Tag: Len Lagestee

Fresh Links Sundae – May 11, 2014 Edition

Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. Often they are from the people whose work I admire or resonate with me. I hope you will find these ideas thought-provoking at the minimum. Even better, I hope these ideas will, over time, help my fellow IT pros make better decisions, be awesome, and kick ass!

Not many people have mastered the framework of analytical storytelling by combining narrative along with visual analytics. Tom Davenport describes some examples of such framework. 10 Kinds of Stories to Tell with Data (Harvard Business Review)

A cloud strategy that doesn’t include some key elements will never reach its full potential for business transformation. Paul Chapman outlines those key competencies required for a successful cloud effort. To Succeed in the Cloud, CIOs Must Look Beyond Technology (VMware CloudOps)

In the famed Raiders of the Lost Ark series, Dr. Indiana Jones was fairly successful risk manager, who achieved his objectives. Steve Schlarman shows us what can GRC and Security programs learn from the legendary character. GRC and the Temple of Doom (RSA Archer GRC)

Recently Stuart Rance was asked by his customers what key performance indicators (KPIs) should be used to measure IT change management. He shares and explains some KPIs that may be useful to your team or organization. Defining Metrics for Change Management (SysAid Blog)

Enterprise Request Management is a new framework for incremental and evolutionary approach to centralizing and modifying business processes and service requests across the company. John Sundberg discusses five steps involved in implementing ERM. Implement Enterprise Request Management in Five Straightforward Steps (The ITSM Review)

Many projects wait till near the end of the project to ask the question of how much value can be realized, and often it’s too late. Glen Alleman explains how this critical question can be answered by sound project finance processes. Project Finance (Herding Cats)

As more organizations begin to implement Agile, more and more project managers are transitioning to become Scrum Masters. Eventually, the question of who should the Scrum Masters report to in an organizational hierarchy will come up. Len Lagestee has some scenarios and recommendations. Who Should the Scrum Master Report To? (Illustrated Agile)

Laura Brandenburg believes that clarity is one of the most fundamental attributes of writing good requirements. She discusses the steps for producing clear requirements. 5 Ways to Write Clearer Requirements (Bridging the Gap)

Fresh Links Sundae – March 2, 2014 Edition

Filipa Preston believes that ITAM can play an essential partnering role to the business. She explains how ITAM can add value by demonstrating the bankable savings the project actually delivered while also showing how we can reduce risks to the business in the long-term. How do you convince the CFO? (The ITAM Review)

IT is well positioned to make positive contributions to many aspects of the business operations. Michael Hugos suggests ways that a CIO can help the VP of Sales in the organization. How the CIO Can Help the VP Sales (Enterprise Efficiency)

In today’s organizations, our job often is not to control change, but rather to control the impact of change on the project. Samuel Brown recommends four approaches when dealing with changes in project management. Four Axioms for Controlling Change (Global Knowledge Training Blog)

Many IT organizations are trying to transform themselves from a cost-center role into a value-added role. Pearl Zhu explains what steps IT can take to enhance their value-added approach. How to Run IT as a Better Business Partner (Future of CIO)

To many people, Agile means delivering results with short planning cycles and making adjustments as we go. While speed and schedule are crucial, Mike Cottmeyer reminds us that the ability to plan and to estimate well is critical to all projects. Managing Risk and Uncertainty in Agile (LeadingAgile)

Many Business Continuity Management (BCM) programs need to transform from a reactive, isolated activity to an integrated, solution-driven strategy that adds resiliency for the organization. Patrick Potter explains why the transformation is important and what BCM leaders can do to make more of an impact. Building A Stronger, More Strategic BCM Program (Continuity Insights)

Some product backlogs are unavoidable, but not all backlogs present a negative impact. Len Lagestee outlines eight signs for which the backlogs seem to be ineffective and should be actively managed. 8 Symptoms of an Ineffective Product Backlog (Illustrated Agile)

Business analysts often find themselves given a high-priority project with little time to prepare. Laura Brandenburg explains what a business analyst can do to clarify scope quickly and to put a reasonable timeline estimated in place. How to Create a Business Analyst Timeline (Bridging the Gap)

Many organizations use published corporate values to encourage certain behaviors from their leaders. In reality, Marshall Goldsmith believes that the leaders’ actions often speak much louder than words posted on the office walls. Leaders Make Values Visible (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

For some, public speaking means memorizing the entire speech and delivering it to the audience. Mitch Joel believes that is the wrong way of delivering speech and offer suggestions on how to make your speech add value to your audience’s time. Another Public Speaking Horror Story (Six Pixels of Separation)

Fresh Links Sundae – January 26, 2014 Edition

Some people don’t like culture change because it is slow and can be ugly. Bob Lewis suggests that you do not choose both aspects when implementing culture change, but you will need to pick one. Quick culture change (IS Survivor Publishing)

To some, big data holds the promise of producing output of unique insight on the information that would be almost unimaginable for a human being to uncover and develop. Mitch Joel believes the trick is to leverage all of this data, analytics and performance in a way that machines can’t. What’s Bigger Than Big Data? (Six Pixels of Separation)

Cloud computing has fundamentally changed how we provide and consume computing services. Hank Marquis talks about how cloud technologies are changing the roles within IT organizations. How Cloud is Redefining IT Job Roles (Global Knowledge Training Blog)

Configuration management (CM) process exists in many IT organization, but many organizations struggle with it. Earl Begley explains why the CM can be difficult to practice well and offers tips to improve the odds for success. Why is configuration management so tough? [] (ITSM Review)

Like many aspects of IT, some organizations have chosen to outsource some or all of their software asset management (SAM) practice to a third-party partner. Kylie Fowler gives three suggestions on how to get the most out of your SAM service experience. Implementing a successful 3rd party SAM Service (ITAM Review)

Many enterprise project/program management offices (PMO) get stuck at a lower level of management maturity and struggle to deliver IT projects that meet customers’ expectation. Pearl Zhu discusses the ways a PMO can use to solidify itself and improve project success rate. IT Transformation: How to Build a Solid PMO Roadmap (Future of CIO)

When asked by his students in his ITIL classes, Michael Scarborough believes that he sees more organizations having difficulty with ITIL is the overall governance. He explains why more organizations struggle with that aspect of ITIL more than others. What’s the Most Challenging Aspect of Adopting ITIL Best Practices? (Global Knowledge Training Blog)

Occasionally we are requested to join a team having difficulties and turn things around. Len Lagestee suggests we first assess the situation and identify the gaps that may exist within the team. So, You’ve Just Joined a Struggling Team (Illustrated Agile)

Leaders are expected to create change, but inconsistency between their talk and their walk can create creditability gap. Susan Cramm discusses the crucial leadership lessons we can all learn from the Pope. Leadership Gone Viral (strategy+business)

We can increase our effectiveness by changing elements of our behavior. Marshall Goldsmith outlines six steps you can follow to achieve a positive, measurable, long-term change in your behavior. From Good to Great (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – January 12, 2014 Edition

With business’ dependence on technology, Robert Stroud recommends that today’s CIOs need to make more focused choices that are aligned with the business. Speed to Execution is Critical for the Modern CIO (CA Service Management)

Bob Lewis believes that trying to fix a problem with an organization is a lot like going on diet and trying to lose weight. Neither one works, but he recommends a better goal is to live the weight you want. A diet of lasting change (IS Survivor Publishing)

In collaboration with 3Gamma’s CEO, Peter Wahlgren, Aprill Allen and Mr. Wahlgren discuss the knowledge management approaches in a multisourcing environment. Service integration and knowledge management Service Integration in a Multisourcing Environment Document (Knowledge Bird)

In a two-part blog, Vawns Murphy recommends ten tips for a sound SAM practice. Software Asset Management – Tips From The Trenches (Part 1) Software Asset Management – Tips From The Trenches (Part 2) (The ITAM Review)

In a four-part blog, Jenny Juliany discusses an approach for managing the lifecycle of corporate data. The Four Seasons of Data Management – ‘Spring’ Inception The Four Seasons of Data Management – ‘Summer’ Primetime The Four Seasons of Data Management – ‘Fall’ Retirement The Four Seasons of Data Management – ‘Winter’ Removal (Intreis)

If you are a manager with direct reports on an Agile team, Len Lagestee believes that a set of expected behaviors should apply to you. He outlines what would make the interactions productive when managers attend Agile team events. A Managers Guide to Attending Agile Team Events (Illustrated Agile)

Stakeholders play a critical role in a business analyst’s success. Laura Brandenburg explains how to turn every meeting and every deliverable into an opportunity to invest in your stakeholder relationships. How to Build Better Stakeholder Relationships in 2014 (Bridging the Gap)

When working with customers, Marshall Goldsmith talks about the importance of being authentic and genuine. Dear Yet to be Born Grandchildren (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

While it’s debatable how much self-esteem contributes to one’s success, Scott Adams believes that having a clear sense of one’s own self-esteem has helped him. The Glorious Advantages of Low Self-Esteem (Scott Adams Blog)

When dealing with the uncertainty of future, all of us take different approaches. Seth Godin talks about three general approaches and the mistakes people often make. Accuracy, resilience and denial (Seth’s Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – November 17, 2013 Edition

When tackling a very large initiative, most of us will attempt to divide up the effort into multiple smaller projects to reduce complexity. When large projects get divided into chunks, it’s possible to lose coherence. Bob Lewis suggests ways to keep the projects coherent and focused. When organizing large programs, don’t be incoherent (IS Survivor Publishing)

Deploying and managing IT in the developing countries can be decidedly different from managing technologies in the western world. Bright Simons describes his experience deploying enterprise IT in Africa and the lessons that IT organizations should consider. What’s Different About Enterprise IT in Africa (Harvard Business Review)

Many IT organizations work hard to improve their working relationships with the business. Peter Lijnse outlines four Business Relationship Management activities that IT can leverage to improve its effectiveness when working with business. The Business and IT Love Requires Lubrication (The ITSM Review)

When organizations execute major IT initiatives, conflict or duplication of effort can arise if the PMO and the IT service management team are not in sync. David Cole recommends ways for both organizational functions to work together. A Loving Co-Existence: When ITSM Overlaps With the PMO (Plexent Blog)

IT is one field where the gender gap issue is often discussed. Aprill Allen suggests ways where we can work together to address the imbalance. Redressing the balance: women in IT(Service Management) (Knowledge Bird)

Many experts have opinions and suggestions for supervising, managing, and leading female employees. Jeff Haden would suggest that the first thing a leader should do is to look past the gender differences and focus on the individual employees. Groundbreaking New Way to Lead Female Employees (Inc.com)

Leaders in large companies face a number of side-effects that can come up as a result of the complex structure. Julian Birkinshaw explains what forces are shaping these complex organizations and recommends approaches leaders can take to keep their organizations on track. Managing Complexity Is the Epic Battle Between Emergence and Entropy (Harvard Business Review)

When individuals become exceedingly rigid with their thinking or positions, it can create communication obstacles for the organization. Len Lagestee offers his suggestions on how to overcome the obstacle. Defending Your Position (Illustrated Agile)

When an organization leverages the Agile framework, the product owner plays a crucial role in the successful execution of the development effort. Peter Saddington provides a list answers to the commonly asked questions about the product owner role. FAQ on Most Common Product Owner Questions for Management (Agile ScoutAgile Scout)

Anna Farmery believes happiness and meaning do matter and are crucial to success in life and in business. She offers her tips on creating more of both. An Ocean Rower’s Top Tips for Happiness and Meaning (The Engaging Brand)