Category Archives: Uncategorized

This blog is moving

Posted on October 5, 2015 by aterny

After more than four years on WordPress, this blog will soon be moving. I now have my own website at and all the content of this blog has already been moved there. The content on this site will, at some … Continue reading →

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Career transition

Posted on August 8, 2015 by aterny

Over the last couple of years, I have transitioned from being employed by an insurance company trying to be more agile, through being employed by a small consultancy on-site at clients doing agile project management and coaching, to where I am … Continue reading →

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Do we really need projects?

Posted on February 21, 2015 by aterny

In an Agile sense, you probably work in one of two types of companies. While there are certainly hybrids of these two examples, bear with me for a while. The first type are IT-focussed, <em>tech-savvy</em>, often relatively new companies. They … Continue reading →

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The core of Agile

Posted on November 30, 2013 by aterny

Peel away the layers of agile practices, dig down through the principles and values of the Agile Manifesto, and what is at the very core of Agile is one simple objective and two activities. The objective is Risk Mitigation. Think … Continue reading →

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Role Playing games as Agile educators

Posted on November 10, 2013 by aterny

One day some years ago, I spent a couple of hours in the car while my son – then aged about 13 – told me all about what he’d been doing recently. What was occupying most of his time was … Continue reading →

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“Deliver on Time” revisited – the Iron Triangle

Posted on July 9, 2013 by aterny

The ‘Iron Triangle’ known to all project managers is one of the cornerstones of the profession. Essentially, it defines the major project constraints of time, cost and scope (sometimes quality is shown in the middle). On most traditional projects, scope … Continue reading →

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Getting feedback

Posted on March 16, 2013 by aterny

I was asked to take one of the speaking slots at the “Agile in the Finance Sector” conference in London on 7 March. It was a great event and I was privileged to be asked to speak. My talk was … Continue reading →

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How not to do IT Recruitment

Posted on November 12, 2011 by aterny

I received an email from a recruiter recently. It has been a while. Back in the days when I badly needed a job, emails from recruitment agencies were mostly of the “sorry, but…” variety. Then when I had a job, … Continue reading →

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Change Control under DSDM Atern – using MoSCoW

Posted on June 29, 2011 by aterny

During a presentation recently, I was asked how an agile project team manages change control. How, the questioner wanted to know, do you deal with new requirements, scope creep and what happens when requirements turn out to be a lot … Continue reading →

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Presentations – don’t send material in advance

Posted on June 17, 2011 by aterny

I recently agreed to give a presentation at a project manager’s forum meeting. Without knowing the date, I completed the presentation and only then discovered that the meeting was on a day when I was away for a few days. … Continue reading →

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