management

Avoid Predictable Staffing Mistakes in an Economic Recovery

An economic downturn puts pressure on management to control costs, and sometimes, not much can be done about that. But it's important not to carry these penny-pinching habits into a recovery. There are observable patterns to labor costs that can help predict problems likely to happen in 2015.

Payson Hall's picture
Payson Hall
The Weakest Link in Your Chain

There is a saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. DevOps helps establish a pipeline to automate application and systems software deployments. DevOps also has an amazing way of very quickly discovering exactly which link in the deployment chain needs to be fixed or replaced.

Bob Aiello's picture
Bob Aiello
Why It May Seem Like People Aren’t Listening to You

When you introduce a new policy or give instructions and people do something completely different instead, it can seem like they are deliberately ignoring you. But it might actually be something you are doing (or not doing). Consider three ways in which you could be contributing to the situation.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Averting Rude Behavior—Even if It’s Unintentional

How often do we glance a certain way, use a certain phrase, or make an innocuous comment and unintentionally offend a customer or coworker? Worse, how often do we do so and not even realize it? You don't have to worry whether every syllable or nod might cause offense. Just be conscientious.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Long-Term Trends: Project Schedule and Productivity on the Decline

QSM recently completed an analysis of how project schedule has changed over time and the subsequent impact on effort and productivity. The results indicate that project size, effort, and productivity have all decreased over time. This story explores the findings and shares some related observations.

Katie  Costantini's picture
Katie Costantini
Aligning IT with the Business: The Age-Old Debate

The topic of IT–business alignment is a subject that has been discussed, debated, theorized, and proceduralized for decades. Why is it still a topic at all? Well, mainly because of differing beliefs about IT’s job function. How do you define the relationship between IT and the overall organization?

Eric Bloom's picture
Eric Bloom
How to Give Instructions So That People Will Follow Them

If you have asked for one thing and gotten another, maybe the problem is the way you gave the instructions. This is the “ curse of knowledge"; once you know something, it's difficult to imagine how it appears to someone who doesn't know. Read on to learn how to better communicate instructions.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Ken Whitaker Presents Leading Software Teams Today at ADC/BSC East

Ken Whitaker of Leading Software Maniacs gave the first keynote presentation at Agile Development Conference & Better Software Conference East 2014. It was titled “From Chaos to Order: Leading Software Teams Today” and covered his five tenets of leadership to restore order to product management.

Cameron Philipp-Edmonds's picture
Cameron Philipp...