 2005
- Project Management as a Professional Career
- Is project management really for you? Some helpful suggestions
on this all-important question in response to an email inquiry
- July 2005
- Fixing Bad Projects
- Four main causes of failure and six practices designed to fix
the underlying causes for large projects in deep trouble - June
2005
- Do Trade Show Exhibits Count as Projects?
- My views prompted by one of a steady stream of inquiries. Some
projects are only projects if you decide to make them so and manage
them as such - May 2005
- Value Proposition: Real Value or Muddled
Math?
- Some time ago we received a beguiling sales pitch that did not
bear close examination. Nevertheless, it did raise important issues
about the asset values of the products we produce from our projects
- April 2005
- Jellyfish and Tadpoles
- A somewhat irreverent look at two serious PM diagrams, and a
short lesson on the metamorphic life of a tadpole - March 2005
- Micro Managing and Two Cans of Beer
- A fun object lesson in project management - February 2005
- PMBoK, Order and Six-Sigma
- The Project Management Institute's Body of Knowledge has eight
management specialist areas. Have you ever considered their logical
sequence? Todd Just raises the issue together with the merits
of six-sigma - January 2005
- A Question on Real-Life Contract
Closure
- Barbara White and Dr. David Frame exchange thoughts on problems
associated with closing a contract - December 2004
- Where Do Projects Come From?
- Kevin Lines of Queensland, Australia, asks about problem solving
and decision-making particularly associated with project selection
— and we try to answer it! - November 2004
- An Interesting Exchange on Managing Software
Development Projects
- Joe Marasco and Max Wideman discuss Key Success Indicators as
a vehicle for control of technically challenging projects such
as software development - September 2004
- An Exciting New Model of Project Management
- Who says project management never makes any progress? Joe Marasco
picks up on an article we wrote and publishes a ground-breaking
paper about modeling project management in IBM's premier software
magazine. This musing provides a brief overview - June 2004
- Projects, Politics and Process: Lesson
Learned? Large Projects and the 2010 Olympics
- A practical example of the importance of designing a sound project
life span and how not to start off a big project - May 2004
- Project Risk Management and Unexpected
Outcomes
- Much has been written about project risks, yet relatively little
seems to have been written about unexpected outcomes. Here is
an actual example - April 2004
- Those Sexy Triangles Again
- A revisit to Triangles, Sex and Simplicity.
This time I demonstrate the problem with graphics and, at last,
have found the perfect solution! - March 2004
- The Voyage of Discovery Project
- A personal example of why a traditional project management approach
doesn't work - February 2004
- The Top 10 Ways Software Projects are
Different
- James Bullock's thoughtful comments arose out of a question
posed to the NewGrange discussion list; Max responds - January
2004
- Triangles, Sex and Simplicity
- Quality should be the reason to bury that wretched triangle
once and for all in favor of a square, but we rather doubt it
will - December 2003
- Learning from NASA
- Every project should have adequate contingency or risk management
funds in its budget but this is the antithesis of general management
practice - November 2003
- A Question of Attitude
- Given the aggressive competition between project management
consultants, "inventing" new project management techniques should
not come as a surprise - October 2003
- Project Lessons Learned?
- Twelve years after Desert Storm it seems pertinent to ask: Was
it really such a success? And what lessons have we really learned
from it? - September 2003
- Project Management as a Profession: Lost
Vision, Take-over or New Direction?
- A decade has passed since "The O&M Study" was presented to the
Project Management Institute. Much has changed since then. The
question is: Is it for the better? You decide. - August 2003
- Two into One Won't Go
- Fresh water supply is a problem, and so are big water supply
projects - December 2002
- The Case for a Software Architect's
Profession
- The number of software projects outstrips those in construction,
yet results are disappointing. Is it the fault of project management
or of technology management? - January 2003
- Defining Requirements
- Maybe we should start rethinking our systems approach to project
management and begin presenting a better methodology - October
2002
- Satisfying Requirements (software project
managers beware!)
- Three short anecdotes to give software leaders pause for thought
- November 2002
- Consensus versus Consent
- How does a team reach agreement on contentious issues? - September
2002
- What Does a PM Do?
- You would think that by now the answer is well established,
but apparently not - August 2002
- What's in a Name?
- Considering the vital part that projects play in our modern
society today, you would have thought that by now a clear definition
would have emerged - June 2002 (updated)
- Project Management, PMBoK and Order
- It seems that the thoughtful observations of Philip Nunn some
fifteen years ago constitute a concept too erudite to be given
serious consideration - even today - February 2002 (updated)
- A New Project Management Standard?
- Rumor has it that work has started on an update of PMBoK to
be published in 2005 - December 2001 (updated)
- Why We Added a Site Map - and Why It Is
the Way It Is
- Our web site now contains a considerable amount of useful reference
material. The time had come for some sort of indexing, but on
what basis? - October 2002
- September Eleven: All Else Pales by
Comparison
- After all the pontification is over we must ask ourselves the
serious question of what to do? - August 2002
- When is a Project Not a Project?
- How many projects are there that, for the team members, are
not projects at all, but just regular operational routine? - July
2002
- Will They Never Learn?
- Not that we have anything against five phases but we believe
the most fundamental principle behind project management is two
periods - October 2001
- Is Project Teamwork Overblown?
- By all means develop a project plan but the object of the exercise
is not to hold a tea party but to get an item of work delivered!
- September 2001
- Licensing Project Managers: Good or
Bad Idea?
- The subject of licensing or certification of project managers
warrants much discussion - August 2001
- Ethics and Sustainable Development Initiatives
in Construction
- What can we do given our current "political-correctness"
constraints - June 2001
- The Biggest Project of All
- Now that the short-lived dust has settled over the demise of
the Kyoto Accord we can say that it should have come as no surprise
to anyone - June 2001
- A Case for Risk Management
- A gaping hole suddenly appeared and continued to enlarge for
several days; arguably the worst civil engineering disaster in
the UK in the last quarter century - May 2001
- Standards for Very Large Projects
- IPMA and PMI have adopted different standards; which do you
use? - April 2001
- Real Progress
- Our title could be referring to progress in any field, but we
are focusing here on real progress in the understanding of the
PM discipline - March 2001
- Is the WBS War About to Break Out Again?
- Should a Work Breakdown Structure decomposition be in terms
of the activities of the project or of its deliverables? - December
2000
- Is the Approach to Scientific Development
Appropriate for Project Management?
- A position paper that I presented to the Education Track of
the Project Management Institute - 1994
- Project Life Cycle – One Size
Fits All
- What PLC is appropriate? Can they be standardized? And is there
one that fits all projects? - October 2000
- People, Work and Projects Around the
World
- For those of us who enjoy a 'western' life style wherever we
may live, we should be thankful - and mindful of the excessive
waste we create - September 2000
- Practice versus Theory
- What is the origin of project management and where is its theoretical
foundation? - July 2000
- Getting Top Management on Side
- Project management is found in almost all industries, but this
expansion has not come without its difficulties - June 2000
- Communication: The Project Life Blood
- Without people nothing gets done and without communication nobody
knows what to do - May 2000
- What Price Professionalism?
- Apparently, a well-known project management association has
seen fit to sue some of its own most productive members - February 2000
- Major PM Associations Contemplate Licensing
of Project Managers
- Exactly thirty years ago I wrote this article but upon reviewing
its content recently I might just as well have been writing today.
- Critical Questions from an Overseas Web-site
Visitor
- Q&A with an overseas visitor to our web site - January 2000
- Professional Associations and the Balance
of Power
- There is strength in numbers. Associations and not-for-profit
associations are formed by groups seeking to gain support for
their particular practices by collective action - August 2000
- Project Management Globalization
– Two Points of View?
- Only freedom of intellectual thought and expression will benefit
professional advancement and enable technical progress to be made
- March 2000
- On Project Success and Failure
- Lessons learned, starting as a small boy - February 2001
- Project Management for the New Millennium
- Project management is a discipline. There is a lot of work to
be done before we can call ourselves a profession - January 2000
- Risk: Failure or Opportunity?
- A classic project failure that became a huge success, lasting
for centuries - December 1999
- Lacking in Principles?
- Disagreement and disarray in project management. What is needed
is a set of basic project management principles providing a universal
reference baseline - November 1999
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