IAPM Essentials #28 - News from the project management world

What was eventful last week? What has happened in project management? Here you can find articles worth reading and links to videos or podcasts that we warmly recommend.

To put it briefly: Essentials from the world of project management.

Enjoy reading!
Logo of IAPM Essentials number 28.

IAPM Essentials November 10, 2020

This week, these three articles were particularly inspiring:

Stop locking estimates, start forecasting
When it comes to weather forecasting, it is entirely acceptable if whatever is announced does not come true - because it is impossible to predict the weather one hundred percent correctly. So why is it not accepted when estimates, e.g. in the Scrum Team, are accompanied by subsequent changes? Maarten Dalmijn has dealt with this question and has come to the conclusion that stakeholders should be made familiar with the "Cone of Uncertainty". This describes that the uncertainties within a project decrease over time. The predictions made at the beginning are therefore quite rough and become more accurate over time. And this is exactly what should be communicated within a project. Stakeholders and customers should be aware that estimates are not promises but predictions. And they can change over time. If communication with stakeholders is open and honest, they also have the opportunity to pull the ripcord when the product increment is likely to take too long.
Click here to read the original article.


Successful Product Owners are Leaders, Not Managers!
David Pereira often experiences in his professional life that Product Owners do not behave as they should. This means that some Product Owners he knows try to act as managers for their Development Team. But this is wrong and shows a lack of leadership skills. The challenge that Product Owners have to master is to adapt their leadership behaviour to the situation. Depending on the phase the Scrum Team is in, the Product Owner has to take on a different role. At the Refinement Meeting, he is the one who brings up new ideas. At the Sprint Planning Meeting he inspires the Development Team and gives direction - but he does not make decisions on his own. At the Daily Scrum and Sprint Review, the Product Owner backs off and listens. He doesn't necessarily have to be present at the first one - but if he is present, he should act as a mentor - provided his support is needed.
Click here to read the original article.


What Do Remote Workers Need for Project Management and Collaboration?
Nowadays it is common practice in many companies for employees to work from home. According to a survey, more than half of all UK respondents do not want to return to the previous working model. The situation is similar in the USA. But how does working from home affect the collaboration within projects? Nigel Davies has explored this question and summarised the most important issues. It is essential that teams can use their project software parallel and in real time. In this way, no team member will miss important changes. When working virtually with colleagues, it is also important to ensure that efficiency is not lost. Backups can also be advantageous: This allows changes to be tracked and team members do not need to be afraid to irrevocably delete important files.
Click here to read the original article.

Further articles worth reading and podcasts worth listening, you should not miss:

Agiler Mythos: Agile Teams dokumentieren NICHT!
(en.: Agile myth: Agile teams do NOT document!)
Click here to read the recommended article.

Boost your Backlog – Teil 1
(en.: Boost your backlog - part 1)
Click here to read the recommended article.

Die agile Transformation und ihre Kennzahlen
(en.: The agile transformation and its key figures)
Click here to read the recommended article.

Digitale Whiteboards – Eine Übersicht
(en.: Digital whiteboards - An overview)
Click here to read the recommended article.

Don't blame corporate culture for not cultivating psychological safety within your teams!
Click here to read the recommended article.

Kano-Modell um Kundenbedürfnisse zu verstehen
(en.: The Kano model to understand customer needs)
Click here to read the recommended article.

OKR – Objectives and Key Results: Mehr als nur Ziele (Grundlagen)
(en.: OKR - Objectives and Key Results: More than just goals (basics))
Click here to read the recommended article.

Optimize your process for decision-making, not dogma
Click here to read the recommended article.

The most popular project management methodologies: A comparison
Click here to read the recommended article.

The physics of agility: predictability
Click here to read the recommended article.

Wie man auch in schwierigen Zeiten diszipliniert bleibt
(en.: Discipline when times are tough)
Click here to read the recommended article.

Author: IAPM intern
Keywords: IAPM Essentials, Links, News

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