Articles

Andre Malowney writing at a desk, working through project management reference texts and printed process diagrams

Practical thinking for project professionals

Articles on project delivery, governance, risk, predictive, Agile and hybrid practice, alongside a growing PMP® knowledge library for professionals preparing for the current exam.

Product Backlog vs Project Scope

A backlog is scope, in the sense that it is managed and ordered. It is not the project's scope, and the difference shows up most sharply at closure.

Requirements vs Scope: Why the Difference Matters

A requirement says what has to be true. Scope says what the project will do about it. Used interchangeably, they cost money in three specific places.

From Scope to Structure: Why Breaking Work Down Still Matters

A structure with a branch per department reports steady progress on a project where nothing has moved. Four tests tell you whether the units are right.

Validate Scope vs Control Scope: What’s the Difference?

One asks whether a deliverable is acceptable. The other asks whether it is what anybody agreed to build. Teams that run only one find out at handover.

Requirements Elicitation: Why Asking What People Want Is Not Enough

Somebody who has done a job for eleven years has compiled most of it into habit, and habit is not available for description. Elicitation is getting at the quiet parts.

How Scope Works in Adaptive Projects

If the requirements can change, what is anybody agreeing to? Something is always fixed on an adaptive project, and naming it is most of the scope work.