Abby and the Broken Fence

There is a decision doc managers need to make all the time: balance savings today against expenses tomorrow; balance constantly patching a doc with tearing the whole thing down and starting anew. My solution to fixing my fence was the exact same I would have taken to patching a doc.

Raymond, Robert. Indus (2010). Articles>Documentation>Project Management

Actively Managing Your Schedule  

Uncertainty is the only certainty of a freelancer’s life, but it’s also a problem that afflicts wage slaves, as I learned during the first 15 years of my career. Something unexpected always seems to be popping up, disrupting our carefully crafted plans and leading to long days and late nights. Fortunately, there are ways to make life less uncertain than it might otherwise be, and each involves actively managing our schedules rather than waiting for others to define them for us. Active schedule management involves three types of activity.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2010). Articles>Project Management>Planning

Adjusting to Scrum  

Scrum, the new development methodology in the Agile development family, is fast gaining acceptance in software development. But how can writers, who have little or no experience in any of the incremental development models, adjust to this methodology? And, how does the Documentation Development Life Cycle (DDLC) change in Scrum?

Bidkar, Prasanna. tekom (2011). Articles>Project Management>Agile>Documentation

Adopting User-Centered Design Within An Agile Process: A Conversation  

eXtreme Programming and other agile processes provide a middle ground between chaos and over-elaborate processes sometimes referred to as 'death by documentation'. A particular attrtactive aspect of the agile approach for many teams is its willingness to accomodate change no matter how advanced development might be. However, this very flexibility can cause user interface design issues and ensuing usability problems. Adopting a user-centered approach to user interface design can address these issues, as the following simulated conversation between a user-centered design consultant and an XP team leader will explain.

Hudson, William. UIaccess (2002). Articles>User Centered Design>Agile>Project Management

After the CMS Implementation Project

Much effort is focused, on the selection and subsequent implementation of a content management system (CMS). While it is obviously vital to ensure that the initial implementation project is successful, this is only the beginning of an ongoing commitment to growing and enhancing the use of content management throughout the organisation.

Robertson, James. CM Briefing (2004). Articles>Content Management>Project Management>Workflow

Agile Development Checklist

The purpose of this article is to define a set of ideal practices for an agile software development project.

McLennan, Liam. Code Project, The (2006). Articles>Project Management>Agile

Agile Development Projects and Usability

Agile methods aim to overcome usability barriers in traditional development, but pose new threats to user experience quality. By modifying Agile approaches, however, many companies have realized the benefits without the pain.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Project Management>Usability>Agile

Agile Technical Writing Basics

Unfortunately, nobody wrote instructions for Agile technical writers, so peculiarities of profession need to be studied out.

Mizinova, Ksenya. Dr. Explain. Articles>Project Management>Agile>Technical Writing

Agile User Experience Projects

Agile projects aren't yet fully user-driven, but new research shows that developers are actually more bullish on key user experience issues than UX people themselves.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2009). Articles>Project Management>User Experience>Agile

The Agile/Waterfall Cooperative  

In this tutorial, attendees will learn to factor their company's business needs into their existing Agile procedures, and management will learn how to begin the investigative work of determining how to streamline these requirements and activities so that they don't hamper the project.

Sliger, Michele. Rally Software Development (2006). Presentations>Project Management>Agile

Alfresco Share for Streamlining Project Management And Collaboration

Alfresco integrates easily with existing behaviors, is nimble enough to be adapted to fluid processes, facilitates project communication, and proactively provides the right information to the right people.

Toub, Joshua and Josh McJilton. SlideShare (2009). Presentations>Content Management>Project Management>Alfresco

Always Have a Backup Plan

By anticipating failures, and designing backup plans, you can minimize the impact of unexpected problems on the user.

Anderson, Gretchen. Cooper Interaction Design (2001). Design>Project Management>Planning

Are We There Yet?

It's true: even simple projects get messy. Christina Wodtke comes clean on Swiss Army knives, the writing on the wall, and the untidy glory of the Boxes and Arrows redesign contest.

Wodtke, Christina. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>Web Design>Project Management>Case Studies

Review: The Art of Project Management

Can project management be an art? Has Berkun truly created a jargon-free guide for the whole project team? Kalbach leads us through the high-level tasks and the major milestones of this new book, while keeping us on task.

Kalbach, James. Boxes and Arrows (2005). Articles>Reviews>Project Management

Asking for Help is a Productivity Tool

I know some people see asking questions as a sign of weakness or insecurity (and believe others will view them that way), and that asking questions can produce answers we don’t want to hear. Both of those possible results pale in comparison to the potential good that just sitting down and asking questions can produce.

Meloni, Julie. Prof Hacker (2010). Articles>Collaboration>Help>Project Management

Automating Diagrams with Visio

By doing the demanding intellectual work first and then forcing the tools to succumb to need to produce seemingly speedy deliverables, you can get around the difficulty of choosing between 'Good, Fast and Cheap.' Here's one approach using Excel and Visio.

Angeles, Michael. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Project Management>Information Design>Microsoft Excel

Avoid Edge Cases by Designing Up Front

Better planning and a beefed-up style guide may be exactly what you need to avoid markup derangement or, worse, a dysfunctional product.

Henick, Ben. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>Project Management>CSS

Avoiding Client/Contractor Nightmares: Best Practices for Contractor Management  

You've secured the budget to produce some badly needed, high visibility deliverables. Part of that budget includes funding for contractors. To help manage and guide the communications between your contractors, your staff, and your management, you want to use your company's best practices. The best practices of the contractor or provider firm you employ should closely match your own company's best practices. Beginning on the "same page" will eliminate headaches and expenses during the lifecycle of the project. A quick comparison of practices and procedures enables you to proceed with the project confident that you are using competent outside resources.

Michaels, Sherry, Maggie Haenel, Ann Backhaus. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>Project Management>Consulting

Be Productive When a Project Stalls    

With more and more companies adopting the Darwin Information Typing Architecture, Baril discusses how to choose a compatible content management system that also supports your company's processes.

Gutowski, Amanda and Lori L. Pennington. Intercom (2008). Articles>Project Management>Planning>Collaboration

Behind the Kimono

We don't show our work. Developers do it. Graphic designers do it. But have you ever seen a wireframe from a prominent web designer?

Unger, Russ. SlideShare (2010). Presentations>Web Design>Prototyping>Project Management