fractals « A PM's workshop

Pragmatism, virtue and risk

By Eugenio, on September 30th, 2009

If a project manager is not able to deliver the information about the current situation without limiting the communication to the bare facts described with technical lingo, it is difficult to explain the reason of being there for [...]

Managing information

By Eugenio, on August 3rd, 2009

Organizations need concepts for building their system dedicated to convey “energized” information from the bridge to the engine room. In this voyage, information shall be transformed without losing the energy that gives significance the [...]

Fractals – Presenting risks in Business Case

By Eugenio, on July 20th, 2009

Like squirrels, reserves are essential

Risks (negative and Opportunities as positive) are occurrences of an event that would modify the project’s outcome.

Only when the hypothetical course has been set, it is reasonable to evaluate the possible events that will have an impact on the output.

Which are the risks’ sources?

Each “Option” has different risks. [...]

Fractals for Business Case – presenting “Options”

By Eugenio, on July 17th, 2009

Once the “Reasons” are clearly stated, forming the first version of the baseline, the Business Case needs some solutions for starting the operations with clear guidance.

The “Options” should be in the number of three; these are the main properties:

Every option shall cover (in different ways) the needs forming the “Reasons”
While the core is technical [...]

Fractals – Designing a Business Case

By Eugenio, on July 16th, 2009

Sustaining and pressuring forces

I am proposing the analogy between project’s documents and fractals, because geometrical rules could help in the process of introducing common methods of measurement. It, therefore, makes easier to set up and manage a PMO and then a program.
Hard facts, emotions, little dirtier secrets (previous mistakes), interpretation of marketing, analysis, new [...]

Fractals as visual patterns for building sound projects

By Eugenio, on July 15th, 2009

A natural application of fractals

There are some useful concepts that can sustain the adoption of fractal as “thinking strategy”.

A mathematical fractal is based on an equation that undergoes iteration, a form of feedback based on recursion.

This could be roughly translated with the following definition:
The same structure can be scaled into the smallest dimension, maintaining [...]

Fractals: a visual pattern for probing Gantt’s diagrams

By Eugenio, on July 6th, 2009

Logic applied to art

The existence of a neat diagram seems to reassure enough most of the stakeholders (and sponsors).

Like a loom, Gantt’ diagrams offer (with apparently easiness) the possibility of adding weaves in order to create a design that will be self-explaining the whole project’s logic.

There are some questions for probing this viewpoint (and [...]