It is inevitable that sales can sometimes paint a picture that is a little too beautiful, too bright and too…
“It’s no fun testing a game; It’s like playing, but it’s not.It’s trying to find all the glitches and then…
Pancakes and waffles. 🥞 vs 🧇That’s what a client side PM and a partner side PM is like. The basic…
Have you ever been handed a baby with a HUGE bulging nappy?The one where you’re afraid of peeking inside just…
Day 3 of my #30daysofvideo challenge. I thought that I’d answer some commonly asked questions.In today’s video post, I talk about the…
“So how many sandboxes will you have? Whaaaaat? 😱“Why do I need more than one?” “If you want to replace…
The new IT Director showed me his CBAR-Cost Benefit Analysis Report.My right eyebrow went so far back it joined my…
“Um, I said you’d drive them the 238 855 miles to the moon with your 1964 Morris Minor.” Argh! I…
Salesforce has changed the way they are certifying their #SalesforcePartners and this is their definition of an Implementation Expert: A…
I LOVE data. However, it’s been quite a few years since I’ve really played in the trenches soit was super…
As a Consulting Partner, asking insightful questions, and listening carefully, will help you understand requirements when it comes to building…
“Scope creep” and misunderstanding about what is and isn’t in scope for a consulting project seems to be a key…
If you haven’t been able to catch any fish, is the fishing rod at fault? If you burn your hand…
“I’ve sent out the email about production cutover, and if they didn’t read it – it’s their fault; not mine.”…
What’s the difference between working in a large Consulting Partner and small, medium or boutique sized one? For me, it’s…
“Are there any PMs on the training who might have very strong personalities?” “Why do you ask?” I was a…
Do you build your CRM platform yourself or do you get someone to help you? Buying software that can be…
“I’m only being paid a fraction of what I’m billed out at. It’s not fair. I can run my own…
How did out of date apps like ‘Netscape Communicator’ and ‘Mozilla Mail’ get referenced as ‘modern’ in the Brexit deal?…
Bid response, Proposals, Solution documents. These are just some of the documents that may need more than one person to…
“Here you go – these are the build estimates for the user stories. Can you come up with a pricing…
“OMG – the culture was so toxic! So much empire building – and it was next to impossible to get…
Historians are really Big Picture people. They have such a macro view of world events, and can see how things…
What do you do if you have an escalated situation with a client where emotional outburst and personal attacks might…
How do you handle explosive situations in a workshop when emotional outbursts have derailed the conversation? It can happen. I…
Hot potato. Some partners treat their clients like hot potato when the organisational culture doesn’t promote cohesive behaviour. Sales will…
How do you feel when you get a contract that seriously leans AGAINST your favour? I’ve seen contracts and agreements…
Sooner or later, short term thinking leads to pain. If you are only keen on closing that deal without spending…
My secret superpower: The ability to unlocking resourcefulness and creativity in my team with humour. As a Project Manager, managing…
“You don’t have a billable project code against the pre-sales activity? Sorry, not interested.” Be careful what you wish for.…
Agile Manifesto’s second principle: “Welcome changing requirements, even late in development.” Putting aside impact to budget and timeline with the…
I am very protective of my team. Each member of a high performing team needs to be able focus their…
Quality <> Perfection. Many delay shipment of releases or products/software because they aren’t ready… the software isn’t “perfect” yet. “QA…
If you are a medium/large consulting partner, your job descriptions should be very well honed towards how you run your…
I was talking to a senior architect who was incredibly frustrated. Due to cost cutting, the main project manager was…
Those of us in the consulting industry will know that preparing proposals and working in Bid Teams is generally far…
In software consulting, for medium and larger projects of work, there’s generally two parts to the delivery that require Statement…
A statement of work is a binding contract. A marriage is a binding contract. So why do so many people…
When a document raises more questions than it answers, it is either: 1) Deliberately provocative, or 2) Very poorly written.…
“I disagree with your post – You can’t say failure of a project is down to the PM. There are…
“I’ve got such an awful Project Manager! She’s always asking me to do the impossible! Build that functionality in two…
I’ve just come across a poorly written Statement of Work from a vendor, and there are so many red flags…
“My job as a Project Manager is to schedule meetings and workshops (maybe do the minutes), and get info from…
One of the key qualities of a highly competent consultant is self-awareness. It’s the ability to – listen and accept…
“Your new best friend.” That’s what I tell all the new consulting hires. You must appreciate your Resource Manager. It’s…
Being a Resource Manager must be one of the hardest job I can think of, in the Consulting industry. No…
Building a rocket to escape Zombie Apocalypse within 12 months (before they get to your isolated sanctuary and eat your…
I’ve been accused of being a nitpicky Project Manager. A fussy, bossy, demanding Project Manager. All this in front of…
Writing solid requirements is an artform. Whether it’s a biblical tome of a Business Requirements Document (a la Waterfall), or…
Data migration on a CRM Project is a much much bigger workstream than anyone thinks. Corrupt, inaccurate, inconsistent, irrelevant or…
“Things didn’t go as smoothly as you thought. But the team and I, we fixed it and made sure it…
In small or medium sized Consulting Partners, there may not be luxury (and budget) for a PM to help manage…
When you’re in the midst of “go-live”, the long hours, the blood, sweat and tears will be all worth it…
Preparation is imperative in any meeting or workshop that a consultant organises. This includes preparing and briefing participants, so that…
Fixed Price or Time & Materials? As a customer, I might want Fixed Price (FP). because I perceive that the…
There is a skill in estimating how long a Discovery will take. For mid to larger sized projects, this can…
I’m super nosy. As a Project Manager, I encourage my team member to spam me. _Always_ cc me in your…
“How much do you share in your project status and budget reports with your customer?” I was showing a new…
“Here’s the list of requirements, and the team’s estimation against each item. Go and create a project plan.” There’s no…
“All my project manager does is schedules meetings, takes minutes and hounds me for update on my task. Nothing else!”…
25 years. 1/4 century. That’s how long I’ve been in software consulting. Boy, that makes me feel old. On the…
I was listening to Tim Ferriss’ interview with Elizabeth Gilbert (who wrote Eat, Pray, Love), who both spoke about a…
You can’t plan life like you can plan a project. Software development projects like Microsoft CE or Salesforce or SAP……
The two key elements that are candidates for ‘trimming’ on a project estimate at the sales stage that’s beyond the…
How to consistently and repeatedly reduce the possibility of a project being undersold in a fast-paced sales cycle? Estimating correctly…
When estimating requirements, you need to remember the ‘non-functional requirements’ as well, especially around testing. – End-to-end – Integration (PtP…
What do you do when your company sells a project that is woefully underestimated, promising the client would have an…
The Project Manager’s Iron Triangle. Good, cheap, fast – choose 2. As unbreakable as… The Law of Gravity. Most estimations…
Being a Project Manager is quite an unglamorous job. Especially when you work with a Consulting Partner or an SaaS…
Being “Authentic” has its place. You might have strong feelings about ‘being forced to stay indoors’, the Nanny States, Big…
“What does it mean to be a consultant? How should we behave?” I was running inductions for new consultants the…
Part of being an effective Project Manager is being comfortable with change, with the unknown. It’s being able to look…
I’ve known Project Managers who are just paper shufflers, finger pointers, gantt chart fillers, and milestone update naggers. They provide…
Working remotely due to the current situation will sure hit the agile projecta, who rely so much on co-located scrum…
There’s a difference between working in a larger consultancy and a smaller one. In one, you’re probably dedicated to a…
The project RAID log is like a family puppy. It’s not something you let your dad look after, and only…
Staying on the “Be Professional” topic for consultants: Should you ‘friend’ a client on Facebook or other social media? Controversially,…
I believe that the job of a Project Manager is a lot more than ‘Managing a Project to timescales and…
There are two general engagement types when you work for a consultancy: Project Engagement, and Staff Augmentation (sometimes crudely referred…
Recruitment isn’t a perfect science. In contrast to previous post, this particular lady not only had a sterling CV, but…
I was reflecting on a conversation I had yesterday… About the interview for the Senior PM role, and whether I…
She had an amazing personality, and performed the role of a ‘Senior Project Manager’ in a crisis meeting with a…
“Oh F*** F*** F***ety F***!” PFY* had done a “Delete * from table_name” command. On Production. Luckily I knew the…
People generally don’t admit mistakes because: – they don’t want to let people down – they think being wrong makes…
Consulting Partners are required to quote against a set of requirements in a Statement of Work. These are generally acquired…
Consultancy project teams are assembled based on availability, capability, and rate. As a client, you might be promised “the best,…
What do you do when you know you’re going to die? Well, that’s a trick question because everybody dies, it’s…
“Wait, your sales team promised xyz. What you’re saying now is not what I am expecting.” If you hear this…
“You’re the expert – we pay you to make our problem go away.” Many businesses think that hiring consultants is…
Actually, I think that project management for operations trying to manage deployment of resources and aid during war or national…
Apart from a poor attempt at doing puns (I normally leave that to hubby!) that is exactly what a Salesforce…
I was reading an excellent article written on Vantage Consulting‘s blog yesterday: “Finding the Right Salesforce Partner for your Business“.…
I’ve done both, and I’ve found each to have their own merit. Consultancy projects can be quite high-octane, very dynamic…