Introduction Can you relate to either of these project schedule issues? a. A manager’s view: Deadlines and estimates are unreliable, and this impacts customer satisfaction and revenue. “We give our teams priorities every week; why don’t they deliver?” b. A team member’s view: We tell management how much time will be needed, but we are …continue reading >

Introduction YouTube videos of this article are at: https://youtu.be/rvnlV-DLnjc (part 1) & https://youtu.be/wB21f1da6PQ (part 2) Since 1989 we have been traveling the globe looking at great, and sometimes challenged, organizations. From an engineering and management perspective, here are some common “great” things we see. As you read them, contrast with your organization and determine where …continue reading >

Introduction The great thing about being a manager is that if you change your direction by one degree, the positive impact on many people over time is dramatic. Your challenge is to find those practices and behaviors that improve your results and the results of the organization. A colleague (Alan Willett) and I conduct executive leadership workshops …continue reading >

Introduction For 20 million years (approximately), one of the age-old discussions in product, IT and software development is whether a team needs clear requirements to build a great product. Occasionally, engineering team members can persuade you (the leader) that requirements are no longer necessary in today’s world (aka “Agile,” “Lean,” “Concurrent,” “Value-driven,” “XYZ-style.”) However, let …continue reading >

Introduction In 1984 I had a summer job creating spreadsheets to track the throughput and waste in a chip manufacturing company. The boss of the group knew he was purchasing X amount of material and getting 0.6X of that out at the end of the cycle, but he did not know where the problems were. …continue reading >

  Introduction Do you repeatedly have any of these challenges in your organization? Rework and bug fixes consume your resources Customers complain about your products Projects are chronically late There are major surprises at the 11th hour If your organization is not performing the way you want, why do you put up with it? Is …continue reading >

Introduction The discussion over which development life cycle works best has gone on for thousands of years. All life cycles can be adjusted to give the results you want, or poorly implemented and generate inadequate results. The success of any life cycle or methodology comes down to the amount of effort invested in its refinement …continue reading >

Introduction Have you wanted for a long time to address specific challenges of your group and make or sustain a change? The way your group operates each day is largely dependent on the standards they see around them. As a leader (or even a member) of a group, there is a lot you can do …continue reading >

Why Estimate? Deadlines drive most decisions in business, either because they drive revenue or they are one domino in a chain of events that drives revenue. Given that deadlines are important, adequate attention needs paying to estimation quality. Fundamental steps can be followed to make estimates reliable, whether teams use techniques such as guessing, Planning …continue reading >

I’m Drowning If you are a manager of an organization developing products or IT solutions, you might feel like you are drowning in a sea of missed deadlines and emergency meetings. How Did You Get to This Point? Here is an example of how managers often arrive at this situation. David is a senior manager …continue reading >