Category: Articles

Evidence-Based Scheduling

This article presents three ways to predict schedules based on historical data with some amount of rigor. Evidence-based project management is a technique that allows you to generate predictions for a release based on historical data—not estimates, but predictions.

Lightweight Project Management Process

In this blog post, Eli Weinstock-Herman proposes a lightweight process for project management and explains that the most critical part of creating a process is to know why your creating it.

An Accurate and Reliable Method for Software Estimation

Significant growth due to estimation inaccuracy can wreak havoc on a team attempting to stay within cost and schedule while executing its established plan. This article discusses how a software team that uses both proxy-based and size-based estimates is able to accurately plan, launch, and execute their project on schedule.

Power and Influence Charting: The Google Way

The most successful projects are those that have a solid foundation and actively supportive sponsors. One key issue that must be addressed during project initiation is the identification of the “right” project sponsor; one who has enough political clout and backing to overcome the obstacles that arise in the lifecycle...

Scrum Obstacles

Concrete barriers to Scrum adoption are inevitable. Test cycles will not magically shrink without effort. Most of the challenges in Scrum adoption are not technical, but social.

Earned Value Management (EVM) for Mere Mortals

This article explains the usage of Earned Value Management (EVM) in software development projects. EVM is simply a way of calculating two pieces of data for a project: schedule performance and called cost performance.

Common Teamwork Misperceptions

Mistaken beliefs about teamwork that can sidetrack productive collaboration. This blog post from J. Richard Hackman presents six common teamwork misperceptions.