LiquidPlanner Ain't Too Shabby

agility, planning, project management, project success, tools

Rich:

What is one of the key differences between an experienced project manager and one just entering the field? I believe one is this - a recognition that uncertainty is an unavoidable part of the gig, and the ability to manage makes the difference between a great PM and merely a good one. It's neat to find a tool that helps PMs to do just that - that tool is LiquidPlanner.

Posted 02/01/2009 - 23:35 // 1 comment

Time and Materials Contracts: A Value Proposition

agile, agile approach, agility, contracts, project management, teams

Rich:

It’s no surprise to anyone that software project managers dislike firm fixed price contracts. As many others have noted, firm fixed price contracts are typically accompanied by an expectation of fixed scope by the customer as well. In a world where estimates are notoriously uncertain to begin with, if there is no room to move on scope, the software team is “boxed in”, producing code that tends to veer dangerously away from the best value and quality.

Posted 11/21/2008 - 12:04 // 2 comments

Has agility gone mainstream?

agile approach, agility, software develpment

Jeff:

A few weeks ago I looked up “agility” on “wikipedia”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agility to help with a marketing piece. I wanted to explain how our company’s philosophies on agile software development also applied to our entire operation. My presumption was that the concept of agile software development is still relatively unknown, so I would need to define the concept in an easily digestable way.

Posted 02/07/2008 - 15:05

What is this agility you keep talking about?

agile approach, agility

Tiffany:

Last week I made a big career jump. I went from online journalism and the non-profit sector to contracting for this VERY busy technology firm. Humbling? Yes. Terrifying? Check. Absolutely fascinating and satisfying? That too! We specialize in the “Agile Approach.” I assumed it just meant flexible – little did I know how much there is to agility. I ended up here after working with Phase 2 as a client, and had often told people of their iterative approach to web development – without realizing I was only partially explaining the concept of the agile approach.

Posted 02/06/2008 - 16:42