This blog provides commentary, short posts of my thoughts on the main content of the site, reviews and other short-read material.

Also check out the Library, where you will find information on Principle-based Project Leadership and other key themes of my project management philosophy and practice.

Recent Posts

Recent posts by Adam across all categories. Please enjoy.

Posts by Adam

All my own work!

What is a project? Part 4: Non-definitional elements

This post is the fourth post in a series that presents a new definition of “project”. In my last post, I looked at several definitions of a project, including the PMI definition, to identify components that were redundant. In this post, I drill into why they are not definitional but ...
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February 23, 2020 / Project Management Concepts

What is a project Part 3 – comparing other definitions

This post is the 3rd post in a series that describes the revised definition of "project" as a concept. Remember, our new definition is: "an endeavour created to produce a specific outcome." In the last post, I provided more detail on the revised definition of "project" and unpacked each of ...
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December 19, 2019 / Project Management Concepts

What is a project Part 2 – Unpacking the definition

In my last post, I outlined a revised definition of a "project". In this post (the second of four), I look in more detail at the main elements of this definition. If you recall, the revised definition of "project" is: “A human endeavour that is created within a context to ...
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December 18, 2019 / Project Management Concepts

Reworking project management: a selection of tools

The "Project Management Meta-problem" series lists nine (9) project management meta-problems. Each meta-problem impacts objective and productive discussion about how to improve project management. The "Manifesto for Action" lists the corollary for each meta-problem. Each is a goal to address one of the meta-problems. Solving these meta-problems gives us more ...
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December 17, 2019 / Manifesto for Action, Project Management Concepts

What is a project Part 1 – A simple definition

Last post I laid out the "Manifesto for Action". I want to establish a broad and inclusive concept of project management that looks at fundamentals and avoids sectarian labels. The first step towards this goal is to define a set of conceptual tools that avoid labels, fixed perspectives, or vested ...
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December 16, 2019 / Project Management Concepts

Making projects sexy again – The Manifesto for Action

In my last post, I summarised the 9 “meta-problems” blocking us from discussing and analysing project management. In this post, we’re moving in a different direction. Now I will look at what we can do to solve these meta-problems and build a broad and rich narrative about project management. Making ...
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December 15, 2019 / Uncategorized

Nine project management “meta-problems” that block us

I have now published yarns that each describe one of the nine (9) project management "meta-problems" that I believe we need to resolve before we can start making improvements to project management practice. This is a summary page for those 8 posts, with links to each. What is a Project ...
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December 14, 2019 / Manifesto for Action, pmot, project management, project manager

Project management uses linear tools for non-linear situations

In my last post, I covered the lack of trust in organisations and how none of the tools or processes in project management addresses this problem. In this post, I’m looking at the inability of project management practice to deal with non-linear dynamics. We plan and execute projects linearly, but ...
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December 13, 2019 / Manifesto for Action

Project management and the no-trust mess

In my last post, I described the inability of project management to deal with the “quick fix” syndrome, whether or not it’s valid for any project. In this post, I’ll examine the lack of trust in organisations and how none of the tools or processes in project management addresses this ...
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December 12, 2019 / Manifesto for Action

Project management can’t help with the “quick fix” syndrome

In my last post, we saw the “disabling professions” establish a “one best way” in both traditional and agile project management. A different face of this problem is dealing with stakeholders who don’t recognise major parts of the orthodoxy. In this post, I’m covering the inability of project management to ...
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December 11, 2019 / Manifesto for Action, pmot, project management

Posts on Articles from other authors

This includes summaries and critiques of posts or resources from other sites and authors, as well as original posts by Adam.

• The category “Adam Reads” contains summaries and links to poasts and resources from other authors which I have tagged as of interest to my readership.
• The category “Adam Critiques” includes reviews of these other resources.