Just completed a number of meetings and discussions among thought leaders in the area of complex project management this week, and I was struck by a number of zombie ideas in project management, especially related to information, that just won’t die. The use of the term zombie idea is usually attributed to the Nobel economist Paul Krugman from his excellent and highly engaging (as well as brutally honest) posts at the New York Times, but for those not familiar, a zombie idea is “a proposition that has been thoroughly refuted by analysis and evidence, and should be dead — but won’t stay dead because it serves a political purpose, appeals to prejudices, or both.”
(more…)Business Management
Stay Calm and Carry On — The Business End of Software: How to handle malicious rumors
Veteran’s Day is approaching and, with it, the finale of conference and workshop season for people in my business. Lately I have been engaged with the less than scrupulous members of my discipline who engage in character assassination and rumor. Every market has bad players, and one must make the choice of whether you want to run with the black hats or the white hats. I’m not referring to hackers here but to individuals who are less than savory in their business practices. So here are a few bits of advice in how to handle such issues:
(more…)Do You Believe in Magic? — Big Data, Buzz Phrases, and Keeping Feet Planted Firmly on the Ground
My alternative title for this post was “Money for Nothing,” which is along the same lines. I have been engaged in discussions regarding Big Data, which has become a bit of a buzz phrase of late in both business and government. Under the current drive to maximize the value of existing data, every data source, stream, lake, and repository (and the list goes on) has been subsumed by this concept. So, at the risk of being a killjoy, let me point out that not all large collections of data is “Big Data.” Furthermore, once a category of data gets tagged as Big Data, the further one seems to depart from the world of reality in determining how to approach and use the data. So for of you who find yourself in this situation, let’s take a collective deep breath and engage our critical thinking skills.
(more…)Super Doodle Dandy (Software) — Decorator Crabs and Wirth’s Law
![decorator-crab[1]](https://pisanond.me/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/decorator-crab1.jpg)
The song (absent the “software” part) in the title is borrowed from the soundtrack of the movie, The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Made in the day before Pixar and other recent animation technologies, it remains a largely unappreciated classic; combining photography and animation in a time of more limited tools, but with Don Knotts creating another unforgettable character beyond Barney Fife. Somewhat related to what I am about to write, Mr. Limpet taught the creatures of the sea new ways of doing things, helping them overcome their mistaken assumptions about the world.
(more…)Gotta Serve Somebody — The Proper Balance of Duties in Business–and Project Management
While traveling over the last couple of weeks I was struck by this article in the Wall Street Journal entitled: “Pharmaceutical Companies Buy Rivals’ Drugs, Then Jack Up the Prices.” The reporter of the article stated in a somewhat matter-of-fact manner that the reason for this behavior was the need for maximization of stockholder value. Aside from the fact that, with the poorly vetted excuse mongering in the article about fewer opportunities for development and limitations on payments under healthcare, U.S. drugs tend to be significantly higher than generics found overseas, the assumption regarding maximizing stockholder value is misplaced.
(more…)Brother Can You (Para)digm? — Four of the Latest Trends in Project Management
At the beginning of the year we are greeted with the annual list of hottest “project management trends” prognostications. We are now three months into the year and I think it worthwhile to note the latest developments that have come up in project management meetings, conferences, and in the field. Some of these are in alignment with what you may have seen in some earlier articles, but these are four that I find to be most significant thus far, and there may be a couple of surprises for you here.
(more…)Highway to the (Neutral) Zone — Net Neutrality and More on Information Economics
Net Neutrality was very much in the news this week. First, the President came out in favor of Net Neutrality on Monday. Then later in the week the chair of the FCC, Tom Wheeler, who looked like someone caught with his hands in the cookie jar, vacillated on how the agency sees the concept of Net Neutrality. Some members of Congress have taken exception.
(more…)Doctor My Eyes — Excel is Not a Project Management Tool (and neither is PowerPoint)
This is not to disparage the utility of a good spreadsheet to take care of those transient requirements to take a bit of data from the reporting systems and to run some custom algorithms or trends to perform what-if or other one-off analysis. Probably most of us do this occasionally.
What I am referring to is the condition in many organizations in which data that consists of information essential to business operations is kept and analyzed using spreadsheets or other flat delimited storage or text methods. The issue here is the optimum use of information, which the use of Excel and PowerPoint does not achieve. Before anyone thinks that this is a contrarian’s post that is critical of Microsoft products, one need only read the technical advantages of true relational database management systems that are managed by specialized language like MS SQL. Each of these applications and products has their proper place.
(more…)Family Affair — Part II — The Micro and Managerial Economics of Projects under Public Monopsony
In my last post I summarized by the macroeconomic environment in which we operate and delved into some discussion of microeconomic foundations. The response was positive if lukewarm overall, but ego-boosting is not why I started a blog. One of my readers once asked why I don’t take on some hot button issues. Well that’s not my role or area of expertise. I’m not a politician or a social commentator. The community I inhabit has a large impact but is relatively small and mostly consists of engineers, scientists, mathematicians, some policy-makers, thought leaders, and other technically-focused professionals. I’m not trying to stir up emotions. I’m out to stimulate discussion and thought. I’m relieved that I don’t get trolls when posting factual information that goes against popular misconceptions. They are a waste of time.
(more…)My Generation — Baby Boom Economics, Demographics, and Technological Stagnation
“You promised me Mars colonies, instead I got Facebook.” — MIT Technology Review cover over photo of Buzz Aldrin
“As a boy I was promised flying cars, instead I got 140 characters.” — attributed to Marc Maron and others
I have been in a series of meetings over the last couple of weeks with colleagues describing the state of the technology industry and the markets it serves. What seems to be a generally held view is that both the industry and the markets for software and technology are experiencing a hardening of the arteries and a resistance to change not seen since the first waves of digitization in the 1980s.
(more…)
Life, Project Management, and Everything 
You must be logged in to post a comment.