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In a recent introductory piece on IT Project methodologies, I promised to follow up on each individual methodology and investigative its advantages and disadvantages. Having looked at Waterfall and Agile, let’s now turn to Scrum. Scrum. What Is It, When Should You Use It? Normally, when you talk of ...

We are delighted to award Marketing Assistant, Laura Grimes the Stoneseed Colleague Recognition Scheme for this month.   Each month the staff at Stoneseed are asked to nominate their colleagues as part of a recognition scheme, where they have seen hard work, over-achievement or acts of kindness and ...

Your IT project is almost ready: Development is done; testing is going well; just a few defects remain. The customer is satisfied with the look and feel of the product, you both have a shared vision about the business change it will bring .... but ... they want to ... delay ‘go live’ ... just a litt...

"A Dog Is for Life, Not Just for Christmas" has become a somewhat iconic message but as I write this on a blisteringly hot summer day there is no similar advice. Is now then a good time to buy a puppy on a whim? Of course, it's not, the message behind the slogan is valid all year round. It's just, y...

Welcome to the latest in an occasional series on the different IT Project Management methodologies, last time we looked at Waterfall, now let's focus on Agile. Agile. What Is It, When Should You Use It? The story goes that seventeen software thought leaders, programmers and developers met at The Lod...

This weekend I watched some remarkable displays of sporting endurance where the winners, in both cases, just seemed to have a little something extra left in their locker to power them onto victory after long, hard matches. IT Project Management can be a long, hard slog too and, with the rate of fail...

We are delighted to award HR Manager, Emma Jordan the Stoneseed Colleague Recognition Scheme for this month, with her efforts on Pensions.  Each month the staff at Stoneseed are asked to nominate their colleagues as part of a recognition scheme, where they have seen hard work, over-achievement or ac...

Have you ever thought about trying something new in your delivery of IT Projects but eventually decided to play safe? It happens to us all, I guess. I mean keeping it fresh is great but if you wreck your IT Project and at the post-mortem, it's revealed that the project failed because you tried somet...

I’ve been thinking about IT Projects that we've helped steer out of troubled waters lately and in, probably, eight out of ten cases the issue was with the people working on the project. This isn't a criticism of that talent, far from it, I'd happily be a referee for most of them. The issue isn't qua...

I am writing this with cake and champagne on my desk, instead of the usual Monday coffee and rich tea biscuit. The reason for such opulence at the start of the week is that, at Stoneseed, we are celebrating our tenth anniversary. The tech world was a very different place 10 years ago! A decade ago, ...

In a blaze of glory, the fantastic piece of software you've been working hard on is introduced to your client organisation. The system goes live without a hitch - you are an IT delivery expert, after all. Each and every requirement is delivered, the project is on-time and within budget. Customer tra...

IT Project Leadership has never been more challenging and complex. In this, the first of a short series, I'm going to look at some of the issues that you and I face and share some solutions. If nothing, else let's acknowledge that the challenges are universal and take solace from the fact that it's ...

When we're called in to rescue AWOL IT Projects we come across a lot of the usual suspects: scope creep; unrealistic budgets; overambitious timescales; etc. More recently though, we are seeing a new trend. Projects are failing just because they are heaving under unnecessary layers of CLUTTER! As IT ...

This month, we are happy to announce the launch of another volume of our eBook! The previous two volumes we published  of Straight Talk on Project Management by David Cotgreave, have proved so successful that we decided to do VOLUME III. Since the last volume, David has continued to enlighten us wit...

We are delighted to award Project Administrator, Alice Meehan the Stoneseed Colleague Recognition Scheme. Each month the staff at Stoneseed are asked to nominate their colleagues as part of a recognition scheme, where they have seen hard work, over achievement or acts of kindness and helpfulness. Th...

It's great when an IT Project progresses from implementation to delivery without a hitch, an event free ride from start to finish with no bumps in the road. Or is it? How does the word “Conflict” make YOU feel? I asked a few colleagues and their responses ranged from anxiety to aggression, from some...

"What can we do better?" "What's going wrong?" Both these questions were asked by different Project Managers leading IT Projects that were failing this year. Both had identified issues, both were keen to sort those issues out, both held almost identical team meetings to address the challenges. One w...

"As luck would have it, they fitted in perfectly!" This is one of my favourite bits of client feedback! It refers to a particularly successful deployment of Project Management as a Service resources. The email as a whole talks about the effectiveness of the talent, the extra experience and skills th...

Guest blog by Nicol Cutts – Stoneseed Head of Projects      I reviewed an initial project scope document for a Project Manager last week. In the four pages of text, there were 37 ‘&’s. So what? '&' or the ampersand is often misused and misunderstood. Largely thanks to social media communicat...

The Private Sector IR35 countdown clock is ticking louder and louder. Before you can say "non-compliant off-payroll Project Manager", it will be time for private firms to follow the Public Sector pioneers into this new world. It's come around quick, hasn't it? One of my accountant friends drily comm...