91–100 of 183 posts
I've found that GTD apps, TODOs, and even simple task lists, are rarely effective for me. That does not mean they aren't effective. The Japanese corporation for which I worked, lived by them, and they were very effective. But for me, I seldom need more than a couple of reminders on sticky notes, on my desk.
The more project management tools I have to work with, the less likely I am to work for or with a company. I have a somewhat similar stance on software architecture. Sure, I’m TOGAF certified but if you actually expect me to work with notation correct Archimare/UML/whatever and not just draw boxes on a napkin you’re either insane or sell a product with no competition. This is anecdotal of course, but after 30 years o…
Credit due where credit is due: these project management software companies have done a good job of convincing people they need it. I've taken to using tools that most closely mimic notepad+pen or whiteboard+marker. Increasingly I am finding that a physical whiteboard, markers, and post-its are good enough. And if you need to create backups, the image quality on any smartphone is very, very good these days. The more…
The whiteboard was good to move forward a discussion, explain concept and other niceties. To organize work ? Hell no.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Credit due where credit is due: these project management software companies have done a good job of convincing people they need it. I've taken to using tools that most closely mimic notepad+pen or whiteboard+marker. Increasingly I am finding that a physical whiteboard, markers, and post-its are good enough. And if you need to create backups, the image quality on any smartphone is very, very good these days. The more…
What they do is give middle management something to do. Often questionably necessary, middle management has a hard time doing something when engineers understand the product and upper management has the right balance of setting direction and entrusting decisions to the makers. So they start asking the engineers to do things and get upper management on the train of wanting reporting. Doing that with pen-and-paper engi…
Thank you for this comment. I have had this is mind for quite some time but I never could phrase it in such a clear, articulate, phrasing.
The more project management tools I have to work with, the less likely I am to work for or with a company. I have a somewhat similar stance on software architecture. Sure, I’m TOGAF certified but if you actually expect me to work with notation correct Archimare/UML/whatever and not just draw boxes on a napkin you’re either insane or sell a product with no competition. This is anecdotal of course, but after 30 years o…
I see it as a similar problem as we (humans) have with all systems: we mistake the system for the actual solution. It's not. You need to focus on the real problem at hand, and devise/adapt a correct solution in context. Systems and frameworks provide helpful tools and templates, but they all require contextual adaptation. FWIW this is what I like about the foundations of Agile for project management. The manifesto po…
It's more like ticking boxes and pretending to know what they're doing than actual agile project management.
So now we're stuck with a lot of overhead crap and even more workload. And the system actually slows us down when we try to adapt to a changing environment.
Problem is mainly that this happened because the director of project management really liked the reports from Jira and thus the main reason for it all is to get as much data as possible in there (notice how 'accurate data' does not seem to be a focus :) )
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Say what you will about Amazon culture in general (I’ve never worked there)… but one of their leadership principals is Dive Deep > Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them. IMO this particular trait correlates well with a need for less process / project management software. I really believe if more peopl…
I worked for two years at Amazon. My managers were not diving deep at all. At least not more than any other average manager in any other average company.
The more project management tools I have to work with, the less likely I am to work for or with a company. I have a somewhat similar stance on software architecture. Sure, I’m TOGAF certified but if you actually expect me to work with notation correct Archimare/UML/whatever and not just draw boxes on a napkin you’re either insane or sell a product with no competition. This is anecdotal of course, but after 30 years o…
I don't exactly understand your criticism on best practices. You seem to imply that UML or other project management software are considered best practices. I have never heard that. Or rather the opposite. Not using UML is currently considered as best practice. But maybe it depends who you ask.
However it's way too laborious using it for everything and it becomes a burden when things get complicated. For simple things it just doesn't really help because they're simple anyway.
As a learning tool I think it was great. In production? Well I use it every day. The book props up my keyboard on my desk which happens to be 2cm too low :)
The more project management tools I have to work with, the less likely I am to work for or with a company. I have a somewhat similar stance on software architecture. Sure, I’m TOGAF certified but if you actually expect me to work with notation correct Archimare/UML/whatever and not just draw boxes on a napkin you’re either insane or sell a product with no competition. This is anecdotal of course, but after 30 years o…
I see it as a similar problem as we (humans) have with all systems: we mistake the system for the actual solution. It's not. You need to focus on the real problem at hand, and devise/adapt a correct solution in context. Systems and frameworks provide helpful tools and templates, but they all require contextual adaptation. FWIW this is what I like about the foundations of Agile for project management. The manifesto po…
So as long as you define what "leadership" or "customer satisfaction" (and the rest) mean to you, and you have a vaguely plausible but not necessarily effective process that ticks each of the boxes, you have a quality management process. And you can apply for - and will probably get - formal quality management certification.
In reality you can have zero actual leadership or customer satisfaction. But you have a process - so OK.
The more project management tools I have to work with, the less likely I am to work for or with a company. I have a somewhat similar stance on software architecture. Sure, I’m TOGAF certified but if you actually expect me to work with notation correct Archimare/UML/whatever and not just draw boxes on a napkin you’re either insane or sell a product with no competition. This is anecdotal of course, but after 30 years o…
I don't exactly understand your criticism on best practices. You seem to imply that UML or other project management software are considered best practices. I have never heard that. Or rather the opposite. Not using UML is currently considered as best practice. But maybe it depends who you ask.
I'm always curious how others "work." I use the Pomodoro technique myself, where I do a minimum of 8 sessions per workday. I try to do 10, but usually, I'm somewhere in between. I do not count meetings. Every day at work, I show up and do a minimum of 4 straight hours of concentrated and focused work. I often get told things like: "I'm killing it", "I'm a high producer", etc. To me, I feel like I'm cheating the syste…
4 hours is A LOT. You can get a lot of stuff done in 4 hours. 4 hours x 5 days a week can be sustained long term as well provided that the remainder butt-in-seat work isn't too draining/demoralizing.
If you're serious about getting more done, tracking how you spend your all your time is worth trying as a starting point. It allows you to identify where your time actually goes and what you need to do to prioritize differently (and if that's even possible.)
I try to live a spreadsheet driven life. I have a workbook with a sheet for my todo items with due dates if applicable, a sheet for both prospective and retrospective time tracking, a sheet for things I need to buy, etc. all in one place so I can pull tasks in as part of weekly planning. The week usually doesn't go according to plan but I think I still get more done than if I didn't go through the process. Weekly planning also gives me opportunities to start over fairly frequently if I fall off the wagon.