Payson Hall

Payson Hall is a consulting project manager for Catalysis Group, Inc. in Sacramento, California. Payson consults on project management issues and teaches project management. Email Payson at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter at @paysonhall.

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All Stories by Payson Hall

The Ethical Responsibility of Defect Severity Classification

When dealing with defect classification, it's important to not blindly adhere to the criteria without consideration for real business or human implications. If your software does safety-critical work, do the defect levels reflect that? Or could something go live with potentially disastrous consequences?

Jelly Beans and Defect Classification: Different Strategies for Success

When there’s a bowl of jelly beans, some people grab a few at random, but most of us have favorites. If you're crafty and have flexible standards, you can maximize consumption by adjusting your criteria as colors dwindle. Classifying defects should not be like choosing jelly beans; you need firm standards.

Let’s Stop the Password Madness

People and organizations definitely should take security seriously. That said, some of the “experts” advising about password security are going too far. Frequent password changes give the appearance of more robust security without actually affecting anything. Payson Hall unpacks this requirement.

“So, How’s It Going?” Thoughts on Reporting Project Progress

People near the top of your org chart often want project status updates to be short and sweet. But oversimplified measures risk miscommunication. Be thoughtful when someone asks, “So, how’s it going?” If you summarize too much, you can lose context, and these managers may feel misled later.

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.

When You Provide Good Service, Performance Metrics Are Your Friend

Not all production support organizations have (or want) formal agreements describing the level of service they will provide to their customers. But if your organization generally provides good service, SLAs and the metrics they encourage can be excellent communication tools for your stakeholders.

Unblurring Lines: Clarifying the Scope of Your Project

Project and subproject boundaries can be challenging because people have different assumptions about exactly where the boundaries are. What, exactly, do your plan and budget include? Items on the boundary should be reviewed with project sponsors and documented as clearly in or out of project scope.

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