The Savvy PM Blog
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Disciplined Agile® (DA) and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) are two popular, second-generation agile methodologies. They build on lean-agile thinking; and standard Scrum, Kanban, and DevOps practices. They offer practitioners tools to extend and mature their agility beyond the team to programs and the broader enterprise. They emerged about a decade after the Agile Manifesto. […]
Servant leadership and self-organizing teams are foundational Agile characteristics. However, defining these principles is like explaining gravity to a child—clear, tangible descriptions are elusive. The image of an English butler still comes to mind when I hear “servant leader.” We can use simple rules to deconstruct, visualize, and describe these abstract concepts. I think the […]
To successfully transform our organizations and adopt new ways of working, we need to understand how we got here. The study of management is a social science. It influences our thoughts, management practices, and organizational behaviors. Social sciences provide valuable insights. But they are not always testable, timeless, or universally applicable. Adam Smith’s “Wealth of […]
Agile was initially conceived to deliver software projects more quickly. We have now learned to apply these principles and practices well beyond technology. Leading enterprises are now focusing on business agility—building the organizational capability to respond more quickly to the ever-changing competitive landscape. Seventeen technology thought-leaders from around the world gathered at the Snowbird ski […]
Agile is a mindset described by a set of values and principles. It traces its roots to Lean, which is also foundational to other modern management theories. Lean’s primary focus is delivering value quickly and eliminating waste. Toyota was a Lean pioneer. Out of necessity, it needed to be very efficient to compete. It dramatically […]
Conflict exists. It is a natural part of being human. It occurs at home and at work. We disagree. We have different perspectives and opinions. We get upset by things that were said, or not said. These events arouse our emotions. We become angry or afraid. When there is conflict, we cannot control the other […]
The Gantt Chart is the most widely used project scheduling tool. It visually depicts the project’s activities, when they will occur, and their interdependencies. When used correctly, it is powerful. Unfortunately, most Gantts are poorly constructed, stripping them of their value. Henry Gantt developed the tool a century ago. The original Chart was simply […]
Agile teams are described as “self-organizing” or “self-managing.” But what does that really mean? The terms are frequently used but not widely understood. For teams to “be” Agile, they need to know how to act. Behaviors describe actions. They are observable and universally evident to all team members. To “be” Agile, teams should identify […]
Economics is the social science that studies making choices subject to constraints. Project, program, and portfolio managers make economic decisions daily. We try to maximize value delivery subject to the constraints of time, cost, quality, risk, and resource availability. Economics can help project managers make more informed decisions. It provides frameworks to evaluate different options […]
Excellent “soft skills” differentiate the great project managers. Since 90% of a project manager’s time is spent with others, it is no surprise that communications and emotional intelligence are vital traits. They are situationally aware, assess context, and communicate more effectively with their teams, customers, and stakeholders. Communications models and theories provide a framework to […]
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