The cigarette packet school of project management

The Capstans of Industry

Picture credit: sludgegulper on Flickr

Anybody got a spare fag packet? I’m collecting them for a friend who is running a government project planning seminar next week and we need at least one packet between two so that each delegate can get the full, hands-on, scribbling experience.

I suppose we could use split beer mats, but I am more of a traditionalist when it comes Continue reading article »

Quality of internal collaboration is key to external partnerships

An interesting piece on enterprise transformation by Dion Hinchcliffe set me thinking how often do we seek to build external partnerships without necessarily having strong internal bonds within our own organisation?

Of course, it is rare for any enterprise to be entirely self-sufficient so our value chains are usually forged from an intricate mesh of internal and external contributions.

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Public Sector IT Enemy Number One: Policy

public enemy by annie ok on flickr

We all know that scope creep, lack of resources and change are the three greatest enemies of cost-effective IT development projects. In the commercial sector we move heaven and earth to avoid these risks – and yet they seem to be endemic to the management culture within public sector computing.

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Parliament investigates effective governance of IT

Public Administration Committee

Good governance: the effective use of IT

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Committee Room 6 Meeting started at 10.33am ended at 12.33pm

Witnesses Professor Helen Margetts, Oxford Internet Institute, Dr Ian Brown, Oxford Internet Institute, and Dr Edgar Whitley, London School of Economics Professor Nigel Shadbolt, University of Southampton, and Sir Ian Magee, Institute for Government.

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Do Organizational scars and stretch-marks last forever?

scar by daliborlev on flickr

Organizational scars, like bodily scars, are borne forever and affect us long after the causal events. This may seem very simplistic. But it is an important perspective for every business to recognise the persistently damaged areas of the organizational nervous system.

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