TheBlueShirt

We get caught-up and jump from one thing to the next and often forget to acknowledge and recognize the efforts others have to go through.

When do say thank you? When it's deserved. Only say thank you when you mean it, if it's not sincere your being dishonest to the person your saying thank you to and to yourself. No good comes of this.

Should I say thank you in public or in private? It depends. If the person receiving the thank you needs to be publicly recognized for their efforts then go public.

In person, phone, or in writing? It depends. In person is the best way and meaning isn't lost, phone second but not if your in the same building! If the thank you message is to be shared with others email works well, if it's personal a short thank you note will do great (keep some simple thank you notes on hand).

Should I just say thank you? Yes! Note the action you are thanking them for, give your thanks, and move on. When giving something never expect anything in return.

We expect people to do their jobs and complete the tasks we assigned them but people like to be acknowledged for the work they do. A thank you goes a long way.

"Understand your users and then ignore them"
Robert Hoekman Jr.

This is a profound statement and without context it could anybody fired. When looking at user experience and usability you should perform a usability study. A component of a usability study is a user and task analysis. In this user and task analysis users are identified, along with their typical tasks.

Understanding and knowing your users is paramount in providing a positive user experience. Ask them who they are, what they want, what are their tasks when they visit or use your products but also observe them. What users tell you and what they do might be two different outcomes.

How to tackle the situation? Rely on the understanding you have of your product and your users to provide them with the best experience while still being aligned with your organizational goals. Sometimes the usability expertise might be in-house sometimes you meed to rely on the expertise of vendors to achieve this.

Conclusion
User experience and usability are vast topics that this short post doesn't do justice. If you remember anything make sure your organizational goals align with your web strategy and that you understand your users by interviewing them but also observing them.

Resources
The 7 Rules for Great Web Application Design – Notes
Usability.gov Templates – Great resource of templates

One of the qualities of a project manager is confidence. Successful project managers let their team know that they are confident in the course taken. Confidence is not about lying to your team. If a project is going to fail, the best course is to acknowledge the difficulties, rally around the team, come-up with a good strategy, and stand behind it. These actions show confidence.

A project manager shows-up to meetings first, when appropriate takes the lead, supports the team’s ideas, and fosters discussion. The benefits of a confident project manager mean that team members will focus on the job at hand instead of second-guessing the project manager’s approach.

At a previous job there was a management change that shook the status quo. Some team members got nervous and suddenly lost focus of their work. The project manager in charge gathered everybody for a quick meeting.

The team held two views in this meeting; the management change was no cause for concern and that their jobs were on the line. The project manager acknowledged the situation, expressed the same concerns that some had and was confident in re-assuring the team that this would not have an impact on their jobs. A positive net result was gained from those 15 minutes. People that were anxious and lost their focus were re-assured that everything would be okay. The teams focus switched back to the project at hand and countless productive hours were saved.

As project managers we walk confident and not much shakes us but we have to have empathy to be able to react to situations where the team needs re-assurance. Being a confident project manager and projecting confidence will make you a strong leader.

How do you project confidence?

So, you don’t get someone to switch because you’re cheaper than Walmart. You don’t get someone to switch because you serve bigger portions than the big-portion steakhouse down the street. You don’t get someone to switch because your hospital is more famous than the Mayo Clinic.

via Seth’s Blog.

• Choosing Authority Levels for Team Members – NOOP.NL
  " * Level 1: Tell: You make decisions and announce them to your people. (This is actually not empowerment at all.)
  * Level 2: Sell: You make decisions, but you attempt to gain commitment from workers by “selling” your idea to them.
  * Level 3: Consult: You invite and weigh input from workers before coming to a decision. But you make it clear that it's you who is making the decisions.
  * Level 4: Join: You invite workers to join in a discussion and to reach consensus as a group. Your voice is equal to the others.
  * Level 5: Advise: You attempt to influence workers by telling them what your opinion is, but ultimately you leave it up to them to decide.
  * Level 6: Confirm: You let the team decide first, with the suggestion that it would be nice, though not strictly necessary, if they are able to convince you afterward.
  * Level 7: Delegate: You leave it entirely up to the team to deal with the matter, while you go out and have a good time."

• How Do We Define Product Owners | enthiosys agile product management
  1. The world calls them product managers. When software companies build new product teams, they assign a product manager. Job boards advertise product management openings. Recruiters troll for them. Companies are not ambiguous about needing development managers and QA leads, nor are they fuzzy about wanting experienced product management. When revenue is at stake, companies want a track record of success in well-understood roles. The industry calls these people product managers.

“The people we value most, are the people who stand up and say ‘I’ve made a mistake’”, Gary Baker. Failing fast is good in #agile. #ciohio

Twitter / Pillar Technology: “The people we value most, ….

• The Opposite of Waterfall is Pond – A Metaphor for Agile | Agile Blog: Scaling Software Agility
  Interesting take: "If Agile is the opposite of Waterfall, then I think it should be called Pond. Yes, Pond."