Meet kitolab!

August 11th, 2009

After weeks of brainstorming, domain searching, forceful premature balding and sleepless nights, I’ve finally decided on a name for my upcoming project management app.

What’s in a name?

For the longest time I was intensely frustrated that I couldn’t find available domain names in the project management realm. Before long I found that I was starting to settle for names that didn’t really mean anything, and were hardly memorable.

Then I started to take a more systematic approach to finding a name. Aside from all the standard naming criteria, I decided that I wanted the name to represent:

1. More than just tasks. What I’m building is not a to-do list manager, it’s a much more intelligent project management assistant (a lab partner, if you will).
2. More science than art. Typically, project management is a lot of guess work. I aim to replace much of that guess work with tangible, data-supported analysis.
3. Simplicity & fun. Ok, it’s not likely that managing projects will ever be “fun”, but if it’s not “painful”, that’s a start.

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Finding a Better Way

June 9th, 2009

In my last post, I touched on the fact that Agile introduces a certain process overhead to the equation. This overhead is an investment. Given time to mature, it reaps great rewards. But what happens when it doesn’t get to reach a state maturity? What happens when the project’s lifespan was never destined to reach that tipping point?

Let’s first assume we’re dealing with a client who is open to stepping outside their comfort zone and adopting a new engagement framework with you. Let’s assume they’re willing to make themselves available for regular planning sessions and demo/review periods. Let us also assume that they’re willing to be held accountable for their role in the project’s completion. Let’s assume our client meets all these requirements, what do you do when the cost of educating the client on the methodologies, the processes, and the language of Agile is greater than the reward of putting those tools to work? Continue Reading

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Design is Knowing When to Stop

September 24th, 2008

How often do you struggle with finding the line between finished, and over-designed? Design is knowing when to stop.

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