Blog
Welcome to my blog, where I share insights and tips on project management, user experience, and web design. As a user-centric project manager, I am passionate about helping businesses and individuals navigate the ever-evolving landscape of digital technologies. Through my blog, I offer practical advice and expert guidance on project management methodologies, user experience design principles, and web design best practices.
Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting out in your career, my blog is your go-to resource for all things related to project management, user experience, and web design. So, grab a cup of coffee and join me on this exciting journey as we explore the latest trends and innovations in these fields.
Latest Articles
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Strategic Choices in Website Design: Iteration vs. Periodic Redesign
In the dynamic world of website design, a critical decision stands before you: to embrace gradual refinement through iterative design or to succumb to the allure of periodic grand redesigns. This discussion navigates the intricacies of these two distinct approaches, unveiling their merits and pitfalls. Our goal is to equip you with insights to make…
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Working With Neurodivergent Team Members
“Be curious, not judgmental” is a quote you may be familiar with thanks to Ted Lasso, the American fish out of water in Apple TV’s smash hit show. Project managers will do well to live by these words. As the workplace becomes more diverse and inclusive, it is important for managers to understand how to…
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The Ten Laws of Project Management
Lest you think that UX is the only discipline with a set of laws that exemplify best practices, I present to you the ten laws of project management. This article is based on a presentation I gave to the digital staff at Click Here Labs several years ago when I was leading their project management…
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Project Management and the Laws of UX
Project management is the art and science of planning, executing, and controlling projects from conception to completion. In the context of web design and development, it involves coordinating teams of designers, developers, and stakeholders to deliver web projects that meet their objectives. The success of a web project is typically measured in terms of how…
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What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art language model developed by OpenAI. It is based on the transformer architecture, which was introduced in a 2017 paper by Google researchers (Vaswani et al., 2017). The transformer architecture allows ChatGPT to understand and generate natural language with unprecedented accuracy. The research that went into creating ChatGPT involved training the model…
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Building High-Performing, Highly Autonomous Teams
The first blog article I ever wrote on the topic of project management addressed the concept that project management, at its core, is people management. A lot of project managers are drawn to our discipline for the organizational skills and process management, for procurement procedures and risk or quality management. These are all incredibly important…
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It’s the Documentation, Stupid
Project management is often more of an art than a science. While I do believe that statement is true, the particular turn of phrase can be very misleading. Many times, people use it to excuse general disorganization or a lack of discipline. But every good artist knows that without preparation, honed skill, and hard work,…
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What is the Point of Your Project?
It seems like a simple question, but you would be surprised how many project managers can’t answer it when someone asks. A well reasoned and thought out business case is often neglected by even the savviest of organizations. As project managers, it is our responsibility to ask these questions and make sure that we understand…
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The Stubborn Stakeholder
A favorite quote of mine from the great Mark Twain is: “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” One of the hardest things about managing projects is dealing with stakeholders that do not understand what, often times, is a complex and…
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The Project Wilderness
Project Initiation Early in 2015, I made up my mind to attempt a solo thru-hike of the Lone Star Hiking Trail (LSHT). At 128 miles (with loops), the LSHT is the longest wilderness footpath in Texas. It runs through the 163,037-acre Sam Houston National Forest about 50 miles north of Houston. Considering it would be…
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Virtual Scrum Boards
Digital marketing often requires the undertaking of large, complex projects. Whether it is an enterprise-level website or a complicated native mobile application, the key to executing these projects is breaking them down into smaller, more manageable steps. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Increasingly, agencies are turning to agile practices such…
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Mountain Biking and the Art of Project Management
Several years ago, I rather naively took up the sport of mountain biking. I’ve always had a casual interest in cycling and would often ride my bike on the many roads and paved trails around my house. It was fun and a good way to get a little exercise. So when my brother asked me…
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Web Design Process: A Scientific Method
Web development can sometimes be a mysterious process. It’s a large undertaking and many people are intimidated by the prospect. Each website is different and has it’s own unique specifications and requirements. But just like the Great Pyramid or the Panama Canal, it is all possible given the right process framework. The trick is to…
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Welcome to the Post-Mobile World
Information has undergone massive shifts with each sea change in technology. Humans started with the spoken word. Then the written word transformed our view of the world; information no longer had to be memorized. Next came printing, electronic media, digital media and mobile. And now we’re on the verge of something profoundly exciting – the…
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The Importance of A/B Testing
A/B testing is an essential tool for any marketer or product developer, and its importance cannot be overstated. By testing different versions of a website or marketing campaign, A/B testing allows businesses to identify what works best and optimize their efforts for maximum impact. Dan Siroker, the former Director of Analytics for the 2008 Obama…
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The Optimism Bias
Optimism can often be the worst enemy of a project. Many times, even when faced with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, project stakeholders will swear to a pre-set date or deliverable. The history of digital development is fraught with examples of optimism leading to catastrophic failure. I like to always remember one of my favorite…
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Introducing the Knowledge Graph
In 2013, Google introduced a new concept that has the potential to revolutionize the way we search for information on the web. It’s called the knowledge graph, and it’s a way of organizing information that makes it easier for us to find what we’re looking for. For years, Google has been the go-to search engine…
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Adaptive Project Management Using Scrum
Since time immemorial man has been undertaking great projects. The Pyramids, Stonehenge, Amazon.com just to name a few. All of these projects have had one thing in common; A lowly human with no superpowers was the one responsible for making sure that necessary tasks were accomplished in order to achieve the end goal. Whoever that…
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Saving Network Neutrality
I honestly don’t believe it is an overstatement to say that the Internet has been the single greatest achievement in the advancement of information and communication since the invention of the printing press. We are still only beginning to understand how this technology will change the world. Unfortunately, the freedom we enjoy on the Internet…
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Google Sidewiki – Control is Illusion
On September 23rd, 2009 Google released an update to Google toolbar, which can be installed as a plug-in for you browser. Part of that update was a new feature called Sidewiki, which allows users to post comments and feedback on a small tab that is attached to individual websites. It displays as a small arrow…
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Earning Trust in Project Management
Project management is people management. I know this might disappoint many people in the project management trade, but it’s true. Understanding people is essential to a successful project. Too often managers rely solely on their planning tools to get the job done. BaseCamp, OmniFocus, and Microsoft Project are all fine tools, but they will never…
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Google Wave & Project Management
Update: I originally wrote this article in 2009 when Google first introduced Wave. During its demo, the company described it as a better version of email, with the potential to replace it as a primary communication tool. However, just a year later, Google stopped developing the product, and it faded into obscurity—a niche piece of…