For those of you who need a little summary of what WE blogged about in January 2008, here is a month-end sum up of projectmanagement411. There are many excellent comments/points of view on these topics- check THEM out and add to the conversation! (The topics are arranged to be sung, with appropriate breathing- first three words very slow and the rest “rapid fire”):

We… wrote…. about….. living standards, innovation, carbon trading, collaboration…..(breath), strategy mapping, tech trends, role of commitment and preparation…..(breath), social security, business leaders, statesmen, project queues…..(breath), language barriers, PMOs, BI drivers, and swamp draining.

Just click on the topic and see what we discussed- be forewarned, many times it’s not what you think.

Of the topics covered, which ones are of greatest interest to you and why? Let me know.

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Post from: EveryJoe

January 2008 Projectmanagement411 Was Fascinating!

“YEAH.., UH…I’D LIKE TO COMMENT ON THAT?”

Nothing like having great discussions for all the world to see (I’ll never be able to run for office). I’ve personally learned a lot and I know that several others have spawned posts from discussions started here. That’s what blogging is all about. Join in and comment on the Top 5 commented on posts at Projectmanagement411. I know you have something to say- besides you’ll enjoy the conversation:

No. 1. Do Great Statesmen Make Great Business Leaders? – this one resulted in a couple of other blogger’s posting on the topic and creating a mini-blogathon!

No. 2. Counting on Social Security? Your Next Project Better Be Your Retirement Plan – this was a bit contrived, being a b5 media blogger link up, but resulted in some fascinating comments about the state of our society and our “leaders” (or lack thereof).

No. 3. IT Systems Aren’t Evaluated by Takeover Artists? – not only was the lack of IT evaluation covered but some key organization culture points.

No. 4. What’s Harder? Project Management or Management? – after realizing that I didn’t like the question, I still got some great push back on what it takes to manage people.

No. 5. Overcoming Language Barriers in Project Communication – this, as all good posts should, led to many people sharing glossaries, interviews and opinions to bolster knowledge on the subject.

Participate! But be sure to make your words count- we’ve got some good minds here that don’t let a poor argument go without a gentle rap on the knuckles. Special thanks to Miki at Leadership Turn and Sensei at ActiveEngine for consistent and passionate sparking of my thoughts.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Top 5 “Commented On” Proves Readers Are Amazing

Margaret Rouse at IT Knowledge Exchange continues our conversation on PMOs. We started by talking about how a PMO relieves pain, then the PMO’s role in dealing with the dreaded mythical queue of projects, and now language barriers in agile software development projects .

My post on how previous experience with lean manufacturing might overcome some of the barriers in language and acceptance of non-intuitive concepts related to agile also comes to mind.

Here’s Margaret’s language issue followed by my response. Sensei at ActiveEngine! I expect you to get involved with this:

Margaret: I’m going to think more about how language remains a barrier to effective communication when the business owner is trying to articulate what they need to developers and the developers speak Agile.

Bob: Now you’ve got me thinking. I’ve been on the sales/project scoping side and the delivery side of projects. In selling and scoping my initial goal is to understand the client’s challenges in their terms and language . I try to resist the temptation to begin defining solutions until we have a solid agreement on what the problem is. Thereafter, as much as makes sense, the solution, and more importantly the value, should be in their language.

There is obviously a point where new terminology/concepts/approaches need to be introduced- the more we understand the business, industry, and the problems the better we will be at developing a conversation with common language to introduce these new concepts. This up front work and emphasis smooths out a lot of bumps in the road. Easier said than done because of all the temptations and distractions along the way.

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What we are really talking about is developing the “salesman” in all of us; these concepts and approaches are covered more in a book about value selling which relate my experiences selling and scoping large business solution projects (see below).

What challenges do you have in developing communication with your customer (internal or external)? How much does the customer/client have to know about your processes (e.g., agile software development) in order to benefit from them?

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Post from: EveryJoe

Overcoming Language Barriers in Project Communication