Intro to Value Stream Mapping

I'm in the process of doing a Current State Value Stream Mapping (VSM) for the PMO. The big questions are, based on the current state, are there areas we can improve? Can we eliminate any waste (or increase efficiencies) from our current processes? The answer to both questions is YES.  Everyone should be reviewing there processes on a regular basis, giving themselves opportunities to become more profitable.  Though I'm advising a Federal Government project, the American people still deserve the most bangs for their bucks. Today is the last day for one of my projects.  It is done.  Now is the time to see what worked and what did not.  We now need to do a retrospective and see if we learned any lessons from the last go-around. I will give the vendor credit on this particular project. This small cross-functional team did a better job than others, in part, because we had a daily 15 minute status meeting. (otNay allowedway otay entionmay Agileway). One of the other program teams wastes so much time because they only communicate once a week in a 3 hour meeting.  I hope my VSM will change that.

For those new to Value Stream Mapping, I included a 5 minute video that does a pretty good job of explaining its value.  See how a process that took 140+ days to complete was shortened down to just 30 days.

If you don't have your current process documented, you need to do it!  As the saying goes, "What cannot be measured cannot be improved".  Don't be complacent and accept the waste.  Times are tough and we need to think lean!

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What is in a Name

This weekend, I took the first step of rebranding myself. Some know me as Derek Huether the "PMP"; some as Derek Huether the "CSM"; some even refer to me as The Critical Path blogger or Zombie PM. With the real risk of the Federal Government shutting down this next week, I'd be an idiot if I didn't eat my own dogfood and have some kind of Risk Management strategy.  Though I may have to "accept" the risk, I will do what I can to mitigate it.

Because I am NOT a government employee, if there is a shutdown, I will NOT get paid.  When I heard about a possible shutdown, I remembered the similarities between grief and risk.  So, what needs to get done?  I need to get my resume and social links updated.  Wherever my name is, I need to make sure the message I'm sending reflects my current frame of mind.

When I look at LinkedIn profiles, it appears some people really love adding initials after their names.  I saw one fellow had no less than 6 acronyms after his name.  Though people in the industry may understand this alphabet soup, I think many are just annoyed by it.  I did a search on him and he really had nothing to say (publicly).  So, who is this guy?  What I see happening is he'll be loaded into a database with everyone else and he'll become nothing more than a keyword search.

Though I admit, that could happen to me as well.  I'll do what I can not to pander to it.  I think people should be hired because of their personalities or because they are good culture fits.  I wouldn't want to be hired because a hiring manager needed a body with a PMP or CSM.

I'm not going to turn my back on what I've learned over the years.  I will still champion the baseline information the pursuit of these certifications or accreditations exposed me to.  But, I'm not going to continue using them in my name.  It's just not who I am.

PMI Agile Project Professional Survey

The Project Management Institute (PMI) finally made the public announcement that they intend to have an Agile Project Professional "APP" certification. Surprisingly, I have heard very little negative feedback. My questions? Do you think this new certification will be good or bad for either the Agile Community or the Traditional Project Management Community?

I created a survey form in Google Docs. After you enter your choices, you will have a chance to see what others selected. I thank you so very much for participating!

Regards, Derek

Thank you for your interest. This survey is now closed.  Here are the results.

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End Of The World As We Know It

After the public announcement last night, that PMI intends to create an agile project management certification,  I heard REM playing in the back of my head.  "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine".  Though I will admit I was a bit nervous when I learned PMI was going to do an Agile certification, back in October (2010), I made my peace with it.  I came into the picture toward the tail end of the PMI Agile Project Professional (APP) process.  As Mike Cottmeyer stated on his blog,

We’ve had a ton of really smart people involved, people you’d know and respect in the agile community.

Those people worked really heard and I applaud them for their efforts.  As an independent reviewer of the competencies, techniques/tools, knowledge and skills, I can personally assure members of the Agile community that PMI is not trying to rewrite Agile as they know it.  It's not perfect, but it's a pretty damn good version 1.0!

For those who were not at the PMI North American Congress back in October (2010), there was strong representation by the Agile Community of Practice and a lot of curiosity, and might I add ignorance, by the average Congress attendee.  I didn't find it surprising, considering there is a complete omission of the word “Agile” in PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) version 4.0.

It is my hope that this new certification will provide that baseline understanding of Agile for many.  I do believe this is a step in the right direction.

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Meetings: Get To The Point

Upon a brief review of my site analytics, I noticed something striking. For the month of February, almost nine percent (9%) of my page views are for one thing:  Free Meeting Minutes Template Back in March 2009, I wrote a post about helpful tips for running a meeting.  With it was a free copy of my meeting minutes template.  So, I think it's time for a brief refresher with a few updates.

When Hosting a Meeting:

[1] Write out the purpose of the meeting with actionable events in mind. e.g. “Provide an updated status, identifying risks and opportunities, and identify new action items.”

[2] Identify your attendee list but only keep those you can map to the actionable events listed in step 1.  There is a difference between an attendee list and a communications distribution list.

[3] Create an agenda.  Never schedule a meeting without a written agenda. A meeting without an agenda is inefficient and a waste of time.

[4] Identify who will run the meeting and who will take notes. It should not be the same person.  Both people should know their roles before the meeting begins.

[5] Ensure discussion points align to the agenda. If the conversation drifts off topic, recommend taking the discussion to another forum.

[6] End the meeting by having the note taker read back discussion points and the action items. Make sure there is a consensus before the meeting ends.

[7] Send out the meeting minutes within one to two days. Consult your distribution list to ensure all necessary people get a copy.

As a disclaimer, I hate meetings.  Many are unnecessary.  But, when meetings are necessary, get them done as quickly as possible.  Get in, get to the point, get out, get back to work.

Bonus Recommendations:

[1] Start on time. If you don't start on time, you can't finish on time.

[2] Do not schedule your meeting to end at the top or bottom of the hour. I'm a fan of the 22 minute meeting.  Have meetings end a little early.  Some people need to get to other meeting and this will help prevent them from being late.

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Team-Based or Value-Based

I'm currently reading a book about Systems Analysis and Design.  In a chapter discussing Agile Methods, one of the statements really rubbed me the wrong way.

The Agile Manifesto is a set of team-based principles...

For the last 6 or so years, I've assumed the Manifesto was a set of "value-based" principles.  That is, at its core, Agile is about delivering value or eliminating waste.  What I like about the Manifesto is it leaves a lot to interpretation.  It doesn't spell thing out to the N^th degree.  But, I'm very curious what the community thinks.  How would you describe the principles?

Please leave a comment.  Tell me what you think.

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Project Management Joke

So the NCI Research Fellow and the PM Blogger are having beers.  The Fellow turns to the Blogger and begins to describe the structure and function of viral RNAs and their interactions with proteins with a focus on the identification of new targets and the development of novel anticancer/antiviral strategies.  The Fellow asks the Blogger if he had ever heard of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The  blogger says no, and then received a high level summary of what PCR was. After a few beers, the the Blogger turns to the Fellow and begins to describe different methods of project managers and leaders and how they may interact differently with a team, depending on the project.  The Blogger asks the Fellow if he had ever heard of Agile practices or approaches. The Fellow says no, and then received a high level summary of what Agile was.

So, that is where the joke ends.  This really was not a joke.  After a short discussion about fast zombies versus slow zombies, Dr. Legiewicz and I found ourselves talking shop.  We talked about recent conferences we spoke at and about how things have changed in our jobs.  We started our careers following one set of practices and have watched how techniques have developed, matured, and evolved.

Dr. Legiewicz stated, when PCR was developed in 1983, nobody saw its value.  But, it is now a common and an often indispensable technique used in medical and biological research labs for a variety of applications.  I told him that Agile techniques sound like they may take a very similar path.  Being Agile just celebrated 10 years of the Manifesto, I have seen a lot of acceptance in just the last few years.  Could it be that it to shall become common and an often indispensable technique used on projects for a variety of applications?

Or, did Michal and I just have too many beers?

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Free Intro To Scrum Wallpaper

Around 2005, when I started using Scrum, I went looking for figures that would help me describe the process to my product owners, stakeholders, and my team.  I think that it's always good to use a visual aid to help someone understand process or where they fit into that process.  Well, I found a free wallpaper over at Mountain Goat Software.  Since then, I've seen this exact wallpaper used over and over again by many people, to describe Scrum.

Scrum Intro Wallpaper - Mountain Goat Software

Well, I thought it was time for a refresh.  After I created my first prototype of a new wallpaper, I worked with Pictofigo to refine my vision of the Scrum process.  Because the process is centered around people, I wanted to make sure they were in the drawing.  Additionally, we made male and female versions.  This free 300 dpi wallpaper is available for download from Premium Pictofigo.  The first wallpaper (of figure) is 1600 x 1200.  More sizes will be posted soon, so you don't have to mess with them.  Depending on feedback from the Scrum Community, we may refine the drawing a little.  To get the latest and greatest, go to the Pictofigo website and get it for free.

Scrum Intro Wallpaper - Pictofigo

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License, which means you can copy, distribute, and display the images including in commercial and derivative works as long as you include attribution to Pictofigo and myself. (just don't delete our names)