Software Project Leadership

So, I had a question from Tony V: “You gave three problems that non-technical technology project leaders have to figure out.  I am a non-technical project lead on a software project … what do I need to know about these things?“

You might be wondering … errr … where else would you put first things?  I guess you’d be surprised where people put them … my Mom always said “a place for everything and everything in its place” … she’d want first things … right, you know, there … first.https://fs.blog/great-talks/common-denominator-success-albert-gray/

Management is management, right?  I recently polled a population of project managers asking the musical question - how much (or little) domain knowledge is needed to be an effective project manager?spl.drwill.co/freeconsult

I keep my finger on the pulse of various groups online looking for people to help.  Sometimes you find people for whom the best advice is that you gotta “know when to run!”https://spl.drwill.co/costriskhttps://spl.drwill.co/riskhttps://spl.drwill.co/asses_schedule_risk

One of the key concepts in stoicism is that of “memento mori” Latin for “remember you will die.”  I guess that works for everybody but Keith Richards …https://spl.drwill.co/costriskhttps://spl.drwill.co/riskhttps://spl.drwill.co/asses_schedule_riskhttps://www.selfauthoring.com/

What do you think is the least secure part of your computer system? If you answered “the wetware,” you win a prize.  Wetware is people, of coursehttps://spl.drwill.co/costriskhttps://spl.drwill.co/riskhttps://spl.drwill.co/asses_schedule_risk

If you build it they will … err … buy it, right?  I mean … the engineering speaks for itself, right? Actually, no.  But isn’t persuasion just marketing … or sales?  Well, broadly speaking, yes.  In the sense that you have to sell your ideas.https://spl.drwill.co/teams

“Dr. Will, we are preparing to migrate from the server version of Atlassian tools to the Atlassian Cloud … what advice do you have as we get under way?"Spl.drwill.co/webinarhttps://www.amazon.com/What-You-Dont-Know-Successfully/dp/B0BKJL9N

Got a question from Chris W of Sioux City (Wait!  Isn’t that where the Litigation Hall of Fame is?) … he is having some customer challenges … this may belong in the Q&A playlist, but it is germane to software projects, so here we are …spl.drwill.co/freeconsult

It is usually after the fact - after you have traversed new terrain.  Done something you’ve never done before.  You look back – figuratively, maybe literally – and wonder at what just happenedspl.drwill.co/freeconsultspl.drwill.co/webinar

A lot of people know the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey.  I had heard of it years ago, but had never taken the time to read it … until recently.  How many people know that the subtitle of the book is “Restoring the Character Ethic?”https://www.experis.com/en/insights/articles/2022/06/22/7-habits-of-effective-software-development-teamshttps://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-habits-highly-effective-software-development-teams-rubicotech?trk=organization-update-content_share-articlehttps://www.amazon.com/What-You-Dont-Know-Successfully/dp/B0BKJL9NR1https://spl.drwill.co/webinar

It is reported that Microsoft is investing $1 billion (that’s billion, with a “b”) in OpenAI the parent of ChatGPT.  We should be thankful that there are companies that are so generous and self-sacrificing and willing to help the open source community like that...Webinar: spl.drwill.co/webinarBook: https://www.amazon.com/What-You-Dont-Know-Successfully/dp/B0BKJL9NR1

The “imposter syndrome” affects many (sub-)creators of training/coaching content – but they are reassured that they only have to be slightly more knowledgable than their audience.  Maybe that is why there is so much fluffy training cluttering up the internet.What You Don't Know: https://a.co/d/fEPkAWDhttps://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/dunning-kruger-effect?utm_source=newsletter-email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=work-life-blog-jan-18-2023_EML-14800&jobid=105889853&subid=1622020377

spl.drwill.co/riskChatGPT – a free online advanced AI chatbot that produces human-like responses to user prompts – is being used to generate college essays … among other things.  (Doesn’t that make it CheatGPT?)  So … what are the limitations of AI … or the dangers of it … or the opportunities …

spl.drwill.co/freeconsultWhen people ask me what I did in the Air Force, I usually tell them that I “flew computers.”  Looks like aviation doesn’t aviate without computers.

If you have been setting goals and rewarding yourself for achieving them - if you achieve them - then you may be sabotaging yourself with your own dopamine.https://youtu.be/1TSTnDRnIAsspl.drwill.co/freeconsult

This will be our last recording in this location … we are moving our place of business … and reflecting on what that means

spl.drwill.co/costriskA cost driver is the direct cause of a cost and its effect is on the total cost incurred.  What are the direct causes of the cost of software development?

https://spl.drwill.co/asses_schedule_riskAlways plan ahead … remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.  Also … according to Peter Drucker, “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.”

spl.drwill.co/freeconsultWhen one of my team members brought a new product idea to me, I had two questions.  The first was: who (precisely) is the customer?  Please note that shrugging your shoulders conveys exactly what your expect … that you don’t know.  In this case it means that you haven’t thought the thing through …