Act on Ideas

Projects and product enhancements at Google start as ideas and gather momentum through actions that influence and garner support. ...

... "Many products and product improvements at Google start with one person having an idea, sketching it out, showing a prototype to others, getting feedback, and soliciting support from others. " ...

Via Poyner: Google projects

Is a life a project?

An elderly and beloved family member scared us over the weekend. We thought we were going to lose her. Fortunately, she is a fighter and now seems to be recovering well.

However, PMThinkers, it occurred to me…is a life a project? By definition, a project is temporary and unique. So is a life. Even if you believe in lives beyond this one, I think you will agree that this life, in this time, born into these circumstances (e.g., parents, birth order, etc.), meets the definition of temporary and unique.

In projects, though, at the outset we determine the purpose, the problem we are attempting to solve and/or the opportunity we need to exploit, as well as the corresponding goals and objectives, constraints, assumptions, etc. In life, some of this is determined for us (e.g., the socio-economic class into which we are born is a constraint, at least at first). Even before we are born, who our parents are lead folks to assume what the baby will look like, be like, and become. Luckily for some of us, some of these assumptions are proven wrong. Again, the same holds true in projects. As assumptions are proven wrong, they can positively or negatively impact the project outcome.

I suppose some people do have predetermined goals, like projects should. Take royalty for instance. A baby is born a prince and so it is expected that he will become king. Many of the rest of us are left to figure out our purpose. Personally, I am still struggling with this one. And many of us, like my family member, look back nearing the end of their lives and reflect on the best of times and how life progressed, without objectives. So it is with projects that have not been run tightly. One looks back at the end and says, “well, we accomplished a lot so we were successful”. However, one did not accomplish what one set out to achieve since one set out to achieve nothing in particular. This is a fine way to live, I suppose. This is not a fine way to run projects.

If a way to frame my life is in project format, I better go do some more thinking. I have done these exercises before, but it is time to revisit them. Since I wasn't born a princess, when I am closer to the end of my life than to the beginning, what times do I want to remember with a toothless smile?

Project Demo Don'ts

The project prototype is ready. You're scheduled to provide a demo tommorrow. What do you do? What shouldn't you do? Here's some don't do's. Don't reuse a single use case for all audiences. Do an audience analysis ahead of time, have your audience segmented, deploy use cases by segment. For more dont's continue here ...

... "Don’t ignore that the VPs who are potential customers only want a top-level overview and that the customer managers are interested only in their portion of the process. " ...

Via Guy Kawasaki, American Express OPEN Forum Idea Hub: Five Things Not To Do in a Demo

Visioning with the Box

I've done a lot of visioning over the years - diverging and converging ... I like this vision box approach from the agile methodology and hope to give it a try in the near future. It could be a good way to involve all team members and create energy and momentum in the project initiation process. ...

... "The basic concept is straightforward: If your new product was marketed in a box, like cereal or consumer electronics, what would be the marketing copy on the box? What product features, benefits, and attributes would you highlight on the box that would attract shoppers and convince them to buy your product? " ...

Via TechRepublic: Define the project vision

Reframe IT Projects for Business Success

Refresh your IT project portfolio with business improvement projects in the new year. Ensure the balance of the portfolio will generate positive returns by favoring business projects with tangible paybacks. Start by seeding your project pipeline with new project proposals and pilots or prototypes. ...

... "It's a business improvement project only if it includes redefinition of how the business is supposed to run, if users are trained in how to perform their new responsibilities using the new software, and if the project isn't finished until the business is successfully operating differently and better. " ...

Via TMCNet: Resolutions for 2009