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!

Like the drawing? Get it free at Pictofigo

Veni Vidi Loquor

Julius Caesar, in recognition of his overwhelming victory against Pharnaces II of Pontus, sent a simple, but powerful message back to Rome and the Senate: "VENI VIDI VICI", I came, I saw, I conquered.  My message back to Washington DC and my Project Management colleagues: "VENI VIDI LOQUOR", I came, I saw, I spoke. It's now been a solid week since I left for home from the AtTask Work Management Summit (WorkOut2011), in Salt Lake City.  I was asked to come out to Utah and be a speaking guest of the conference.  I basically ran two themes:  [1] Balanced project management through the use of Agile concepts [2] Project Management Zombies.

I had the opportunity to participate on a panel the first day I was there and then was part of the keynote the next.  The keynote was by far the highlight of my trip, sharing the stage with Ty Kiisel and Raechel Logan (The hosts of TalkingWork), Donna Fitzgerald (Research Director at Gartner), and Scott Johnson (Founder and CEO of AtTask).

WorkOut 2011 was nothing short of spectacular.   From the exceptional venue (The Grand American Hotel), to the passionate and approachable people, to the forward thinking product design, I am in awe of what AtTask delivered.

Because I spoke completely unscripted, I'll have to wait until the YouTube videos comes out (I've been told by the Firm Snapp Conner PR, my panel talk and the Keynote will be out soon) to see exactly what I said.  Fortunately, a few people in the audience quoted me in their tweets.

"One of our failings in this day and age is we forget we're working with people."

"Inspire more people from the bottom up, empower them to become leaders"

"Remember you're not managing resources - you're managing people"

"Don't judge zombies [on a project] they don't know what they're doing"

Thank you, everyone, for the memories! I look forward to seeing you all again.

Photo: Bryant Livingston

Week Retrospective 110130

Posts this week

I was a guest of AgileScout Live.  I really enjoyed myself.  Check out my video interview and retrospective.

I wrote about how I’m always looking for ways to communicate with team members, vendors, and customers.  When trying to understand the range of communications, I recently reassessed what I thought the opposite of communications was.  I no longer believe it is silence.  See some of my examples on why the opposite of communications is manipulation.

I loved this 10 minute video by Mike Cottmeyer, I had to write a post for it.  Though I frequent the LeadingAgile website, I had to do a little more than just retweet a link in support of this post.  For those who are new to Agile, Scrum, or Kanban, you need to carve out 10 minutes and watch this video on blending Scrum and Kanban.

After we published our first Scrum Posters, I was asked if we were going to create Non-Scrum Posters.  The answer is YES!  This week, we completed our (first) one-of-a-kind Pictofigo Project Management poster.  The Project Management Process Groups poster is now available!

Like so many this year, I got snowed in.  Unable to go into the office, I instead blogged about how our HOA handled the situation compared to the great snow storms of last year.

I recently read a pre-published copy of the Scrum Pocket Guide: A Quick Start Guide To Practical Agile Software Developmentby Peter Saddington of AgileScout.  I'm giving away one free PDF copy of the book.  Find out how to get registered to win.

Want to use the blog image for free? Find this drawing at Pictofigo

Upcoming Interview on AgileScout

LIVE Interview this Saturday with me at 10:30am EST, 1/22/2011.[GO TO: www.agilescout.com/live]

AgileScout will be broadcasting with live chat so you can ask me anything you want, or just join us for the web cast and see two Agile-fanatics go at it. Want to see more interviews by AgileScout? Check out the other broadcasts that were previously recorded.

Until then, if you're looking for an independent voice democratizing Agile, go check out AgileScout!

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Assumptions and Constraints

I turned to my wife last week and asked what our plans were for the weekend. She countered by asking me if there was anything specific I wanted to do.  My answer was I wanted to eat somewhere featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  One quick search and a YouTube video later, and we had our Sunday planned. We were headed to Baltimore for lunch at Di Pasquales Marketplace. I could taste it all now. Mmmmm, homemade paste, sausage, and mozzarella.  After lunch, we'd head to the Inner Harbor and enjoy the beautiful weather. This is where my personal story ends and my project management story begins.  As I've said before, everything in life points back to project management.

Imagine our weekend adventure was a project.  We planned our little outing for Sunday.  We assumed Di Pasquales was open on Sunday.  We were wrong.  We discovered if we wanted to go to Di Pasquales, our time constraint was Monday thru Friday: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. or Saturday: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.  Fortunately, we had a plan B.  Always have a plan B! I added our trip to the backlog and we picked the next highest priority from the list.

Here's my little read world project management advice for today.

1. Don't start a project, until you know your assumptions and constraints.
2. Get buyin from stakeholders to ensure you are all in agreement on priorities.
3. When making a proposal, always have a plan B.

Since we were not able to go, perhaps we'll go next weekend.  Regardless, if we had not identified our assumptions and constraints, we could have found ourselves eating somewhere less desirable and "wasting" the day.

Why Agile Might Not Work (Video)

I was minding my own business when I noticed a tweet by Alistair Cockburn.  He clearly thought something was funny so I figured I'd check it out.  What awaited me was this video.  If you understand Agile or just interested about it, you should spend the next 3 minutes and 14 seconds enjoying a creative perspective on why Agile might not work for you.  It's very tongue-and-cheek.  The slideshow it was based on was located on the PMI website.  Since the site was updated, it isn't clear where it went. 

On the eve of a new phase

On this last day before our son starts his first day of public education, I look back and realize 5 years have passed in a blink of an eye. Project management can be a challenging profession but nothing can compare to being a parent. Sure, I feel guilt if I screw something up on a project, but in the end it's just money. What if we screw up our kids!? Because my wife and I figured family was more important than work (and money), my wife put her career on hold to ensure our son got the attention and nurturing he deserved. Our perspective and optimism of the future is represented in an awesome video created for the AARP U@50 video contest. You may have seen it before. It's worth the 2 minutes.

If anyone is looking for a technical writer, armed with a masters degree and years of experience, my wife may consider some part-time work. One thing is for certain, you know she has her priorities straight.

I won’t be staying late with you

I have to again give credit to 37signals.  In their book Rework, they pointed out the 800 pound gorilla in the room, over and over again.  This video is a "gorilla" I've been dealing with for the last 15 years. I usually arrive at the office around 06:30 or 07:00 (2 hours before anyone else).  Why?  I'll probably get more done in those 2 first hours than I will the rest of the day.  Though I only check my email at the top of each hour, I still deal with meetings and people "dropping by" to ask me questions or to tell me about the newest restaurant in their neighborhood.  Interruptions mean you don't get work done. I'm not saying you shouldn't make your customer happy. I'm saying you should be able to get it done without working late.

Tell me if this sounds familiar.  Some of your co-workers show up at the office around 09:00 (closer to 09:30) and then take a 1.5 to 2 hour lunch break.  They then don't understand why you turn down meeting requests scheduled for late in the afternoon or don't respond to emails sent to you after business hours.  Just because someone is unable to manage his or her work, I am not going to feel guilty for not working late.  Before I had a family or understood work-life balance, I didn't hesitate pulling an all-nighter at the office.  Now it just looks like poor time management.

So, are you working late tonight? Do you really have work you need to do are are you just trying to make yourself feel better by creating work for yourself? I'll make you a deal. Drink your preferred caffeinated beverage around 05:00 and get to the office no later than 07:00. You'll probably have the most productive day you've had in months.