project management

Learn to Use Your Creativity for Problem SolvingCreativity, the ability to make new things or think of new ideas, is something we value. Steve Berczuk writes that established best practices, such as patterns, can help us solve many problems efficiently, but breakthroughs arise from creative solutions.
Why We Should Get Rid of Bonus-Based Pay

There are several problems with basing a knowledge worker's pay on a bonus. In a team-based organization, management often doesn't know who did exactly what work; people concentrate on their own objectives rather than working together; and whether some targets are hit depends on too many factors.

The Benefits of Making Deliberate MistakesSometimes a mistake is exactly what’s needed to make progress. You require not just a mistake—but a deliberate mistake. Even if you don’t get what you really wanted or hoped for, you’ll probably learn something useful that will help you along your path. Read on to learn how to make good mistakes!
Cancel or Save a Troubled Project: How to DecideIf your project is going nowhere—or if it’s going somewhere, but it's rapidly downhill—sometimes there’s no choice but to scrap it. Of course, that’s easier said than done because the issue of sunk costs often kicks in. How do you assess whether the benefits will still outweigh the investment?
Four Truths Every Manager Should Learn

Many managers seem to be in the wrong position. They don’t know or don’t care about management, and that leads them to do crazy things. It’s OK to be an unseasoned manager. Everyone starts somewhere. But you must be willing to ask for help and not think you have all the answers. Read on for advice.

Understand Your Teams' Concerns about Moving to Continuous IntegrationHow do you help your teams bring the entire product together on a periodic basis, regardless of their technical practices? Continuous integration is a real problem for a number of reasons. But you can’t solve the problems you don’t know about, so ask for the impediments first. You may be surprised.
Don't Just Work Longer—Work SmarterPeople who work long hours assume they're also working hard—but that doesn't mean they're working smart. If you have a lot to do, you want to work smart—not just work a lot. How do you discover how much time spent working makes you the most productive? Run this experiment and gather some data.
Why Being a Good Problem Solver Means You Really Know Your Problem

Many people on agile teams are good problem solvers. However, we often attempt to solve problems before we are ready. We forget to take a step back to make sure we fully understand the problem, and doing so can lead to less than optimal solutions.