Getting Results from Software Development Teams


Book Description

Learn best practices for software development project management—and lead your teams and projects to success. Dr. Lawrence Peters is an industry-recognized expert with decades of experience conducting research and leading real-world software projects. Beyond getting the best developers, equipment, budget, and timeline possible—Peters concludes that no factor is more critical to project success than the manager’s role. Drawing on proven practices from allied industries such as business, psychology, accounting, and law, he describes a broader project-management methodology—with principles that software managers can readily adapt to help increase their own effectiveness and the productivity of their teams. Unlike other books on the topic, this book focuses squarely on the manager—and shows how to get results without adopting philosophies from Genghis Khan or Machiavelli. (There is mention of Godzilla, however.) Packed with real-world examples and pragmatic advice, this book shows any software development manager—new or experienced—how to lead teams in delivering the right results for their business.




Transforming Professional Development into Student Results


Book Description

How can we create and sustain professional learning programs that actually lead to improved student achievement? In this thoughtful and informative guide for teachers, administrators, and policymakers, Douglas B. Reeves provides answers. First he casts a critical eye on professional learning that is inconsistent, unfocused, and ultimately ineffective, and explains why elaborate planning documents and "brand-name" programs are not enough to achieve desired outcomes. Then he outlines how educators at all levels can improve this situation by * Taking specific steps to move from vision to implementation; * Focusing on four essentials: teaching, curriculum, assessment, and leadership; * Making action research work; * Moving beyond the "train the trainer" model; and * Using performance assessment systems for teachers and administrators. If you're tired of professional development that takes up too much time and delivers too little, read Transforming Professional Development into Student Results and discover how to move toward a system that gives educators the learning experiences they need to make a measurable difference for their schools and their students.




Developing Talent for Organizational Results


Book Description

Praise for Developing Talentfor Organizational Results "Elaine Biech brings together some of the 'royalty' of American corporations and asks them to share their wisdom in increasing organizational effectiveness. In 46 information-filled chapters, these 'learning providers' don't just sit on their conceptual thrones; they offer practical advice for achieving company goals and the tools to make it happen." Marshall Goldsmith, million-selling author of the New York Times bestsellers, MOJO and What Got You Here Won't Get You There "Recruiting, developing, inspiring, engaging, and retaining your talent are critical to the growth and success of all organizations. Developing Talent for Organizational Results is a rich resource that can help you cultivate your most precious resource." Tony Bingham, CEO & President ASTD and Co-author of The New Social Learning "Hiring and developing talent is the area that I am most passionate about. . . . Developing Talent for Organizational Results covers all the important topics, uses multiple experts, and supports learning with ready-to-use tools to develop talent in your company. It is like having a million-dollar consultant sitting on your book shelf!" Mindy Meads, former CO-CEO Aéropostale and former CEO/ President Lands' End The best companies win with highly talented, highly committed employees hiring and developing the best talent is essential. In Developing Talent for Organizational Results, Elaine Biech brings together the work of many of the most renowned learning providers in the world all of them members of ISA: The Association of Learning Providers. Filled with a treasure-trove of consulting advice from The Ken Blanchard Companies, DDI, Forum, Herrmann International, Bev Kaye, Jack Zenger, and others, this book delivers the answers you want to improve leadership, management, and communication skills; address training, learning, and engagement issues; and shape the culture and care for your customers to achieve desired results.




Executive Coaching for Results


Book Description

The field of executive coaching is growing at an astonishing rate. Corporations are increasingly turning to coaching as an intervention, as it offers leaders and managers both on-the-job learning and built-in follow-up. But how can you make the best use of coaching within your organization? Executive Coaching for Results helps this critical leadership development method come of age. This is not a “how-to-coach book”—there are already plenty of those—but rather a comprehensive guide on how to strategically use coaching to maximize development of talent and link the impact of coaching to bottom-line results. Underhill, McAnally, and Koriath draw on their rigorous original research (through Executive Development Associates) with Fortune 1000 and Global 500 companies such as Disney, IBM, UBS, Unilever and many others, and combine that with their years of industry experience to advance the state of the art. Executive Coaching for Results includes topics such as: Integrating coaching into your organization's overall leadership development strategy Locating and screening coaches worldwide Developing an internal coaching program Deciding which coaching assessments and instruments are appropriate to your situation Measuring the impact and ROI of coaching Following up after coaching Throughout, the authors provide numerous examples from major organizations such as Dell, Johnson and Johnson, Intel, and Wal-Mart. Offering practical learning, best practices, and illuminating case studies, this is the first definitive guide to the effective use of executive coaching in the corporate environment.







The Road to Results


Book Description

'The Road to Results: Designing and Conducting Effective Development Evaluations' presents concepts and procedures for evaluation in a development context. It provides procedures and examples on how to set up a monitoring and evaluation system, how to conduct participatory evaluations and do social mapping, and how to construct a "rigorous" quasi-experimental design to answer an impact question. The text begins with the context of development evaluation and how it arrived where it is today. It then discusses current issues driving development evaluation, such as the Millennium Development Goals and the move from simple project evaluations to the broader understandings of complex evaluations. The topics of implementing 'Results-based Measurement and Evaluation' and constructing a 'Theory of Change' are emphasized throughout the text. Next, the authors take the reader down 'the road to results, ' presenting procedures for evaluating projects, programs, and policies by using a 'Design Matrix' to help map the process. This road includes: determining the overall approach, formulating questions, selecting designs, developing data collection instruments, choosing a sampling strategy, and planning data analysis for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method evaluations. The book also includes discussions on conducting complex evaluations, how to manage evaluations, how to present results, and ethical behavior--including principles, standards, and guidelines. The final chapter discusses the future of development evaluation. This comprehensive text is an essential tool for those involved in development evaluation.




Developing a Tough-Minded Climate for Results


Book Description

"A smooth transition to excellence in management cannot be achieved by an abortive hodgepodge of borrowed programs and panaceas. First-rate company success must derive from a top executive who can think . . . who can provide the rest of his team with a desire to excel and a distinct impatience with mediocrity." In this his second book, the author of 'Tough-Minded Management' presents a formula for developing an entirely new business way of life. Using candid, no-nonsense language, he pinpoints the one element that can turn a mediocre company into a great one . . . the one element that can enlighten and energize ordinary firms so that they accomplish extraordinary things--Climate! Executives will find here not fanciful theories but tough-minded principles. -Principles that have been tested and proved in the marketplace and in the executive suite. -Principles that will help managers everywhere to understand the way of their jobs. -Principles that will help managers to develop and, in fact, settle for nothing less than employees who welcome responsibility and the challenge of contributing to company profits. Here is a book for leaders and for potential leaders; a book for any executive who senses the need for Developing a 'Tough-MInded Climate for Results.'




Monitoring, Evaluating, and Improving: An Evidence-Based Approach to Achieving Development Results that Matter!


Book Description

Since the end of World War II, multilateral organizations, bilateral donors, and national governments have spent billions of dollars each year to address and resolve development challenges for better human outcomes. However, many of these challenges continue to recur. Dr. Samuel Taddesse, who has decades of experience designing, implementing and evaluating aid programs throughout the world, argues that development experts and policy makers should focus on understanding the nature and magnitude of the challenges and its causes and effects before embarking on designing and implementing interventions to resolve the problem. In Monitoring, Evaluating, and Improving, he highlights the building blocks for a robust approach to managing development results and outcomes. He recommends understanding the root causes of challenges, which requires involving stakeholders who can help brainstorm the best course of action. The book is also available in eBook format.




Managing for Development Results


Book Description

Results-based management (RBM) is a public management strategy that involves decision making based on reliable information regarding the effects of governmental actions on society. It has been adopted in various developed countries as a way of improving efficiency and effectiveness in public policy. In Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, governments and public managers show increasing interest in this management strategy. Given the relative novelty of RBM in the region, however, there is scant literature on the subject. This book is intended to fill this gap in two ways. First, it seeks to describe some of the basic RBM concepts and adapt them according to regional characteristics. Second, it presents an assessment, based on studies carried out in 25 countries, of the challenges facing LAC countries and their capacity to implement results-based public management.