Governments around the world continue to realize the win-win benefits that come from lean and green technologies and practices. Frankly, I think we’re all catching on a little slowly, but things are starting to look promising. In this story from the Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection, they started out with a set of pilot projectsRead… Read more »
Do you know what I mean? Like when you are developing a product using technologies that are relatively new and totally new to your team and stakeholders. While it is fun to be learning new things, it’s damn hard to estimate effectively and stick to a schedule. Especially when the culture around you isn’t usedRead… Read more »
The FBI’s Sentinel project is a recently completed case study of the potential of Lean/Agile methodologies for managing government projects. “so fraught with miscommunication, incompetence and failed oversight that the entire debacle would have been a shoo-in for the most flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars since, well, ever” They were over-running and close to killingRead… Read more »
This crops up all the time. What’s the definition of a ‘failed project’? Look at Mars Curiosity. The program was initially budgeted at around $1.5B and came in at $2.5B for development and launch. Sure, some people question that expense, but for the most part I think they just don’t ‘get it’ on the importanceRead… Read more »
Hello Josh, I have been following your site and information for some time now and have always found it to be helpful and insightful. I have a question that to be honest I never really thought about until yesterday. The topic is on the project management best practice of time buffering. It is common andRead… Read more »
The program my teams and I work for, Landsat, celebrated it’s 40th anniversary last week. More specifically, my teams are part of the development effort for Landsat 8, a continuation of the program with an expected launch date in February 2013. One of the lessons I’ve learned from working in this environment is that tryingRead… Read more »
A discussion on management plans started by my friend here on Govloop about management plans got me going. My thinking on the topic of documentation in general has matured over the last few years. I don’t think I know everything though, far from it. What Makes Project Documentation Suck? click to tweet this quote ThereRead… Read more »
Have you ever noticed how the best way to learn is to watch people who are really screwing up? Call it the Tool Man Phenomenon. I’ve been reminded recently that if you really want to destroy your chances of success on a project, the best thing you can do is neglect communication. Specifically in thisRead… Read more »
In another example of governments around the world realizing they need to focus on better project management, the Cayman Islands’ Auditor General issued a report to this effect. Like the UK example last week, this is a call for better project management in government. Again we see recommendations for the establishment of a “Centre forRead… Read more »
I’ve read a lot lately about recent news that the US Army is contemplating a replacement of the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP), also known as digital camo because of it’s pixelated appearance. First, know that I’m not an Army insider, and there are conflicting stories out there about the circumstances around UCP’s adoption in 2004Read… Read more »