"We've got three R's we're going to talk about today
We've got to learn to
Reduce, reuse, recycle"

- Jack Johnson

While often thought of as a "lean" process, agile projects can be full of waste. This waste can lead to increased project time and cost, lower productivity, and a failure to deliver...

By nature, agile requirements are considered "lighter." With requirements often taking the form of user stories recorded in a product backlog, some requirements may become obsolete as the project progresses.

To avoid the waste of implementing unnecessary or lower priority requirements,...

Most agile projects rely on iterations; typically three week periods sometimes referred to as sprints.  Each sprint incorporates four agile events, formerly referred to as ceremonies, that help keep the project on track.  One event is scheduled daily, and the remainder is at the end of...

All projects generate vast amounts of data beyond regular items, such as retrospectives and lessons learned.  As the project progresses, the project manager needs to collect, index, and perhaps even diarize it for current and future use.

Project data and documents contain information such...

An important concept for agile projects is the “definition of done.” The team must discuss and understand this concept in terms of the specific project at hand before the first iteration.  Without this understanding, the ability to deliver value will be both difficult and...

As an agile project manager, you will need to change your mindset to succeed.  Your role and your team and stakeholders' roles will be different from what they would be in predictive (waterfall) projects.  How you manage will need to be different too.

Here are 6 tips to help you adjust:...

Introducing Siwan Sero, an accidental agile project manager who crushes her agile project assignment to become a project hero.

Excited to receive the proof copies today! Reviewed it and final author copies (with the non-proof cover) will be arriving soon. Watch for more updates soon about our...

In any project, there are four primary development life cycles. A fifth, hybrid, is any combination of these four.  These are for the phases of the projects which produce the product, service, or other results.

This chart breaks them down by the uses and attributes of the project activities...

Organizations face the temptation to call everything a project. Then, they apply a project manager and a lot of overhead to manage them. So while the formal definition of a project includes "temporary" and "produces a unique result," smart managers apply some additional rules.  These may...

I was recently asked, "What is the time frame for total project completion?" The time frame for total project completion is the time when all project work is done, and all project resources, including the project manager, can be released.  Total project completion should include the...

Conflict resolution is a skill that transcends roles. So regardless of the type of team I am managing, my response would be the same.

Tip #1: Set the rules and boundaries.  As a leader, you define the standards for conduct and enforce them. Part of your resource plan should also include time...

A question I sometimes need to field is “what are the top 5 critical communication skills a Project Manager must possess to be successful?”.  There are more than 5 skills that revolve around communications, so the choice is a difficult one.

Then the proverbial light bulb went...