From the category archives:

Theory of Constraints

Does Reliability Matter in Project Planning?

by Hal on April 21, 2009

in Last Planner, Theory of Constraints, project planning, project scheduling

How good is project planning? Measure task reliability to know.

{ 13 comments }

Turn Rocks into Gold on Your Projects

by Hal on January 25, 2009

in Theory of Constraints, agile, books, lean

The tough worldwide economy requires attention to delivering high value to our clients. Read Clarke Ching’s “Rocks into Gold” to see what you can do to take care of your clients while keeping your company viable.

{ 3 comments }

Clarke Says, Multi-Tasking Is Evil, I Agree

by Hal on May 15, 2008

in Theory of Constraints, agile, lean

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

I won’t bore you with all the references to how multi-tasking produces waste. But do understand, the company policy to have very high utilization of staff creates the requirement for multi-tasking. Full utilization is not sustainable. Until [...]

{ 19 comments }

Understanding Project Constraints

by Hal on February 4, 2007

in Theory of Constraints, leadership, teams

Understanding may be the big constraint on our projects.

{ 4 comments }

Lessons David Learned from Eli

by Hal on July 2, 2004

in Theory of Constraints, agile

David J. Anderson, author of Agile Management and the weblog of the same name posted a series of Lessons Learned from Eli (Goldratt):

#1 Small Batch Sizes
#2 Resistance to Change
#3 Don’t Assign Blame
#4 Lean and Six Sigma

Have a look. David is a solid writer and avid learner. He doesn’t just stop at the lesson [...]

{ 2 comments }

How Do Scrum and CCPM Compare?

by Hal on November 14, 2003

in Theory of Constraints, agile

Scrum and Critical Chain PM are different approaches. Read on…

{ 7 comments }

Don’t Use Percent Complete

by Hal on October 25, 2003

in PM practice, Theory of Constraints

Don’t yell at me. I’m just quoting Johanna. (But, I do agree with her!)
Johanna has this crazy idea of using inch-pebbles for tracking project performance. It’s a play on the word milestone. She claims that percent complete gives a misleading view of a project. The calculation is either based on effort [...]

{ 4 comments }

Project e-Tip of the Week

by Hal on June 25, 2003

in Theory of Constraints, tips

This week’s Project e-Tip was submitted by Clarke Ching, a reader in Scotland. Clarke reminds us of the perils of multi-tasking by sharing his story of book reading. Enjoy!

The Project Reformer’s e-Tip of the Week

009: Eliminate Multi-Tasking to Speed Project Completion
[...]

{ 6 comments }

Customers, Promises, and TOC

by Hal on April 18, 2003

in Theory of Constraints

Customers’ role when considering constraints on projects. Closing posting from the 5-part co-blogging series with Joe Ely and Frank Patrick.

{ 1 comment }

5 Practices for Managing (Constrained) Projects Successfully

by Hal on April 17, 2003

in Theory of Constraints

Day 5 in the TOC series wraps up with planning for the inevitably constrained project.

{ 3 comments }

Take Good Care of Constrained Project Resources

by Hal on April 16, 2003

in Theory of Constraints

Day 4 of the TOC series examines actions to take to avoid multi-tasking.

{ 0 comments }

Multi-Tasking Leads to Project Delays

by Hal on April 15, 2003

in Theory of Constraints

Part 3 in the co-blogging series on Theory of Constraints looks at resources in contention and multi-tasking.

{ 4 comments }

Policy Project Constraints

by Hal on April 14, 2003

in Theory of Constraints

Part 2 in the series on Theory of Constraints examines policy and paradigm constraints.

{ 0 comments }

Physical Project Constraints

by Hal on April 13, 2003

in Theory of Constraints

This is the first of a five-part series on the Theory of Constraints (TOC) conducted as a co-blogging exercise with Joe Ely and Frank Patrick. Today we look at physical constraints.

{ 2 comments }