via Flickr by by Mykl Roventine

Why is it always the developers who get blamed for goldplating? Most people who have worked in a project environment know that goldplating is one of the biggest contributors to scope creep. When you consider that the cost of change increases as the project timeline progresses, it becomes evident that, in addition to increasing scope, goldplating by a developer can also be costly.

But, what if the developers are not the only contributors to goldplating? What if goldplating is also being done by the testers? Considering the cost of change at the various stages in the SDLC, it becomes clear that goldplating by a tester could be ten times more costly than if it is done by a developer.  But, exactly how can a tester goldplate?

Goldplating by a tester can occur when a tester goes beyond the stated requirements in an effort to produce a “quality” product.  A tester may feel that their suggestion would improve the customer experience so they log this in the defect log.  While their suggestion may do exactly what they envisioned, if it was not within the scope of the stated requirements, it becomes a form of goldplating or “feature creep”.   A tester’s job is to ensure that a quality product is delivered, but many testers rely on their own definition of quality rather than using the requirements to define quality.

Quality is defined as the ability to meet specified requirements as stated by the user.  The key in this definition is the user.  It is the user’s perception that determines whether a product meets their expectations.

To mitigate the risk of gold-plating by testers, all defects should be triaged by a member of the project team who has a clear understanding of the requirements scope.  This person can determine whether each defect is truly a defect related to the current project or an enhancement suggestion for a future release.

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I’m sure you’ve all heard about the recent news with Toyota.

by prakhar via Flickr

Recalls happen.  It’s a statistical certainty that companies are going to have recalls from time to time.  Usually it’s something minor in nature but recently Toyota has had multiple issues regarding accelerators sticking and potential braking system issues.

The part I’m in mourning about are reports that Toyota required extensive outside pressure to act in some cases.  These are big safety issues.

According to US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, when government officials spoke to the North American offices of Toyota they were unresponsive.  It took a trip to Japan in order to get some attention on the issue.  I feel the icon Toyota once was for me is now tainted.  Did I just have an unrealistic view of the company and their operations before?

My questions are as follows:

1. Why didn’t a company who is touted for kaizen have a feedback mechanism in place so they were the first to know about the problems?
2. What institutional processes are broken that made Toyota a bit “safety deaf” according to LaHood?  This isn’t a matter of individual mistakes, the results indicate organizational process deficiencies.
3. What happened and what lessons should we learn from recent events?

I’m looking forward to your opinions in the comments section.

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by TMAB2003 via Flickr

It’s something that gets a lot of lip service.

But are YOU doing it?

You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.

-Zig Ziglar

Rob from Singapore asked a question about how to gain experience in project management when starting from the role of an individual contributor on projects. I posted an answer to that on a new experiment I have going on at pmStudent.org and I’ll riff on that now.

Be known as a person who over-delivers

If you are an individual contributor  on a project now, are you the kind of team member that everyone loves to work with?  Do people trust that you will deliver and even overdeliver on the work you are doing?

Strive to be the person who inspires others to say “Wow!  How does she/he get so much done?”  or “I hope I get to work with her/him on this project coming up.”

I’m not talking about under-promising

No, don’t set the expectations low so you can come in with your cape waving in the wind for an early delivery.  You’re not going to build any trust that way.

Expectations should be reasonable and realistic.

I’m talking about going above and beyond.  Do a top-notch job while volunteering your own unpaid time towards helping a project manager compile data.  It doesn’t have to be a lot, but it does have to be quality.  Spend a few less hours watching TV and invest in your own personal growth and reputation with your co-workers.

It’s not just about time

You don’t have to become a workaholic.  I once managed operations for a start-up wireless ISP, the first of it’s kind in the USA.  I worked myself to death, and although the work was great the work-life balance just wasn’t there.  It sucked.

Since then I have a 45-hour per week rule.  I’ve gotten very focused at personal productivity at work so that I can get everything I need to get done within that 45 hour period.

When a crisis happens though, I’ll work whatever I need to get the job done.  Sometimes it’s just a matter of staying a few hours late to finish a critical report for an early morning meeting the next day that JUST got scheduled a half hour ago.  Flex the time or just donate it.  Once it was a month of 60+ hour weeks to deliver a project on time that ran into a snafu towards the end.

Whatever it is, be the person who everyone knows they can count on when times get tough.  When someone has to take a clutch shot they throw the ball to you.

Don’t expect anything in return

You will get lots in return, but don’t expect it.  Many times you will not receive any recognition.  You will be passed by for that job you wanted.  It’s going to happen.  Do it for its own sake and when something else happens see it as a happy bonus.

A small example when it comes to networking is LinkedIn recommendations.  For every 10 sincere, time-consuming recommendations I write for others, I might get 2 in exchange.

So be it.

I still provided an honest and thoughtful recommendation for someone who deserves it.

And that’s enough.

Related posts:

1. Is it Possible to Successfully Deliver a Project without Really Good Project Management Resources?

In Not the Status Report episode # 4 I talked about AskAboutProjects.com, a site similar in function to StackOverflow.com where anyone can ask questions. Answers are voted up or down and those ratings make the best answers rise to the top.

I really enjoy the site and what it offers. So, I recently interviewed Steven Kass who is one of the people behind the site.

Tell our audience a little about yourself Steven.

I am a Project Manager with 10 years experience. I have always worked in IT; mostly telecom and data network projects.

Two years ago, I passed the PMP certification and found it was a very interesting experience.

Many of the users on the site have a lot more experience than I have, and one of the things I learned already is that I still have a lot to learn

Tell me about AskAboutProjects.com – how did it come about?

AskAboutProjects.com is a site to ask questions about project management.

I am a project manager myself and during my ten years of working experience I have often searched information online that could help me do my job.

A few months ago I was doing some research to find a web application that could help my team to better manage our different projects. I stumbled upon the site StackOverflow.com, a Q&A site for programmers created by Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood. I realized that there was a major difference between their site and common Q&A sites or forums. Exchanging knowledge suddenly seemed a lot easier. The only problem for me was that it was made for programming questions only.

With a friend who shares my interest in project management, we decided to launch a “StackOverflow for project management”. That’s how AskAboutProjects.com was started…

What can people find there?

They will find all the questions and answers posted by the users so far. Users create the content.

All content is accessible without registration, and there are already more than 200 questions answered by the users.

Why should people visit AskAboutProjects.com – both for the question-askers and for the people who answer questions.

The advantage to ask a question on the site is really that you get clear feedback: it is well structured and you quickly see the best content: what the community of users like the most will be shown at the top right next to your question. You just visit the page where you posted your question and see what the top-voted answers are.

With LinkedIn discussion, you’ll have to read every single post to be sure you don’t miss a great idea. With email discussion, you’ll have to read every single email.

It’s also a great way to search. Think of it this way: how many times have you “googled” a question for ten minutes and then given up? I find search engines tend to return poor results. There is just so much information on the Internet.
You can ask the question on AskAboutProjects.com. One of the users might already know the answer, and if not, at least we have a structured and formatted way to document any information that is found on the question. Over time your question will get a clear feedback.

And for those who do not have questions, it is a great place to share knowledge and experience.

Note that posts are voted on. So you either get appreciation for your input, or, if no-one votes for your post it can serve as an indication that perhaps the post should be clearer or more convincing. I have noticed that I often go back and check if my posts get good rating and sometimes re-work on them to make them clearer and more useful. That’s also the power of the site: you find yourself competing to help the person who asked the question!

Related posts:

1. Project Manager Interview Series
2. Tips For a Successful Job Interview
3. PM Certification: PMP Exam Lessons Learned

I am doing a few podcast shows right now, and we just released new episodes yesterday for both of them.

• What’s up in Project Management?
• Not The Status Report

Here comes another

Josh inside the pmStudent studio

I am starting a new podcast with a question & answer format. You ask the questions, myself and the community will answer them.  This is for the benefit of new and aspiring project managers who are the focus of pmStudent.com

I want specific questions.  Tell us about your background, industry, etc.  Paint a picture so we have a good starting point to make recommendations to you.  My working target is to produce a 5-10 minute show for each question covered.  (I enjoy the short format shows)

You don’t even have to leave your name so it can be as anonymous as you want.

• project manager career questions
• how-to
• education
• certification

Depending on the volume of questions I may not be able to cover them all in the podcast, but I will answer your email individually as soon as I can.

I will likely do many of these myself but I may bring on guest hosts from time to time as well, especially if they have special insight into the question because of their industry or experience.

So what are you waiting for?

New shows will be announced right here on the pmStudent.com blog and will soon be available as a podcast feed subscription in iTunes.

Related posts:

1. Project Manager Career Questions
2. NOT the status report
3. Project Manager Interview Questions