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The Quintessential Survival Guide in the Corporate Quagmire! | |
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Project Management - Are You Done Yet
What happens when a Project Manager asks one of his team members "Are you done yet"? If you're a seasoned project manager, then the following scenario will sound very familiar. If you're new at this game, take my word for it: This will happen to you! ------------------------------------------------------ Starring in this article: R.U. Dunyet (a.k.a. Red) ------------------------------------------------------ (Monday) (Wednesday) (Friday morning) (Friday evening) (Monday) (Wednesday) (Friday) What Do They Mean by "Almost Done"? The most popular answer to the "How's your feature going?" question is "I'm almost done". But what do developers mean by "almost"? And what about "done"? I've had developers tell me that they were done when they had in fact not even committed their code to the source repository. When I asked them what they meant by done, they replied their code worked on their machine. Sure, they had not committed their code, integrated their feature, installed it on the daily build or developed unit tests yet, but that's something you do after you're done, right? Wrong! Lesson Learned Don't ask vague questions like "Are you done yet" and then walk away. Drill the developer for more details. Ask for specific deliverables like software requirements specifications (SRS), a feature demo, results from unit tests, or even better, have one of your testers write a test case build on the SRS and have him execute it against the daily build. If the test case does not pass, the feature is not done! Don't be a pest. There are developers that have proven time and time again they will develop features on time and according to specs, and there's no need to annoy them. But let everyone know that you want an accurate report on everyone's status, and do what's necessary to get it. Luc Richard is professional speaker and author with over 10 years of experience managing the development of software applications. He can be reached via The Project Mangler (http://www.projectmangler.com).
MORE RESOURCES: Analysis: Euro zone strugglers lack innovative knack (Reuters)
Obama gains over Romney amid better economy: poll (Reuters) Reuters - bolstered by a stronger economic outlook and recent job growth - would win in a match-up against the two leading Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, a poll on Monday showed. German industrial orders buoyed by global demand (AP) AP - The German government says strong demand from outside the eurozone helped the country's industrial orders rise a stronger-than-expected 1.7 percent in December. China growth could halve if Europe crisis worsens: IMF (Reuters) Reuters - China's annual economic growth could be cut nearly in half this year if Europe's debt crisis tips the world economy into a recession, putting pressure on Beijing to unveil "significant" fiscal stimulus, the International Monetary Fund said. Europe's debt rose to 82 percent of output at end-Q3 (Reuters) Reuters - The European Union's total government debt rose slightly to 82.2 percent of economic output in the third quarter of 2011, the EU's statistics agency said on Monday, lower than the United States but still a burden that could take decades to pay down. Analysis: Iran economy could limp along under sanctions (Reuters) Reuters - Tightening international sanctions against Iran look set to shrink its economy, push up inflation and further erode its currency, but they may fail to deliver a knock-out blow that forces Tehran to compromise on its nuclear ambitions. IMF warns Europe downturn could cut China growth (AP) AP - A sharp downturn in Europe could cut China's economic growth rate nearly in half, the International Monetary Fund said Monday, adding to warnings about a possible severe global slowdown this year. Oil below $97 as traders eye Greek debt talks (AP)
France, German leaders meet amid euro, Syria crises (Reuters) Reuters - The French and German leaders meet on Monday in Paris for annual talks in which they will seek further economic coordination in the crisis-hit European Union and discuss the escalating violence in Syria. Police clear DC Occupy site, protesters look to a new day (Reuters) Reuters - U.S. police officers cleared tents from an "Occupy" protest site in downtown Washington on Sunday, but demonstrators said even without the camp they would continue to fight for economic equality and other issues. Obama says he deserves re-election, job's not done (AP)
Europe's shadow darkens outlook (Reuters) Reuters - A renewed focus on Europe's banking and debt crisis may quickly sap the nascent optimism about global economic prospects that followed a remarkably solid U.S. January employment report. With sparse data, focus returns to Europe (Reuters) Reuters - Europe will again be at the center of investors' focus this week as the U.S. earnings season passes the halfway mark and there is little on the economic calendar to give the market direction. France says Greek PSI talks going "relatively well" (Reuters) Reuters - France's finance minister said on Sunday talks were moving "relatively well" on the private sector portion of a Greek bailout, but discussions designed to bring its debt down to 120 pct of GDP level by 2020 were difficult. Obama presses Congress to pass aid to homeowners (Reuters) Reuters - President Barack Obama on Saturday pressed lawmakers to pass his proposal to provide up to $10 billion in aid to struggling homeowners, saying a failure to address the housing crisis would put the rest of the economy at risk. Dealer group sees higher US auto sales and prices (AP) AP - Car buyers will likely pay more for new and used cars this year as the economy improves. Hiring surges in January; jobless rate at 8.3 pct. (AP)
Obama pushes for veterans jobs programs (AP) AP - In an effort to cut the unemployment rate among veterans, President Barack Obama is calling for a new conservation program that would put veterans to work rebuilding trails, roads and levees on public lands. Unemployment falls sharply in US, rises in Europe (AP) AP - Unemployment falls sharply in US, rises in Europe Jobless rate at 3-year low as payrolls surge (Reuters) Reuters - The United States created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months in January and the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to a near three-year low, giving a boost to President Barack Obama. |
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