I get this request on a semi-regular basis and given the work I’ve done with Microsoft, Oracle and other technical partners over the years, I’ve been involved in a number of early-release software programs. So, let’s talk about what people mean when they talk about Beta Test Programs. The first thing to know is that the perspectives of what the vendor is hoping for and wants are often different than what the users want. First…
I have an expression that my staff and clients have heard me use often. It’s a favorite of mine. “If you are a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.” It’s a paraphrase I know and as I was writing this article, I thought it behooved me to look up the source. It wasn’t much of a surprise that the author was someone who I read a lot of a long time ago, Abraham Maslow. …
I admit it. I’m a black-hat thinker. I think I always have been but many years ago, my first partner gave me a copy of Edward de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats”. The book is tiny but the impact was profound. De Bono was interested in how people think and in how people could train themselves to think more creatively; more laterally. There’s no one hat that’s perfect of the six, each has its own attraction…
In Canada, operating a private motorboat requires having a Pleasure Craft Operator’s Card. Now, after you get over chuckling about which bureaucrat made up the term, the basic principle is quite sound. If you are running a boat with a motor, you need to get this competency card. I’m proud to say I’m the holder of such a card to use my Chaparral motorboat during the summer. Getting my operator’s card required passing an exam…
I came to call it the “Triangle Audit” and my experience with the process dates back almost two decades to when our firm HMS started doing Research and Development Tax Claims. Project Managers are often faced with this process and not just for R&D claims but also for Defense Contract Audit Agency or other government compliance reasons. Let’s take a look at what the Triangle Audit looks like from the project manager’s perspective and how…