The ability to solve complicated business problems quickly is more important than ever in today’s economy. From the time we’re little kids, we’re taught to solve problems by trial and error. That’s fine if the problem is as simple as a burned out light bulb. When the issue is a muddle of business, technical and…
Many students begin their study of Six Sigma with the idea in mind that an organization must implement Six Sigma in an “all or nothing” fashion. While that is one possible approach, it is certainly not the only one. In their book What is Six Sigma? authors Pete Pande and Larry Holpp suggest three possible…
Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has been a case study on how to successfully rebrand and make famous, existing process improvement techniques. LSS is the conglomeration of Lean Manufacturing, Statistical Process Control, Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, and some project management. LSS was made famous in the business world in the ‘90’s by Jack Welch, the CEO of…
PMI has launched a new certification called “Professional Business Analyst” or PMI-PBA in order to enhance and standardize the role of a project-oriented business analyst (BA). Since many PM’s also do BA activities, there is a natural synergy. PM’s should seriously consider getting this certification, as a way to improve their skills and get formal…
Six Sigma is perceived by many as an approach to quality improvement. In fact, quality improvement is a means to two important ends. One is improved customer satisfaction, and the other is saving money. The marketplace determines to a great extent how much a company can charge for goods and services. The company determines how…
When I attended my first Agile chapter meeting, we had a tour of an IT department who had gone Agile all the way. The halls and cubicles were completely lined with whiteboards. There were electronic burndown charts and other visuals at various key places. We heard success stories and then had a Q&A session. My…
Project Managers evolve in their profession. They start out as novices, gain experience, get certified, and continue with projects. However, in this evolutionary process, a missing link has been found. It is rather embarrassing, actually, that it hadn’t been discovered before. At first, it was thought to be a different species, but after much evidence,…
Do you remember all those math cards flash cards your parents would torture you with in elementary school? Someone would pop up a card with a simple math equation on one side and you would have to figure out what was on the other side. You had to answer as quickly as you could and…
You’ve been studying diligently for PMI’s PMP® Certification Exam to become one of the rapidly growing number of Project Management Professionals in the world. You read through your book, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 5th edition from cover to cover. That’s done. Check that one off the list. Now…
In 1965, Tuckman published his research on team dynamics. He described the way he had observed groups evolve, whether they were conscious of it or not. The evolution progressed through 5 sequential stages, which he called: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. His findings have been corroborated by others and withstood the test of time. …