This document discusses best practices for managing projects successfully. It recommends defining clear goals and plans upfront, identifying risks, anticipating problems, and having alternatives ready to manage the project on time and budget. It emphasizes choosing between time, resources or features; managing progress against the plan; and implementing change control. Communication is key throughout the project. Taking an agile approach with principles like collaboration, building minimum viable products, and iterating is advised over more rigid engineering approaches.

1. Projects at ASPgems
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2. Complex
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3. Unique
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4. And now.... ?
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5. Doing a project on time
and budget is as easy as
walking over water
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6. Only one requirement:
water and specs frozen
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7. Define goals
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8. Build a model
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9. Build a plan
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10. Plan resources
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11. Identify risks
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12. Anticipate problems
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13. Have alternatives ready
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14. Manage progress
%=
Spent
Spent
+ Needed
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15. Choose two
Time
Resources
Features
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16. Manage
100
75
50
25
0
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
M7
Real
M8
M9
Planned
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17. Change control
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18. “Stats”
Not finished
With trouble
Success
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/NCP08083B.pdf
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19. Why?
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20. Lie
• You think you
know what you
want
• You just have an
approximate
idea
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21. Future changes
•
•
•
The market changes
Your ideas change
Technology changes
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22. The plan does not work
100
75
50
25
0
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
Real (as of today)
Planned
M7
M8
M9
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23. Increase control
•
Less resources for the project
•
Control reduces flexibility
•
Project minutes, documents no
one read
•
Cost of control and
documentation
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24. Communication
• From your head to
your voice
• From what you speak
to what I get
• From what i get to
what I want to build
• From what I want to
build to what I build
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27. My name is Agustín and I am
alcoholic
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28. In our world
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29. High Business Risk
Risk
High tecnichal Risk
Low Business Risk
Low tecnichal Risk
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30. The web will always be a little bit broken
Tim Berners Lee
http://www.hyperorg.com/misc/nprbroken.html
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31. Release early, release often
If everything is fine, probably you are late
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32. Engineering
vs.
Craftmanship
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33. Choose two
Time
Resources
Features
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34. Change question
•
How long and how
much does it cost?
•
Which is the best projet
I can do in the time I
have with the resources
I have?
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35. Change principles
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Collaboration
Less is more
The user rules
Minimum viable project
Uannimity
Don’t build models, build
the real thing
Agile
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36. Collaboration
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37. Less is more
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38. The paradox of choice
Barry Schwartz
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39. - Satisfaction level +
positive effect of # options
- number of options +
39
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40. - Satisfaction level +
negative ones
- number of options +
40
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41. - Satisfaction level +
total
- number of options +
41
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42. If the user says it is broken, then it is
broken
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43. Minimum viable project
Aim for the
smallest
possible project
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44. unanimity
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45. fucntional darwinism
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46. More Benefit
Cost vs. Benefit
More Cost
Less Benefit
Less Cost
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47. Iterate
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48. Lessons learned
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49. Agile is not technology
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50. Top management
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51. http://vimeo.com/29719577
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52. http://www.slideshare.net/sgreene/salesforcecom-agile-transformation-agile-2007-conference
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53. Can’t do both
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54. Thanks!!
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