Category: General Discussion
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Where does an IT Project Manager’s job end?
Originally published on CIO.com Traditionally a project is judged complete when it is transitioned into service. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate this endpoint. A CIO asked me this recently because his team was expressing an interest in extending their role so that they could assess their project ‘from the other side’. Traditionally, as a PM…
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Defrag your IT to-do list
After a successful Bank Holiday building flat pack furniture, I decided that I would get proactive on all the other little jobs around the house. You know the ones. The loose this, the broken that, the “in need of oiling” the other. They’re the jobs that are mentally scheduled for completion “at some point” largely…
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How asking ‘What if’ could predict your IT Project curved balls
I have a new favourite way to pass free time. It’s a webcomic called “xkcd” by Randall Munroe, an American cartoonist, author, engineer, scientific theorist, and the creator of the most addictive website ever! Especially the site’s “What If” column, where Randall attempts to scientifically answer outlandish, hypothetical questions sent to him by readers. Questions…
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How to Stop Grey Days Damaging IT Project Health?
It’s a bit of a strange one this. Independently, I’ve had two people ask roughly the same question – why do IT projects always go wrong at this time of year? I’d never really thought about it before. By the way, in case you happen not to be reading this around the time I’m writing…
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Align Your IT and Business Strategy … Or Else!
Understanding the business strategy is vital to adding real IT value. Here’s why… Originally published on CIO.com I am loving an article on CIO.com by Martha Heller right now which opens with a great proposition – “How to strengthen IT’s connection to your business”. I think that it’s crucial that this connection is strengthened. The difference between…
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IT Projects – Think bigger picture. The fine line between over and under delivery
There’s a fella used to go in a local fish and chip shop. Run with me on this. It must have been every week because he was always there whenever we decided to have a chippy tea on a Friday. For about the last month though, he hasn’t been in the queue. I don’t know…
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Collaboration. If it’s good enough for Paul McCartney…
There was a time when collaborations between music artists were a rarity. Queen and David Bowie, George Michael and Aretha Franklin, Lionel Richie and Diana Ross … they stood out. It was quite exciting when your favourite artist teamed up with someone else because the outcome was always something magical. These days ‘collabs’ are more…
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How To Hire Best Fit IT Talent. The 7 Step Strategic Partner Checklist
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh once estimated that bad hires had cost his firm company “well over $100 million”. Almost half of hiring/HR managers (41%) believe that bad hires have cost their firms “thousands” and the U.S. Department of Labour puts the price of a bad hire at least 30% of the employee’s first-year earning. However,…
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Five Steps To Prevent Confirmation Bias Impacting Your IT Project Success
Are you guilty of confirmation bias? It’s a psychological habit where you filter your reality until it resembles something more aligned with your existing beliefs. I think we’re all a bit guilty of it from time to time. For example, you think that your co-workers are lazy so all you see is them sloping off…
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IR35 – How New Rules Are Influencing IT Recruitment
I recently wrote an article for Access Talent’s sister company Stoneseed, about the potential impending rollout of IR35 rules to the Private Sector and how it will impact IT Project resourcing. Since then I have had a number of requests for my predictions about what this might all mean for IT recruitment. The main thing…