Curiouser and Curiouser!

Breakthrough Skype Conferencing Solution. The promised Skype conferencing capability is nearing launch. The preview version is available for additional testing today. To confirm I just connect a conference with Bay Area (2), France and India. Great call quality. I then connected another with China... [Unbound Spiral]

Exciting news! I wonder when we'll be able to start integrating this functionality into our applications.

Why Projects are Hard.

This sidebar to Frank Patrick's series on Promises and Prescriptions attempts to show why it is we find projects hard. I found it hard to understand the sidebar! (Just kidding Frank.)

Projects are hard due to the interaction of uncertainty and variability. Our efforts to minimize uncertainty, for instance by deciding early, serve to limit the actions available to performers as the future unfolds. At the same time, we introduce variability by being unreliable with our project commitments. "Hard" is an understatement.

For those of you subscribing to Reforming Project Management via Bloglet, you can add a subscription to Frank's Focussed Performance Business Blog and have our postings delivered together automagically in the same email message. (You'll find Frank's subscription box at the top of the right-hand column.) Try it out for awhile.
[Reforming Project Management]

I think that this is one of the first areas in which business weblogs will make a big impact. Widespread use of weblogs offer a low-cost boost in information visibility & processing which has a two key knock-on effects for project work:

• earlier identification of risks
• better tracking of those risks

In concert these effects mean that more overall risk can be endured because it can be evaluated early & addressed (rather than only being seen after it is upon you).

In turn this ability to manage risk better holds out the possibility of a more flexible approach to project work. One such idea borrowed (most recently) from eXtreme Programming is the architectural spike.

In XP an architectural spike is a short, controlled, foray into unknown territory. When confronted with a difficult problem several of these spikes may be made to evaluate different approaches before selecting the best option.

Used as part of a lightweight, high-visibility, methodology this is an improved way of working. Because you can trust that your risks are containable you can safely defer decisions until they need to be made increasing options & flexibility for the project team.