This article is not a detailed overview of a formal process. Instead it provides an overview of the most critical components common to each, as well as some tips on successfully deploying them. Although many process descriptions do an excellent job of breaking down the various components of the process they rarely cover areas like how this affects your team, how much process to use or offer practical advice on issues encountered in the real world when trying to deploy one.

It can be very helpful as a beginner’s introduction to process and can help you more easily grasp some of the concepts you will be introduced to. For the more experienced process guru it should have some helpful tips on smoothing over some of the rough edges we all deal with from time to time.

The information here is based on experiences and lessons learned in over 15 years of developing and managing over 100 complex project releases.

Following these fundamentals will improve your chances of success in any process you adopt and provide a solid foundation for maturing it.

What’s a Process and why do I need one?
Regardless of what business we are in, software, web site design or retail clothing, we all have a process we follow to complete a given project. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not, often with costly results. When we talk about adopting a process we are talking about a more formal process. A process is essentially an integrated set of roles, methods and techniques to in part, help achieve the following:

• Minimize risk.
• More accurately estimate your project schedule and budget.
• Detect problems early (upstream) instead of later (downstream) when they are much more expensive to fix, if they can be fixed at all.
• Better communication among team members regarding project scope, requirements and status.
• More accurately track the progress of the project and detect slippage early.
• Accomplish the project’s goals as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.

Formal processes are often created and refined over years of trial and error to attempt to create an ideal “recipe” for having an optimal chance at successfully completing any project. While they were developed for and commonly used in Software Development, Aerospace and engineering, most of the core concepts are not specific to these or any industry and anyone can benefit from using them.

How much Process is enough? It is critical to the success of any process to understand how much you initially need to bite off. The risk of trying to do too much too soon with a process can be as risky as not doing anything at all, especially if you are a more agile company trying to make the transition to being more process oriented. Overloading your team with a new set of responsibilities and methods they are not accustomed to or ready for can easily derail you. However if you don’t start changing you will continue to have the same problems. Here are some tips of finding the right balance.

• Risk Factor. What is the project’s risk factor? Obviously making software for an artificial heart is much more risky than deploying the third generation of a web site and the process, initially anyway, should match the risk. The former would need extensive, redundant and exhaustive QA checks and balances where the latter ca
  Business Media Marketing: How Good is Your PR and Who Does it Reach?
  One of my clients has decided to focus his marketing budget into fewer channels in order to get a larger response from this concentrated spend. So he asked me "Why should I continue to use my Public Relations agency? Why should I invest in PR next year?"Well, I see PR as a cost-effective way to place your name in your chosen media and get them to advertise your business. On the back of a good business story, if you can also get editorials written about you, the power and authority of the newspaper, radio station or TV channel will influence and sway your market more cheaply than a paid-for full-page spread or 1 minute ad.Be visible to prospects and your existing customersProspective customers need a positive perception of you and your products and services before you can sell to them - if they do not believe your benefits proposition, they will not buy. When they hear or read about a third party speaking well of your business activities, they are encouraged to believe in you.Existing customers are always interested to see you involved in local or national affairs. When they see you raising money for a Disaster Appeal, picking litter off the beach, or running a marathon for breast cancer, they connect you with a positive caring and helping image, re-inforcing their belief that they made the right decision to buy from you. Re-introduce yourself to lapsed and forgotten customersLapsed customers also need to be reminded how they used to enjoy buying from your business. Seeing you open a new office or launch an innovative service reminds them of the good service you gave them a while ago, and the quality of the products they used to buy from you. Following up your PR by re-contacting previous customers can be a mine of easy business.Give your employees and work contacts something to talk aboutYour suppliers and employees also benefit from an interesting news coverage: they can say to their friends and relatives ‘I work for them’. An interesting story can ripple out through their pubs, gyms or social clubs, giving you a viral word-of-mouth referral to many new customers. Your work team will also gain morale from being associated with a newsworthy business, so their sales technique will be more effective.Focus your efforts on gett
  helpful as a beginner’s introduction to process and can help you more easily grasp some of the concepts you will be introduced to. For the more experienced process guru it should have some helpful tips on smoothing over some of the rough edges we all deal with from time to time.

  The information here is based on experiences and lessons learned in over 15 years of developing and managing over 100 complex project releases.

  Following these fundamentals will improve your chances of success in any process you adopt and provide a solid foundation for maturing it.

  What’s a Process and why do I need one?
  Regardless of what business we are in, software, web site design or retail clothing, we all have a process we follow to complete a given project. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not, often with costly results. When we talk about adopting a process we are talking about a more formal process. A process is essentially an integrated set of roles, methods and techniques to in part, help achieve the following:

  • Minimize risk.
  • More accurately estimate your project schedule and budget.
  • Detect problems early (upstream) instead of later (downstream) when they are much more expensive to fix, if they can be fixed at all.
  • Better communication among team members regarding project scope, requirements and status.
  • More accurately track the progress of the project and detect slippage early.
  • Accomplish the project’s goals as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.

  Formal processes are often created and refined over years of trial and error to attempt to create an ideal “recipe” for having an optimal chance at successfully completing any project. While they were developed for and commonly used in Software Development, Aerospace and engineering, most of the core concepts are not specific to these or any industry and anyone can benefit from using them.

  How much Process is enough? It is critical to the success of any process to understand how much you initially need to bite off. The risk of trying to do too much too soon with a process can be as risky as not doing anything at all, especially if you are a more agile company trying to make the transition to being more process oriented. Overloading your team with a new set of responsibilities and methods they are not accustomed to or ready for can easily derail you. However if you don’t start changing you will continue to have the same problems. Here are some tips of finding the right balance.

  • Risk Factor. What is the project’s risk factor? Obviously making software for an artificial heart is much more risky than deploying the third generation of a web site and the process, initially anyway, should match the risk. The former would need extensive, redundant and exhaustive QA checks and balances where the latter ca
    50 Things To Do To Your Boss That Are Fun For You, But Not For Them
    1. You’re eavesdropping and you hear your boss has reservations at his favorite restaurant. You know, the one you can’t afford. Call them back and cancel his reservations – say you’re his wife.2. Have a friend of yours make an anonymous call to your boss saying that they know what he has been up to, possess incriminating pictures, and hang up. It will scare the bejesus out of him.3. Put chocolate ex-lax in your manager’s chocolate licorice. Not only will you feel better, it may wipe that constipated look off of his face too.4. Call the local Mormon or Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints church and ask that they visit your house soon, only give them your manager’s home address.5. Every time your boss asks you a question, just look at him and say “interesting” and go back to what you were working on.6. Take your eyeliner and smears it in his chair when he’s not looking. His wife will feel needed when she has to heartily scrub and wash his pants.7. Turn the pictures on his desk upside down and act overly sweet and innocent when he asks if you know why they are like that.8. When your boss goes to the bathroom, turn his computer off. When he asks you if you know what happened, say that you don’t and it must have just crashed or something. Smile like the Cheshire cat.9. Enlist a friend to deliver papers appearing to be legal documents that insinuate he is being sued for 4 million dollars. Put word “joke” on the last page of the 20-page document. It will be fun to watch beads of sweat form on his brow.10. Remove all toilet paper from the men’s bathroom and put it in the women’s. Shake your head in disapproval of the janitorial help in your office when your boss complains about it.11. Put your boss on all of the mailing lists of his most detested organizations and clubs. When he asks you to call and have them remove him from the lists, say of course, and never do it.12. Replace the vodka in the liquor cabinet with water. You’re doing him a favor, really you are. When he comments that his vodka tastes like water, respond smartly by saying that it appears that just about everyone is cutting corners these days.13. When he comments that the coffee is too weak or too strong, ask, in a serious tone, if he is sure that his taste buds haven’t changed.14. When your boss ment
    s we follow to complete a given project. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not, often with costly results. When we talk about adopting a process we are talking about a more formal process. A process is essentially an integrated set of roles, methods and techniques to in part, help achieve the following:
    • Minimize risk.
    • More accurately estimate your project schedule and budget.
    • Detect problems early (upstream) instead of later (downstream) when they are much more expensive to fix, if they can be fixed at all.
    • Better communication among team members regarding project scope, requirements and status.
    • More accurately track the progress of the project and detect slippage early.
    • Accomplish the project’s goals as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.

    Formal processes are often created and refined over years of trial and error to attempt to create an ideal “recipe” for having an optimal chance at successfully completing any project. While they were developed for and commonly used in Software Development, Aerospace and engineering, most of the core concepts are not specific to these or any industry and anyone can benefit from using them.

    How much Process is enough? It is critical to the success of any process to understand how much you initially need to bite off. The risk of trying to do too much too soon with a process can be as risky as not doing anything at all, especially if you are a more agile company trying to make the transition to being more process oriented. Overloading your team with a new set of responsibilities and methods they are not accustomed to or ready for can easily derail you. However if you don’t start changing you will continue to have the same problems. Here are some tips of finding the right balance.

    • Risk Factor. What is the project’s risk factor? Obviously making software for an artificial heart is much more risky than deploying the third generation of a web site and the process, initially anyway, should match the risk. The former would need extensive, redundant and exhaustive QA checks and balances where the latter ca
      Communication & Corporate Social Responsibility
      In the past few years, the anti-corporate movement (including those opposed to globalization) has gained a bit of steam.What many people in the movement promote now is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the idea that corporations should be responsible to all of society and the environment, as well as to shareholders.It's a shame they've gained momentum. After all, without modern corporations we would all be poorer, and in particular, few of us could expect to retire comfortably. More than anything else, modern corporations exist to provide pension income.Sure, corporations used to be owned by a few, extremely rich people. But, with the widespread adoption of pension funds and mutual funds, corporations now belong mostly to working people.While it's true the average working person has far, far less wealth than the average billionaire, there are many, many times more working people. That means company and government pension plans can invest vast sums of money into capital stock, making working class people the largest shareholders of many corporations.From a communication perspective, I'm interested in knowing why Corporate Social Responsibility gets such good media coverage and so much attention. I'm also interested in knowing what we, as communicators, can learn from them.For starters, the anti-corporate movement has a simple message: "Corporations have too much money and power; working people don't have enough," or some variation on that theme. On the other hand, my defence of corporations above is anything but simple, even though I'm pretty good at capturing ideas in words. Did your eyes glaze over as you read my description?The 'anti' movement also enjoys the luxury of making a good (poor working people) versus bad (rich corporations) argument. That's a moral argument, one that adds spice to any news story. On the other hand, the 'pro' side works largely with rational discourse and the ideas of economists.Third, the protestors bring passion to the anti-corporate message. After all, this is a battle of good against evil, isn't it? Again, the defenders of modern corporations and globalization have to rely on the prosaic science of economists.Fourth, the label 'Corporate Social Responsibility' also helps the anti-corporate movement. Not only does the name act as a unifying point for it
      ippage early.
    • Accomplish the project’s goals as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.

    Formal processes are often created and refined over years of trial and error to attempt to create an ideal “recipe” for having an optimal chance at successfully completing any project. While they were developed for and commonly used in Software Development, Aerospace and engineering, most of the core concepts are not specific to these or any industry and anyone can benefit from using them.

    How much Process is enough? It is critical to the success of any process to understand how much you initially need to bite off. The risk of trying to do too much too soon with a process can be as risky as not doing anything at all, especially if you are a more agile company trying to make the transition to being more process oriented. Overloading your team with a new set of responsibilities and methods they are not accustomed to or ready for can easily derail you. However if you don’t start changing you will continue to have the same problems. Here are some tips of finding the right balance.

    • Risk Factor. What is the project’s risk factor? Obviously making software for an artificial heart is much more risky than deploying the third generation of a web site and the process, initially anyway, should match the risk. The former would need extensive, redundant and exhaustive QA checks and balances where the latter ca
      Drug Testing Facilities vs Instant Home Drug Tests? & Pros & Cons of Drug Testing Methods
      Drug testing labs provide accurate results for drug tests in a short period of time. Oftentimes, companies require lab drug tests in order to maintain a safe and healthy work environment for their employees.Why Are Drug Testing Labs Used?A drug testing facility is used to detect the use of drugs in the workplace, the home and even in law enforcement. Many times, employers will require a drug testing lab test prior to hiring as a sort of screening. Also, parents may send a sample to a drug test facility in order to discover whether or not their teen is abusing drugs. Drug testing labs are available in many different forms including urine testing, saliva testing, sweat testing and hair testing. After a sample is collected from a donor, the sample is then sent to a drug testing facility and tested for traces of illicit substances.How Accurate Are Drug Test Facilities?Drug test facilities provide the most accurate of drug testing options on the market today. However, many on site drug testing products are equaling lab test quality, making for a more price conscious and convenient option for businesses and families who wish to utilize drug testing.Pros and Cons of Home and Lab Drug TestingDeciding between using a drug testing lab or a instant drug testing kit can be difficult. Many different factors should be weighed, including the level of required accuracy and reliability, the rate at which results are produced, sample collection and cost. A drug testing facility will typically cost much more than an instant drug testing kit, although its accuracy is often guaranteed. Regardless of the drug testing method used, once a sample is collected, it can be tested immediately with an on site drug test, whereas a drug test facility will require the sample to be sent to the lab—a process which could take up to a week or more.All in all, on site drug testing is more effective for the average consumer to use. Businesses can save large amounts of money when buying home drug test kits through corporate bulk accounts and are still guaranteed a high level of accuracy.Worried parents who fret over their teen’s potential abuse of drugs can use at home drug testing kits to find out whether or not they are using on the spot. Waiting for a drug testing lab to return results can be excruciating, especially when it is your child’
      doing anything at all, especially if you are a more agile company trying to make the transition to being more process oriented. Overloading your team with a new set of responsibilities and methods they are not accustomed to or ready for can easily derail you. However if you don’t start changing you will continue to have the same problems. Here are some tips of finding the right balance.
      • Risk Factor. What is the project’s risk factor? Obviously making software for an artificial heart is much more risky than deploying the third generation of a web site and the process, initially anyway, should match the risk. The former would need extensive, redundant and exhaustive QA checks and balances where the latter can be easily adjusted on the fly after deployment with no loss of life. Be realistic about what your risks are, how expensive they will be to address downstream, and use this as a basis for deciding how much is required. No one knows your environment, project and team better than you, so use some common sense in deciding what feels right.
      • How much can your team handle and what does it need most? The impact on the team is often overlooked. Any process is only as good as what your team can manage and regardless of the ultimate benefits, initially it will cause additional effort in training and new tasks your team is not accustomed to managing. To be successful you must achieve buy in and commitment to the process from everyone. If you don’t your team will simply go through the motions and roll their collective eyes in project meetings. To overcome this find their pain points in how they work now and start with the areas of the process that directly address these.
      • Start Small. Start with a few areas that you feel are critical, again including pain points so your team sees immediate benefits. It will be easier to add more process layers later when they see it as a benefit and not simply extra layers of bureaucracy. Gaining buy in is critical and if you start small your team will have a chance to get their collective heads around this as well as see the benefits, making more maturation downstream easier.

      Team and Environment
      One of the most commonly overlooked elements of employing or maturing a process is the team itself. Each team has a different dynamic and will respond very differently to various aspects of what you are trying to do. Too often, out of frustration with problems new process is forced on a team. This does not mean your team should dictate your process, but as mentioned above your team’s buy in to what you are doing is essential for your success. I have never seen a process successfully steamrolled over a team. So tread carefully, get your team involved in discussions about what you are doing and why, it will pay dividends.

      • Roles and Responsibilities. Any process will have roles defined for each individual and it is critical that each person clearly understands the role they will be playing and feel they are comfortable in that role. Spend some time here and ask people if they are comfortable in their role, ask questions and listen! Once your team is set, make sure they are empowered to do what they need to do and make sure everyone on the team is aware of who has a gun and a badge. If your developers refuse to tell your project manager the information they need you will have a problem. If the project manager reacts by dropping soft milestones into your project plan you have a problem you won’t even know about until it is too late. So make sure roles are clearly