Category: Project Management

Lean and Six Sigma are markedly different methodologies, but when combined, are a powerful business improvement practice. Lean is defined as: The removal of waste from a process(es) to increase efficiency and lower costs. A few examples of waste are: Wait time (slow computers, waiting on answers, waiting on purchase orders, et al). Movement of […]

According to the Major Projects Authority Annual Report 2015, Modern enterprises are currently faced with unprecedented levels of change which provides a constant threat to their success and, in many cases, survival. Greater ‘maturity’ in project and programme management is positively correlated to success in delivering the organization’s strategy and contributes to the speed of […]

Kanban provides a revolutionary — and simple — way to manage the most important job IT departments have: Maintaining existing applications. But to effectively manage software maintenance you first have to understand the fundamental difference between maintenance and development. Before I became an independent consultant, I was the head of the IT department for a […]

Experts say the ability to express yourself verbally often reaps influence. According to the Journal of Research in Personality, there is evidence that being an effective listener is also as important. Benefits of Effective Listening Prevents miscommunication Confirms understanding of the message Reduces frustration for the person ‘transmitting’ the message Gives access to others’ beliefs, […]

A participant in a critical thinking class I taught recently suggested a solution to a problem I’d posed to the group. “Let’s do a PMI analysis,” I suggested, expecting the class to be familiar with the tool. None were. The tool can be a very productive way to frame a discussion. What is a PMI […]