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EVM, KPIs for evaluation of staff, projects and company

In three of the startups I have worked, one of my responsabilities was to define performance KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for the employees. As an experiment, I tried to see in what degree the Earned Value Management (SPI and CPI) parameters can be used to evaluate the performance of the employees and the projects. I started with a pilot project where I have collected a series of informations for each team/resources/feature. Continue Reading →

Agile, Budget Management, Communication Management, Human Resource Management, Lead by Experimenting, Management, Monitoring and Controlling Shortlink
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How important are the diplomas and certifications?

The only diploma, I found useful in my professional life, was the Bachelor Degree, because it helped me to get hired. The master diploma didn’t helped me to get a better job and didn’t make me smarter, but helped me to get a very cheap accommodation in one of the best student dormitories and I save the money for rent.

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Agile, Career Path, Human Resource Management, PMI Framework Shortlink
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Agile under the PMI’s umbrealla

Today I had an argument with one of the most fanatical supporters of “Agile”, I have ever encountered. It all started with two words: PMI and Agile. My colleague argued the traditional project management, as defined in the PMBoK by Project Management Institute (PMI) is totally different from project management from “Agile”. To prove this, he made ​​a presentation about “Agile” benefits compared to the traditional project management. I confess his presentation was exceptional, but despite his very well documented work, I couldn’t agree with his conclusions. This emerged into a scandal: Continue Reading →

Agile, PMI Framework, Waterfall Shortlink
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Risk Management

-What is this?

-It’s a new Risk, Andrew.

-We have only one month until deadline and do you tell me there is a new Risk?

-Andrew, a risk does not mean it is already happened. In addition, I cannot foresee all the risks of a project from the beginning. Some risks appear or disappear depending on the evolution of the project. What do you want me to do? To tell you that the project has no risks?

-We need to talk. There are a lot of grumpy people complaining you don’t have the project under control. Continue Reading →

Agile, Budget Management, Monitoring and Controlling, Planning, Risk Management Shortlink
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Agile Earned Value Management

Earned Value Management (EVM), described in PMBoK by PMI, is a technique for measuring project performance and progress in an objective manner. Although EVM involves three areas of knowledge in project management: scope, schedule and cost, when we talk about EVM, in general, it is about budget management. It is well known that EVM offers one of the most efficient method of control and forecasting during the project. Because of its complexity, EVM technique is usually used on large projects, managed “by the book”, in traditional way as in PMBoK. The question is: Can Agile framework offer the same methods and techniques of control and predictability as EVM from traditional project management? Continue Reading →

Agile, Budget Management, Monitoring and Controlling Shortlink
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A lesson of Gathering Requirements

Operational meeting always lasts three hours instead of one. Many times, I had the sensation we fake working (there is always someone late at the meeting or someone is tapping his Facebook app during the meeting). Of course in three hours of conversations, we talk also about serious problems: long term plans, loyalty programs, but all of them remained on the stage of wishes, at least until now. Practically we didn’t managed to sign a contract with a strategic partner and we didn’t manage to sell nothing. Although we are in deep shit, still we are dreaming at “plans will change the world“… Continue Reading →

Agile, F-Startup, Scope Management Shortlink