The objective is the most important element of a successful endeavor; it drives everything. If not well defined and understood, you will “miss the mark” – you will waste time and resources. There can only be one objective; if there is more than one objective you have more than one project or initiative. What isRead… Read more »
The DOD caught with its Pants down – A Revolution in Risk Assessment needed? It seems to have passed commentators by, but the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently uncovered a major under-reporting of risk at the Department of Defense. (see Figure 1 below).1 The GAO’s recommendations read like a school report: the DOD shouldRead… Read more »
***Want more project management tips from author Chris Cairns? Join us at the Leading Great Projects session next Tuesday, 9/10 at our GovLoop Virtual Innovators Summit – free rsvp**** Nearly every government project needs to employ risk management processes and practices to ensure successful delivery. A Risk Register (or Risk Log) is one of theRead… Read more »
In August 2012, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget stated in a memo that federal CIOs should become true portfolio managers. The memo was aimed at heads of executive departments and agencies and was released as part of the U.S. federal IT reform plan. As with most OMB memos, it contained a lotRead… Read more »
A History of Entrepreneurship As someone who grew up with entrepreneurial parents, I can say without hesitation that there is no job experience that can completely compare with the rewards and perils of such a career path. Although many would prefer to be employed, even employed by large or in the past, bureaucratic organizations, manyRead… Read more »
March 30, 2012 CIO, Steven VanRoekel, issued a memorandum for the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies explaining the new goals for Federal government IT investments. The Shared First initiative is centered on achieving the highest level of efficiency for each of the 26 agencies. Each agency submitted a plan to the Office of ManagementRead… Read more »
Recently on the Harvard Business Review, John Coleman posted an excellent article, Take Ownership of Your Actions by Taking Responsibility (help is not on the way) that addresses expectations on the part of executive leadership. I found this particularly interesting because I recently caught myself feeling this very thing being asked, “do you feel stalledRead… Read more »
Government Open Source Software Policy Training Seminar conducted as part of the Homeland Open Security Technology (HOST) program Date: Monday, September 24, 2012 Time: 0800 – 1200 Location: SRI Conference Center 1100 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 2800 (28th floor) Arlington, VA 22209 (Map – http://goo.gl/F9pp7) Purpose: The purpose of the HOST Government Open Source Software PolicyRead… Read more »
I gave a brief talk recently on how to effectively build teams. These are the main lessons I shared: 1. Build trust. No one will follow someone they don’t trust. I cited Steven M.R. Covey’s The Speed of Trust as my guidebook for doing so. Covey cites 13 principles for earning and keeping trust. IRead… Read more »
Do vague program requirements cause projects to fail? That’s the question ESI International wanted to know. They surveyed project team members, including project managers and contracting officers, and found that 80 percent said their agencies lacked a formalized process for defining and managing program requirements. Bill Damare is the Vice President for Government Markets atRead… Read more »