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

Which IT Project Methodology? Scrum – Why and Why Not?

_Scrum--Why-and-Why-Not-1
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 ...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice
  24 Hits
  0 Comments

The bulldozer and the butterfly: How to transition a reluctant client's IT Project into service

The-Bulldozer--The-Butterfly
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...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Project Management
  184 Hits
  0 Comments

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

Agile--why-and-why-not_
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...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Project Management
  507 Hits
  0 Comments

IT Project Support - How long after delivery should you be on short dial?

How-long-after-delivery-should-you-be-on-short-dial_
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...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Project Management
  866 Hits
  0 Comments

Be an IT Project Marie Kondo - declutter your Portfolio

declutter-your-portfolio
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 ...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Project Management
  690 Hits
  0 Comments

Cultural fit is not a PMaaS luxury. It's a pillar of your partnership

Cultural-fit-is-not-a-PMaaS-luxury
"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...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Best Practice Project Management
  565 Hits
  0 Comments

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
  982 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
  925 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
  622 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
  1274 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
  508 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
  615 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
  1112 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
  842 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
  733 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
  959 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
  875 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
  1405 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
  1084 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
  881 Hits
  0 Comments
    Previous    
1 2 3 4

Latest Blog Posts

August 2019
Which IT Project Methodology? Scrum – Why and Why Not?
Which IT Project Methodology? Scrum – Why and Why Not?
In a recent introductory piece on IT Project methodologies, I promised to follow up on each individual methodology and investigative its advantages and disadvantages...
Read More
Stoneseed Office
Stoneseed Office
Stoneseed Office

Straight Talk on Project Management

Download your free eBook

Download Now

Got a Question?