How to Estimate the Size of a Project
When asked how to size any project, project executives often use the Potter Stewart standard – “I know it when I see it.” Project managers and sponsors, especially the seasoned lot, may be dodging the issue. For them, sizing a…
Kaizen: The Challenge of Continuous Improvement
Within the overlapping spheres of Total Quality Management and Lean Manufacturing, one Japanese word continues to raise consciousness among quality professionals of Western orientations: “Kaizen.” The concept of Kaizen, which direct translation means “continuous improvement, was first coined and introduced…
Four Risk Treatment Planning Approaches for the Layman
Facing problems is a fact of life. And it can get trickier if you’re running a business or an organization. The stakes are higher and a single misstep in handling risk and damage can cause your reputation, damage to property,…
Spotlights on for Quality Guru, Kaoru Ishikawa
Japan is known for providing quality products and services that are praised all over the world. One of the reasons why the Land of the Rising Sun’s global performance is always on top is because of their A + quality…
Spotlights on for Quality Guru, Philip Crosby
It has been three decades since Philip Crosby’s ground breaking book, Quality is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain has been published. But despite this, Crosby’s book, published in 1979, still remains as one of the most influential text…
Spotlights on for Quality Guru, Genichi Taguchi
The term, “Taguchi Methods” is one of the most popular terms used in the quality management industry. Taguchi Methods are statistical methods that aim to reduce cost and decrease failures in product design. Aside from statistics, Taguchi Methods emphasize the…
Spotlights on for Quality Guru, Dr. Joseph M. Juran
Dr. Joseph Moses Juran (1904-2008) is regarded as the Father of Modern-Day Quality Management, thanks to his many contributions in the field of quality. His teachings and quality philosophies helped Japan into becoming a market juggernaut, and he influenced the…
Spotlights on for Quality Guru, Dr. W. Edwards Deming
Dr. William Edwards Deming (1900-1993) was one of the pillars of the quality revolution after World War 2. As statistician, engineer, and a physicist, he’s the first American quality guru who brought the message of Quality to Japan in the…
Do You Have What it takes to be a Successful Project Manager?
For anyone contemplating to embark on a project management career, the doors are open wide as the amount of opportunities to be had are practically limitless, with more recruiters looking to fill in PM roles within the organization. Investment to…
6 Scrum Principles to Live By
Now more than ever, we see many software companies adopting the Agile orientation of project management. And while there are many frameworks subsumed under the Agile banner, only one seems to be gaining appeal among dev ops firms, and that’s…
What is a Process?
A process is defined as a series or group of activities that takes input, adds value, and provides output to internal or external customers. Every business has a process, and among the many processes that occur inside an organization, there’s…
4 Common Agile-Scrum Mistakes and Ways to Avoid Them
The hype surrounding the Agile Manifesto has compelled companies to take on their respective Agile journeys. But despite its simplicity, the Yellow Brick Road to Agile is a challenging one to travel on. Here we round up four of the…
The Elements of a User Story in Agile Development
A user story is a brief expression of a feature in a desired capability told from an end-user perspective. The user story approach shifts the focus of the stakeholders from rigorously writing granular technical specifications of a feature to openly…
Transforming Cultures: The 4 Agile Values Explained
In the field of Development Operations worldwide, “Agile” is more than an industry buzzword. Since the advent of the Agile Manifesto, majority of software companies have adopted Agile as a way of life. The Waterfall practice has failed software development…
Observation and the Art of Skillfully Breathing down on One’s Neck (Part 2)
In our previous article, we discussed several tips in conducting an Observation. Here we expand the list by adding more tips that will enable you to get the best and high-quality elicitation results in your next Observation session: PAY ATTENTION…
Observation and the Art of Skillfully Breathing down on One’s Neck (Part 1)
Many people regard their sense of sight among others as one that greatly helps them navigate the world. And it’s no wonder why a lot of business analysts use Observation as an effective and easily-employed technique in eliciting requirements from different…
Requirements Elicitation: How to Handle Difficult Behaviors in a Brainstorming Session (Part 2)
In the previous article, we discussed the power and capability of brainstorming sessions, and how it can be tabled by the most difficult behaviors in a brainstorming session. Here we expand the list and offer ways to manage the people…
Requirements Elicitation: How to Handle Difficult Behaviors in a Brainstorming Session (Part 1)
Brainstorming sessions can be a melting pot of diverse personalities, and you as the business analyst are inescapably trapped into that baffling interplay of group dynamics, dealing with people whose attitudes may be remotely Pollyanna-like. While brainstorming is one powerful…
Requirements Elicitation: Interview Dos and Don’ts
Among all requirements elicitation techniques, interviews are arguably the most popular and frequently employed. They rank top in most business analysts’ elicitation techniques toolkit. The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) defines interview as “a systematic approach for eliciting information…