Broadcasts

In Part 2 of Dave Prior's interview with Roman Pichler, the conversation turns to the Lean Startup community and how its ideas can add to Agile practices; the value of critical feedback; the willingness to experiment and fail; and the realities of developing Agile teams within larger, traditional organizations. [25:00]

In this podcast, Dave Prior interviews Agile thought-leader and author Roman Pichler about the critical role of product owner in an Agile environment. In shaping and, yes, owning the vision of the product, product owners serve as filter, facilitator and collaborator with project team members and stakeholders. [23:18]

Some of us thrive on stress. Others of us only seem to. For some, we seek to avoid it at all costs. While we all need to manage under stress, we need to make sure it doesn’t manage us. In this presentation, Mark Mullaly explores the subject of stress in a project environment, and how we can manage it more effectively. [14:40]

A project manager discusses challenges in the aerospace arena, including dealing with difficult clients and managing the often-antagonistic relationship between engineering and marketing teams. [9:30]

A veteran project manager shares some insights and experiences in turning around a major ERP implementation that had vanquished three capable predecessors who were too focused on the technical side. [7:05]

So what can project managers learn from the wrecked U.S.A.T. Liberty, which now rests off the northeast coast of Bali after being torpedoed in 1942? Perhaps that when the best-laid plans are laid to waste, creative responses can still salvage surprising results, often surpassing the original goals and intentions of a project.

Troubled projects have a certain momentum all their own, with issues that go beyond being late or overbudget. Here, a project rescue veteran discusses some tools and techniques for getting troubled projects back on track, from surveying key stakeholder and assessing root causes of the problems, to role-modeling new behaviors and mapping out a recovery plan. [10:40]

It’s not enough to control budget, schedule and scope. To add value, a project leader must identify and take ownership of the strategic objectives that align with the initiative. In doing so, they can create an appropriate sense of urgency for each team member’s work relative to the critical path. [10 min. 30 sec.]

Clear, consistent communication is a critical success factor on all projects. Status updates from the project manager are a minimum requirement, but on complex efforts involving change you need to do more to build support for the project. A communication plan — aligned with activities on the schedule — can help manage stakeholder expectations and keep people informed and motivated. [4 min, 36 sec.]

It could be said that project management is about addressing the right issues at the right times. For any given initiative, there will be a handful of crucial conversations that the best project managers will make sure take place. Here are five typical project situations begging for discussion. Can you relate? [4 min., 47 sec.]