
The Art and Science of Leading Projects - ismyrnow
https://www.teamgantt.com/art-science-of-leading-projects
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sudosteph
Not for me, but I do like that one of the sections is:

> 08 - Winning trust with communication

> Learn simple keys to becoming a better communicator and how to identify your
> team’s different communication styles.

Having experienced the pain of working somewhere where leadership tried to
decree a single "right" method of communication for all developers that didn't
jive with us at all, I don't take this for granted anymore.

In that case, management declared that in-person communication was so
essential to the agile philosophy that all devs should be ok with being
interrupted by anyone and at any time for the purposes of having a face-to-
face chat (and WFH was not allowed unless sick). I now work somewhere where I
don't see any co-workers in person on most days, and somehow we get tons more
work done and stay in contact just fine. Weird how that works...

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maxxxxx
People constantly confuse communication with a lot of talking and
collaboration with sitting in the same room or constant meetings.

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agumonkey
good communication happens when there's good [shared] motivation

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cpeterso
The book "Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager" is a high-
level but pretty complete introduction to project management. It has good
examples from non-technical projects, such as rolling out a new health program
in a hospital. It uses official terms from the Project Management Institute’s
infamous "Project Management Body of Knowledge" (PMBOK) so information learned
from this introduction can be carried over to more rigorous projects.

[https://www.amazon.com/dp/194163110X/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/194163110X/)

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russdpale
Thanks, I think I might check this out. I have been toying with the idea of
getting back into leadership. I hate seeing all of these people with terrible
bosses.

All of my leadership experience is 1) outside of tech, and 2) not remote
oriented. Now that I have some experience as a coder under my belt (~5 years),
I'd love to get some training on remote leadership styles and perhaps lead a
team and make something useful.

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dchuk
Step 1 is not using a gantt chart to create some illusory impression of
knowing exactly how complex projects will unfold.

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kickopotomus
Eh, I would say creating one (or something similar) is a useful exercise to
help break up large tasks and think more thoroughly about how to split work
within a team. It also helps to highlight possible bottlenecks and is a useful
visualization so everyone on the team is on the same page.

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afarrell
Wouldn't that just be a dependency graph?

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mateo411
What is the difference between a Gantt chart and a dependency graph?

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ironchef
Gantt charts typically have resource assignments and time estimates.
Dependency graphs just say Bravo requires Alpha to be completed first (for
example).

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nuntius
Dependency graphs can also be annotated with the resources required for each
node or edge. Resources are estimated by summation, time is estimated by
finding the critical path.

Gantt charts are a partial linearization of a dependency graph. People tend to
fixate over the dates shown, allow schedule pressure to "correct" previous
estimates, etc.

According to some early users of Gantt charts, they are a great tool for
summarizing a plan, a terrible tool for developing and maintaining one.

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jph
TeamGantt is a great help for planning, and this course is well worth doing.

In my team's recent planning of a major multi-month feature, TeamGantt tooling
helped us plan, helped our leadership visualize milestones and goals, and
helped our developers deliver on time and on budget.

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anotheryou
your comment history luckily proves you are not a sock puppet :)

but this comment is still suspiciously smooth

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appleiigs
and how does he know the course is worth doing since only classes 0, 1, 2 of
14 are released.

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metaphor
I had the same suspicions on first glance, but quickly realized he was
referring to their web service, not the training.

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asdr
People have a tendency to classify some what complicated tasks as art or
science. Leading a project is neither science nor art.

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delinka
I think we're at a place where using the phrases "Art of ...", "Science
of...", and "Art and Science of ..." are not interpreted with the literal
definitions of art or science in mind. Typically, in colloquial (as opposed to
formal) writing, "art" comes with an understanding of "all the steps haven't
been quantified and some intuition is involved" and "science" tends to be
"here are the steps to take and the items to observe and the things to change
in response."

So I disagree: there is Art and Science to, well, most things; including
leading projects.

