bing

Read and subscribe to Stoneseed's Latest Blogs

Blog

Stoneseed
Icon
SUBSCRIBE
Slider

Straight Talk on Project Management - Download your free e-book

Best Practice

Subscribe to this list via RSS

When riding your IT project cycle - do you know how or when to get off? The value of closeout

closeout
When discussing Stoneseed's Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) solutions with clients I am always intrigued by the way they manage IT projects. In almost every case, the client will walk us through some form of lifecycle, typically composing four stages that can be loosely labelled along the fo...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice IT Service Delivery
  198 Hits
  0 Comments

Which IT Project Methodology? Waterfall – why and why not?

sm-waterfall-blog
In a recent 'flyover' of IT Project Methodologies, I promised that I would return to each individually and assess their advantages and disadvantages. In this, the first in a series of posts, let's take a look at Waterfall.  Waterfall. What Is It, When Should You Use It? 1970 was quite a year for fir...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice
  476 Hits
  0 Comments

IT Project Portfolio Management. Less is more. Now isn't that ironic. Don't you think?

smof-ironic
My friend tells the story of a 4x4 SSV he used to own. Famous marque, I won't name them, but not a cheap car AT ALL! The vehicle developed a fault, the reverse light wasn't working and there was a considerable delay between changing gear and the dashboard display registering the gear you were in. He...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice
  401 Hits
  0 Comments

Five shortcuts to managing IT Project stakeholder expectation

managing-IT-Project-stakeholder-expectation
I've noticed a bit of a trend. Of the IT Projects that I've seen fall into ‘special measures’ of late, they've all had something in common - a gap between stakeholder expectation and reality. It's actually (paradoxically) both easy and hard to nail this. Some project teams struggle but, like with mo...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Developing the qualities of a great PM
  983 Hits
  0 Comments

IT Project Leaders must be quick off the blocks, on your marks ...

block-race
Oh my!! Have you seen the video of 7-year-old runner Rudolph 'Blaze' Ingram who sprinted 100 metres in just 13.48 seconds? It's fascinating to watch this young Florida athlete speed out of the blocks; and after clocking up thousands and thousands of Instagram views, as I write this, he has made the ...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Leadership Best Practice
  359 Hits
  0 Comments

Reframing dysfunctional beliefs could save your IT project

Reframing-Dysfunctional-Beliefs-Could-Save-Your-IT-Project
Working with IT project teams for many years now, I've noticed an easily fixed issue that crops up in struggling projects year after year. I'm sure that I've written about it before, probably more than once and as it just happened again, I thought it worth a fresh reminder. IT Projects are being cho...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Developing the qualities of a great PM
  472 Hits
  0 Comments

IT Projects and business value – The importance of a Strategic PMO

The-Importance-of-a-Strategic-PMO
Business strategic alignment. This is a drum that I've been banging for a long time. If the outcomes of your IT projects do not translate into benefits for your business - what's the point? Sounds so obvious but time after time project management teams end up not working in cohesion with their paren...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice PMO
  891 Hits
  0 Comments

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions. What IT Project Management methodology is best?

What-IT-Project-Methodology-Is-Best_
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Life is all about choices. Some are more important than others and choosing the right Project Management methodology, for instance, is crucial. I am often asked what methodology is best and my answer is always - it depends. Each project is different and therefore the...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice
  653 Hits
  0 Comments

Hybrid projects – name a project that isn’t?

HYBRID-PROJECTS--NAME-A-PROJECT-THAT-ISNT_
Guest blog by Andrew Gallagher, Principal Project Manager, Stoneseed Working on projects for a long time, longer than I care to remember, the same topic just keeps rearing its head. Be it in the public or private sector working on IT or Business Transformation the same question comes up time and tim...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice
  586 Hits
  0 Comments

Resolutions are so last year! How IT Project Leaders are pledging success in 2019

resolutions-last-yearsm
Back to work, eh? So, how are your New Year’s Resolutions working out? Personal and professional? Probably, if you're like most people I talk with, you’re having a mixed bag of results. Now that's sort of OK with the personal stuff. If your resolution was to eat more healthily and hit the gym but yo...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Developing the qualities of a great PM
  799 Hits
  0 Comments

How planning, proactivity and PMaaS prevent poor performance projects

3Ps
Over the course of this year, I have been asked to consult on many IT Projects. As always, I consider this a huge privilege, and nothing gives me greater pleasure than helping an organisation achieve successful project outcomes. The reasons that project teams ask for help are manyfold, sometimes the...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Developing the PM team Project Management
  734 Hits
  0 Comments

The rise and rise of hybrid Project Management methodology

hybrid-methodolog_20181119-101529_1
One size hasn't fitted all in IT Project Management for many years. However, five years back a project team using Waterfall on a project that was more suited to Agile might have got away with it. I mean, perhaps they wouldn't have leveraged all the potential, they may, for example, have been slower ...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Project Management
  1079 Hits
  0 Comments

As IT Projects Evolve in Complexity, You Need Something More RADICAL Than A RAID Log.

need-a-RADICAL-LOG
Think of the implementation phase of an IT Project. Exciting, right? All that pitching, planning and preparation has led to this point! You are ready and raring to go and as you line up the road ahead, your attention will have turned to how you document and communicate within your project. At this p...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice PMO Project Management
  837 Hits
  0 Comments

Could disruption be your greatest IT Project opportunity?

DisruptionOpportunitysm
I recently re-read the 2018 Project Management Institute (PMI) Pulse of the Profession report. I do this every year, reading and re-reading it, over and over, and each time it seems that I take something different away! One thing in particular, however, keeps jumping out and grabbing my attention fr...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Project Management
  750 Hits
  0 Comments

You Have No New Massages - A Deep Tissue Lesson for IT Project Managers

deep-tissue--sm
My Project Manager friend, Colette came back from her lunchtime massage today not as relaxed as she normally does. "Well that's a good way to lose potential business!" she said. The story she then told has lessons for project management teams and as it is also quite funny, I will share it with you. ...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Should you outsource?
  680 Hits
  0 Comments

How to Marry Business Strategy With IT Project Management And Why You Must

marry-business-stragey
I've written about the need for business strategy and IT projects to be aligned before. I can summarise the thrust of all the articles that I've ever written on the subject with two words - it's critical. I mean, otherwise, what’s the point? Yet, many IT Projects get greenlighted without sufficient ...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice
  685 Hits
  0 Comments

PMaaS – The Golden Gate for IT Project Instant Gratification

IT-Project-Instant-Gratification
What is your reaction to reading these three words … slow internet connection? I know! Me too. Waiting just a few extra seconds for a page to load can feel like forever! Smartphone apps have eliminated the need to wait for anything, from a taxi, to a table at your favourite restaurant to a date. On ...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice
  661 Hits
  0 Comments

When An IT Project Isn't An IT Project, Engagement Soars

When-An-IT-Project-Isnt-An-IT-Project
Originally published on CIO.com Calling an IT Project 'an IT Project' may be doing your project a disservice. "This is NOT an IT Project ." This was the opening line of a pitch that I heard earlier this year ... it was a pitch for a green light for an IT Project! Brave start! It got me thinking. In ...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice
  562 Hits
  0 Comments

How to Rescue A Failing IT Project - And When Not To

How-to-Rescue-A-Failing-IT-Project
A significant number of IT Project Manager friends have reported shorter times between going live with a project and that project running into trouble or starting to fail.  This means that they have to be on their mettle from the get-go and bring all their experience of rescuing a project in to play...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice
  625 Hits
  0 Comments

Resistance is fatal. How to drive change in a change resistant environment

Change-Resistant-Environment
 “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often,” so said Winston Churchill. He clearly never had to manage an IT Project in an organisation resistant to change. I think we've all experienced some of our darkest hours doing this. I was chatting to a PM friend this week and he joked that ...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Developing the qualities of a great PM
  625 Hits
  0 Comments
    Previous    
1 2 3 4

Latest Blog Posts

April 2019
When riding your IT project cycle - do you know how or when to get off? The value of closeout
When riding your IT project cycle - do you know how or when to get off? The value of closeout
When discussing Stoneseed's Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) solutions with clients I am always intrigued by the way they manage IT projects. In almost every ...
Read More
Stoneseed Office
Stoneseed Office

Straight Talk on Project Management

Download your free eBook

Download Now

Got a Question?