Posted by Mike on May 20, 2008
I was searching the other day on how to become a better developer and came across the following series of articles. I really liked how each part encourages the developer to examine different facets of their job. Part 11 might work, if you like “boughten” massages.
If you are a software developer, I think it is worthwhile to read one part each day and reflect on it. It just might help you become a better one!
Posted by Mike on May 2, 2008
I read an article, or should I say I started reading an article, called When Taking Time Off Is No Vacation by C.J. Kelly. The following quote caught my attention.
Of course, I still have to maintain the security infrastructure. Before I went on leave, I worked a lot of hours trying to get ahead on my project schedule. It’s amazing what you can do when you lock yourself up in a lab, ignore e-mail and mute the cell phone. (emphasis mine)
In fact, by the time I left, I had managed to get two months ahead of schedule. With no time for chit-chat, I condensed my responses to questions and requests, even from my boss. I checked voice mail and e-mail when I woke up each morning, in the middle of the day and when I got home. If a message wasn’t urgent, I ignored it or passed it along to someone on my staff.
Wow! Two months ahead of schedule. That’s an amazing result with three basic steps.
- Lock yourself up (Teleworking?)
- Ignore email (Only check at scheduled times?)
- Mute the cell phone (Uninterrupted time for work?)
What can you do to improve your focus and accomplish more?
Posted by Mike on April 23, 2008
Follow this link to a good article on dealing with your inbox. (Examples here are in Microsoft Outlook.)
Too often, our work is managed by our inbox. The inbox is simply an input to our work. It is better to work your inbox and decide what to do with each item. Follow the steps and adapt it to what works for you
I modified the “Trusted Trio” and added CC Mail (which I automatically route emails to) and Reading.
I also added the Delete button to the keyboard shorcut toolbar.
I am experimenting with different reading pane views to see what works best for me.
Posted by Mike on April 11, 2008
For years now, PowerPoint has firmly established itself as the “best” way to status a group of people about a project. Is it effective? By effective, I mean, does it communicate well and encourage discussion?
I think that, to some degree, PowerPoint presentations invoke what I call the TV syndrome. The people in your meeting sag into couch potato mode and become passive in the meeting. Imagine an hour or more filled with someone reading 58 PowerPoint slides!
Wouldn’t it be better to go with a one-page status on 11 x 17 paper, as suggested in The Toyota Way
? With this approach, the essential details are available to all, on paper. Discussion can then be centered around the most important items, looking to not only problem solve, but also to set and keep direction, and to give recognition to people and their achievements.
I think that it is worth trying.
4/18/08 – EDIT:
The 11×17 status report is better known as the A3 report in The Toyota Way.
Click here to see an example.
Posted by Mike on March 18, 2008
I’ve been reading Getting Things Done by David Allen. In it, he presents a concept of asking yourself, “What’s the next action?” when you have a project or task to move forward. What if we applied this to our work? On your assigned tasks, ask this question. On any issue you raise, ask yourself this question. It only takes about 10 seconds and it is really powerful to know what the next physical action you need to take for the work that is in front of you.
Some of the power lies in the knowledge that you have a next action ready to go when you are looking for something to do. Perhaps you have a 10 minute gap of time. Scan your next actions. Is there a quick and easy one in there that you can knock off? What if you are looking at a block of time in your afternoon? Is there a next action that fits that time-slot and your energy level?
Now that you’ve read this, “What’s the next action?”
Posted by Mike on March 13, 2008
I started a work from home trial. Here is the contact for my team to help my working remotely be a success.
I will be working from home on Fridays during March and April. This is a trial to see how it works.
Here is some information to help us work together when I am working remotely.
- Call is you need anything.
- 999-999-9991 cell
- 999-999-9992 home
- Meetings: schedule me, I will join by phone.
- Check my work from home wiki to see what I am working on.
- Planned schedule: 6 AM to 2:30 PM.
What do you think? It’s short and to the point.
Posted by Mike on March 11, 2008
I have always viewed mail that is sent to me as a CC: recipient as informational. I think of this for email as well. If my name is in the TO: field, I assume there is some action being requested of me (even if it is only, “Read this email!”). If my name is in the CC: field, then it is being sent to me so that I can be informed about something, but no action is expected of me.
Last fall, I received a letter in which I was in the CC: list. Skimming the letter and then filing it, I assumed that I didn’t have any action to take. I was CC’d! I came to find out almost six months later that the sender did need me to do something!
It is important that if you require action of some kind that you include the person in the TO: field. It is equally important that you specify what you want them to do and when.
It is also ineffective to ask for something to be done and then send this to several people. Who is supposed to do it?
For more information read To, Cc and Bcc.
Posted by Mike on March 5, 2008
The more I think about it and experience it, setup time is something to minimize. Any complicated task requires setup time to get you into the task. Any time that is interrupted, you have to go through some level of setup again.
One key to getting work done is to arrange blocks of uninterrupted time. This allows you to complete setup and focus on productive work.
This brings up several questions:
- Why don’t we block out time to get work done?
- What criteria do you use to decide when to have a meeting and who to invite? Does respecting work time play into it?
- Can’t we say no to a meeting in order to get work done?
Multi-tasking works against productivity too. You may look busy, but you probably aren’t accomplishing much.
Posted by Mike on March 4, 2008
Today, I am concentrating on prep. work for three planning sessions I have scheduled for Wed., Fri., and Mon. The goal for these sessions is to identify the remaining tasks that we know of, for interfaces and forms, on our project. Next, we are going to prioritize and schedule these tasks into 4-week sprints. Once this is done, I will add any new tasks into the project plan.
Posted by Mike on February 29, 2008
I got started in project management, the way most people do, accidentally! I was managing an application support team and looking for a better way to get work done for the business. Our CIO noticed what I was trying and tapped me to lead project management.
That’s how I got started, but on to what I’m doing. I am providing project management support to a major system replacement project. In this role, I help the business project manger with the project and also am responsible for the technical side of the project. Along with this, I supervise the QA and Test team, whose four members provide testing support to both this project and another system replacement project. Additionally, I am a team member of the Project Management Office and get assignments related to the PMO.
I am continually looking for better ways to do things. I read books, blogs, and articles looking for tips and techniques, some of which I share with my co-workers. I like helping other people learn and grow. Mostly, I look for ways in which I can improve my personal results.
I look forward to any feedback you can give me, either as a comment or personally. Here’s to all of us being effectual in our work!
Definition of effectual.