I'm coaching a very successful software company in Auckland on the finer points of Project Management. The 9 commandments that follow represent an accumulation of wisdom that has served me well over the years. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the matter.
- Begin with the end in mind
- Plan the flight... then fly the plan
- Pause for agreement and clarity before implementing
- Stay wedded to the outcome, not the path for getting there
- The worst time to define success is after it’s over
- Manage by result, not activity
- An active team is not necessarily a productive team
- Focus on Throughput
- Limit Work in Progress
- Learn to use teams to achieve results... not individuals.
- Compromise on scope not quality
- Define ‘quality’ upfront (e.g. verification criteria)
- Understand technical debt
- Learn to recognize an ‘interest’ payment from a ‘capital’ payment. (i.e. treat causes as well as effects)
- Escalate early and often (e.g. 2X2X2 Escalation)
- 2 minutes to explain the issue
- 2 minutes to describe options
- 2 minutes to make a decision on what to do next
- Continuous Course Correction
- Invest in short regular planning exercises.
- The act of planning is more valuable than the plan!
- Learn to surface impediments/blockers regularly
- Planning exercises are for planning the work not doing the work!
- Serve your team
- Enable your teams with clear decisions, clear priorities and lot’s of encouragement
- Double the rate of failure!
- Trust your experts
- Manage the context
- Maintain situational awareness outside of the team
- Make yourself aware of ALL the stakeholders
- Create an atmosphere that celebrates failure as a learning experience
- Communicate little bits of news often!
- DWYSYWDWYSYWDI
- Credibility is critical to building trust
- Do What You Said You Would Do When You Said You Would Do It .
- Retire risk early
- Tiger cubs are easier to deal with than tigers!
- Prioritize first... sequence last.
