April 21, 2012 • 2 notes • alexandreaquiles

Estimating is often helpful


Estimating helps when the process of estimating builds shared understanding among the people who want the work done and the people doing the work.

Collaborative estimating gives the best results. Diverse experience yields a broader range of perspectives and questions. […]

Group estimating reveals differences in knowledge and understanding. Finding those gaps early is helpful. […]

Sometimes estimating reveals you only know enough to reason by analogy. The best you can do is posit that the desired functionality is about the same size as X. […]

[…] resist guessing and speculation. Estimates born of ungrounded guesses are worse than useless. Rather than guess, experiment, interview, model, sketch designs or do some activity to gain more clarity about needs and context. Then try estimating again.

Estimates are often NOT helpful


People turn estimates into targets. […]

People construe estimates as promises. No one can predict the future, but many people treat estimates as guarantees. […]

People construe estimates as bids. […]

Inappropriate precision in estimates implies that people know more than they do. […]

People game estimates. […]

Esther Derby, in /Estimating/ is often helpful. /Estimates/ are often not. (via alexandreaquiles)
October 25, 2011 • 21 notes • wedontneedroads
wedontneedroads: AgileBoard is an app I made for agile teams. It integrates with Pivotal Tracker to display the current sprint in a task board and generate a burn down chart. Let me know if you want to try it.

wedontneedroads:

AgileBoard is an app I made for agile teams. It integrates with Pivotal Tracker to display the current sprint in a task board and generate a burn down chart.

Let me know if you want to try it.

October 25, 2011 • 48 notes • ganttcharts

Project Management Excitement: Critical Professional Abilities: Managing Projects

ganttcharts:

Every field requires that you have skills of controlling projects properly and proficiently. It is really not a business specific issue, but rather a work mentality. There are plenty of benefits to being a great project manager. Excellent project management knowledge are seen as the…

October 25, 2011 • 29 notes • xamunteam

Xamun: Project Management Software for Consultants and Freelancers: Is it enough?

xamunteam:

Project management is one of the central cohesive sources of support of project managers and consultants alike. If the project is the heart, project management methodology is the process that maintains and sustains the project. Luckily enough, the present market provides project management…

August 4, 2011 • 3 notes • palimadra

Freedcamp - Free Project Management

palimadra:

Media_httpfreedcampco_uzoad via freedcamp.com

Freedcamp is a project management tool that is free alternative to basecamp. Check it out for managing your projects. The interface is intuitive and you do not need to be a geek to understand it.

August 4, 2011 • 39 notes • wp.me

Facilitative Leadership & Facilitator Training: How to Manage the Parking Lot and Wrap-up Meetings

facilitativeleadership:

At the end of your meeting or workshop. walk through the outputs or deliverable (eg; decision, functions, data, priorities, reports, etc.), defined during the meeting, ensuring that the pieces fit together and form one cohesive product. Use the documentation from the workshop to structure a…

August 4, 2011 • 2 notes • dondedios

10 Quotes That Make You a Better Project Manager

July 31, 2011 • 1 note • raftcharity

Raft Charity Blog: Running an Organisation: Project Management Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them Part II - Guest blog by Susanne Madsen

raftcharity:

Our thanks to guest blogger - Project Management expert Susanne Madsen for her insightful thoughts on avoiding project management pitfalls. Susanne is a project/programme manager, mentor and coach with over 15 years experience in managing and rolling out large change programmes, using both agile…

July 31, 2011 • 2 notes • katychuang

Freelance Web Development: 9 Tips for Better Project Management

katychuang:

  1. Make your contract rock-solid
  2. Have a well-defined road map
  3. Establish a style guide
  4. Take time to research, plan and test
  5. Document as you go
  6. Use version control
  7. Take thorough meeting notes
  8. Organize your assets
  9. Put due dates in writing

via mashable

July 31, 2011

Answering the Loaded Question in Project Management - Voices on Project Management

Great article.. I believe everyone has had to answer some loaded questions..