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Category Archives: Project Management
The PMI-ACP agile quiz – a critique
I took the Program Management Institute (PMI) Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) survey to assess my knowledge of agile this morning. I was prompted to check into it after having attended a PMI session called: “Why PMI-ACP Certification is Red Hot…and … Continue reading
Posted in Agile, Certification, PMI, Project Management
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PMI-ACP Certification – hot or not?
I attended a PMI session this week called “Why PMI-ACP Certification is Red Hot…and How You Already Qualify to Receive It.” It’s rare that I attend user group meetings in my home town, as I have been traveling for projects … Continue reading
Posted in Agile, Certification, PMI, Project Management
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Prioritizing vs. Sequencing the Product Backlog
A primary tenet of agile software development is doing the highest business-value work earlier. The idea is that you achieve a minimal marketable feature set as early as possible so that a) you can issue releases earlier and b) if … Continue reading
Posted in Agile, Product Management, Project Management
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The case against iteration based re-estimation
Many agile practitioners recommend re-estimating stories at the beginning of each iteration. I disagree with this practice. For one thing, I believe it’s a waste of time. Any value that you might get (which I doubt – see below) from … Continue reading
Posted in Agile, Project Management
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Task breakdown – To do or not to do
I’ve had this conversation with agile folks over the years. It’s about task breakdown. This is not entirely fair, but I’ll say it anyway: I consider it one of the “thou shalt” approaches of agile by the numbers… or by … Continue reading
Posted in Agile, Project Management
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97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know
The book “97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know” has just been published. I have two contributions: “Use a wiki” and “It’s the People Stupid”. Get 30% off by entering the code ABF09 on the oreilly.com site.
Posted in Books, Project Management
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Iteration Length
What’s the right iteration length? In Scrum, the recommendation is to start with thirty calendar days. From the Schwaber/Beetle book: section 3.6.3 Sprint Mechanics: “Sprints last for 30 calendar days” and “thirty days is an excellent compromise between competing pressures”. … Continue reading
Posted in Agile, Project Management, Scrum
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Non functional requirements – a tale of two cities
I’ve been thinking about non-functional requirements lately. Ilities, some might say. It occurred to me that there are two classes of non-functional requirements: those that are visible to the user and those that are hidden. Performance and usability are examples … Continue reading
Posted in Product Management, Project Management
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Peeling potatoes
I had an interesting conversation with an enlightened product manager recently. We love to converse in analogies, and a recent one surrounded the difficulty of completing the required scope of our release plan in the timeframe allotted. So, out sprung … Continue reading
Posted in Project Management
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Wanted: Software Development Leader
One thing led to another and there I was contemplating the job req for what I would look for in (and what I strive to be as) a software development leader. Experience:- Development experience – preferably within the last decade … Continue reading
Posted in Leadership, People Management, Project Management
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