hInjecting structure to support
project healthBy Sergey Soloviov
For Biggerplate Unplugged 2015
Leading projects since 2003
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Sector: Digital
Mind mapper since 2006
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nSpeaker
Practical examples from day-to-day
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Mind mapping + Project Management
Distinct purpose
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nOn the subject
kProject risks
Top Down Planning
Bottom Up Audit
gHealthy project is risk-free
oRisks come from grey areas
oEven more so in digital
(gazillion of tasks)
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Highly relevant(happens on very project)
dPeople struggle with risks
oDistractions(impacts our attention)
Emotions(excitement makes us
rush forward)
Skills(not all are
good communicators)
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Techniques and Tools
Hunt downgrey areas
Eliminatemisinterpretation
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People struggle with risks
Healthy projects are risk-free
Structure helps
kProject risks
Top Down Planning
Bottom Up Audit
qGoal:
Itemised work(assignable work packages)
gConventional tools
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Whatever your project manager has at hand
MS Word MS PowerPoint MS Project
oPoor knowledge of the subject matter
oUnclear ownership
dEnforcing structure
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Product Breakdown Structure (PBS)PRINCE2®
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Employs the principles of mind mapping: Visual diagramStrict hierarchy
No floating items
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Address risks: • Never miss an item
as you go top to bottom
• Avoid floating items easily
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Address risks: • Label owners • Reflect relationships
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Gain efficiency: • Moving around • Automatic formatting • Expand/collapse • Drill down/up • Relationships and group
notes
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Addresses the planning risks
PBS is effectively a mind map
Xmind suits better thanWord or PowerPoint
kProject risks
Top Down Planning
Bottom Up Audit
qGoal:
Information Architecture(Site Structure)
gConventional tools
Whatever your designer has at hand:Omnigraffle or Visio
Image from: graphicsketchpad.wordpress.com
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Incompleteness
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Unclear hierarchy
Easy to make mistakes
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dEnforcing structure
oYou might start with card sorting
Image from: softwareontology.wordpress.com
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Floating items are evil
Familiar symbols are good for a reason
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Contains all details but condenses to one page if needed
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No silly mistakes
It formats itself as you make changes
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Your tools must enforce structure to effectively deal with masses of data
Sitemap diagrams often confuse hierarchy
Mind maps are dynamicyet they support much needed rigour
kMy use cases are about
recurrent tasks that benefit from structured approach
kYou could use it, too
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Let’s answer some questions
Sergey Soloviovwww.soloviov.ru – @soloviov
Biggerplate Unplugged 2015