By Gary Hinkle
It’s amazing how many managers say they don’t have budget for productivity initiatives. Some think “productivity” is a fuzzy word, and few managers know how to measure it. But productivity can and should be measured. It’s step one towards continuous improvement.
By Gary Hinkle
Engineering managers often ask me how they should “rate” engineers. Recently, I developed a specific tool to assess overall engineering competency. The tool can be used by both the managers doing the rating as well as the engineers being rated. Even if your company has its own rating system, this assessment tool can supplement your system as a general assessment for just about any engineering job.
By Steve Wetterling
Proponents (including me) of project management methods and practices extol this invention as the best way to do all work that falls in the category of “new stuff.” When project teams skillfully develop a charter, scope and limits statements, work breakdown structures, schedules, budgets, risk analyses, etc.—and hold to them—they’re far more likely to succeed than projects teams that do not.
By Gary Hinkle
I’d be surprised if anyone reading this hasn’t witnessed this problem: estimates from the experts doing the work don’t align with management’s expectations. Why? Because management, committed to ambitious business goals, has dictated an unachievable schedule. Or they’ve made premature commitments to customers. The experts’ estimates are often realistic, but the reality isn’t acceptable to management.
By Steve Wetterling
In 1903, there were more all-electric, battery-powered automobiles on the road than there were cars powered by internal combustion engines. Thousands of battery-powered cars were made each year. Cars powered by steam were actually their biggest competitors in 1903.
By Steve Wetterling
When I manage projects, and when I teach project management, I know it’s important to understand project risk and to evaluate, plan for and mitigate risk. When I’m teaching, sometimes a class participant stares back at me in puzzlement when we get to discussing project risk. “What’s so risky about doing a project?” The Chicken Test helps them understand.
By Steve Wetterling
Back when the Project Management Institute was an unheard-of start-up organization, I took my first project management course. The instructor was Ron LaFleur, a dynamic teacher who had managed all sorts of military and aerospace projects for Raytheon during the height of the Cold War. In the three-day course, he shared with us what he had learned during his long and varied career.
