Many years ago, I was in New York City presenting our TimeControl timesheet product to the IT department of a large multi-national bank. There were easily 20 attendees if not more all sitting around a very long cherry-wood conference table that stretched to my left and right. I was in the middle and across from me were the CIO and the VP of Finance. That they were in this meeting was a measure of how…
The Thanksgiving Day holiday is coming up this week in the United States. In other countries, holidays are coming over the coming weeks when families have traditionally gathered. When people describe the expectations for a holiday gathering, the Norman Rockwell Painting “Freedom from Want” is the most common expression. We have some standard that this painting calls from us. The painting was done in 1942 in the US during the height of the Second World…
It’s not new. Ever since I’ve been in the IT industry, there has been a hunger from management to see all the information they need at a glance. This used to be a request for the elusive “one-page-report” which was asked of us over and over to show executives all about projects that were underway. In that day and age, data moved slower. It was common for people in the project management business to deliver…
For those who attended my session on September 29, 2020 at the Minnesota PMI Professional Development Days (PDD), you’ll find the slides and the Excel example below:
Thanks to all who were at my presentation on Sept 28 at the PMI MN Professional Development Days. The title of the presentation was “From Agile to Portfolio – Does it all belong together?” The slides from that presentation are below.
I’m so pleased to be associated with a new project. My long standing friend David Barrett who is well known throughout the project management industry has launched a new venture called ProjectBites. This service allows project managers to get training through small 20 minute “bites” of project management tips, techniques and ideas delivered by some highly experienced project management teachers, consultants and advisors. I was flattered to be asked to be a part of them…
This is my forth recession since starting HMS Software. I’m not liking this one any better than I liked the first three. We started HMS in 1984 just after the 1981-82 recession that was driven by middle east oil prices. It was a period of great growth that was accompanied by a huge expansion of technology. In 1990 we’d been in business for a few years already and inflation issues jumped in to cause a…
Yep – that’s me giving an in-person talk at a project management event last year. I really enjoy getting the chance to give a short course or even a symposium talk when I can. It’s great to connect directly with others who have the same interests. This year there will be some changes. A couple of my upcoming speaking engagements have shifted from in-person events into virtual conferences including: The Minnesota Chapter of the Project…
I recently sat for an interview with CEOCFO magazine. I’d been interviewed by them before about a year and a half ago but the world has changed so much since then. The interview covered how HMS has adapted to work during the pandemic and how we have seen a shift both before and during the global shutdown towards more Online Services like our TimeControl Online product. You will find the interview at: www.ceocfointerviews.com/hmssoftware20.html.
Many years ago, the London Tube; the subway system, created a slogan reminding people to look down and step carefully between the platform and the train. It’s become such a symbol of London that we see not only the Mind the Gap symbol on t-shirts but memes of all kinds to “Mind the… Something”. Last week here at HMS, we came across a gap. It was a process gap and because of checks and balances…
