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Project Management is More than Just Gantt Charts

6/28/2022

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Everything started with Gantt Charts, right? Your first project management experiences involved Gantt Charts with hours on tasks, and interdependencies between tasks and critical paths and all those fun things that make up wonderful, colorful Gantt Charts. And then you showed those Gantt Charts to the customer and the senior execs with all the progress lines and percents of completion showing right down to all those 62% and 47% numbers and your team and everybody was wowed by them.


Even now, if you mention project management to the outsider in the business world, they're going to often say, “oh yes, you're the guy who creates all the Gantt Charts, right?” Sigh. Well, yes, we often do create all those Gantt Charts, but project management is – and always really has been – about much more than just the Gantt Charts.


It's about:


Leadership. Project management is about team leadership, customer leadership, overall stakeholder leadership and making good decisions for the project and for all of those groups. Good project managers must make tough decisions on the fly – often with less than adequate information – and have the whatever-it-takes to stand behind those decisions.


Status reporting. What happened last week. What's happening right now. What is due to happen next week. The project issues that are being worked on. Risk management and status updates. Change orders. Resource usage and forecasting. All this can – and often should go into the project status report. The more you can make it a one size fits all status report, the easier your life – as the project manager – will be because you won't be creating seven different status reports to satisfy seven different specific groups of project stakeholders. Often this is helped along by the creation of a dashboard for the status report that shows project health in the key areas via a green light – yellow light – red light approach and possibly some percentages (like % of how over or under budget you are, etc.). A quick glance like this gives the execs in your company something to walk away with and stop tapping you on the shoulder and gives the project sponsor on the customer side something to hand to his management to satisfy their need to know that their money is making things happen.


Meetings. Project management is about conducting great, productive, and efficient meetings. It's about putting people in those seats every week so that you have the right people available, and participating and sharing information so that good decisions can be made and good information and communication is shared. The project manager who can plan for, prepare for and facilitate great meetings will have the highest attendance, best participation and most accurate and complete information shared...all of those being key ingredients for meeting – and project – success. And, don't forget to follow up post-meeting with notes to help ensure everyone is on the same page even after the meeting. If you conduct a great meeting but a couple of key attendees leave with different perceptions of next steps, you've still failed. Don't let that happen.


Customer engagement. Project management is most definitely about customer engagement. My motto is “You're only as successful as your last customer thinks you are...” so to me, the customer is everything. And keeping a customer engaged on the project is critical to getting the right information from them at the right time, having them available for key decision making, and keeping them informed and happy throughout the engagement.


Communication. Communication is Job One for the project manager. Yes, even more important than Gantt Charts and status reporting – although it is part of the status reporting process. Good, efficient and effective project communication, consistently running through the project manager as the central point of contact helps ensure that all stakeholders stay on the same page, information and assignments aren't falling through the cracks and a consistent front is displayed to the project customer throughout the engagement. All key ingredients for client satisfaction and project success.


Summary / call for input


And yes...it is still about the Gantt Charts. But it's about much more...and it always has been. Readers – what's your take? How much do you stick to the old gantt chart view and how many of you rarely bring that out for public display? Please share your thoughts on my list and Gantt Charts, in general, and let's discuss.

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Project Manager for Hire

6/25/2022

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I  can be available immediately if needed. I bring over 20 years of successful tech project management experience and a deep knowledge base in best practices. Private and public sector experience. High level security clearance obtainable - have held FBI level security clearance and Nevada Gaming Card. Contact me or email me.

  • Named #1 in the "100 Most Inspiring People in Project Management"
  • Named the #1 Provider of Project Management Content in the World
  • Named #1 on the Best Project Management Blogs to Follow in 2022

Do you need long term or one-off expert project management help right now? I am a very experienced tech project manager with more than 20 years of successful project management experience. I can be available immediately and I can do remote or onsite, full-time or part-time, W2 or 1099. Contact me by email or through my contact form here. Let's discus. Thanks!

My motto is:

"You're only as successful as your last customer thinks you are..."

What does your organization look for in a project management leader?  A 'yes' man? Do you want someone who will listen to you and do exactly what you ask them to do? Hopefully not.  My clients are intelligent and experienced, but they don't always know exactly what they need.  They often don't even know for sure exactly what they want - though they may think that they do.

That might be the case for you as well.

If you decide to seek out my services, what you will get is an experienced professional who is more interested in actually understanding your true needs, how you got to where you are now, and what will satisfy you in the end.

It's not about 'phoning it in' on a project.  It's not always about getting it done in 'x' amount of time, either.  But it IS always about customer satisfaction.  It's about giving you - the customer - something you can live with and be happy with and that your end users can actually use.

View my resume


View my LinkedIn profile

Expertise:​
  • IT / Business Management - 25 years
  • Project Management & PMO Leadership - 20 years 
  • Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS/TRIRIGA/IBM) - 3 years
  • Data warehouse / data integration project management - 7 years
  • Software Development - 6 years
  • Resource Management - 19 years
  • Vendor Management - 16 years
  • Consulting - 12 years
  • Financial Analysis & Planning - 15 years
  • Configuration Management & Change Control - 12 years
  • Disaster Recovery Planning - 6 years
  • Customer Service / Call Center Management - 2 years
  • Export Compliance, Sarbanes Oxley & CMM - 4 years

Industry Experience:
  • Information Technology - 25 years
  • Tech/Business Startup - 8 years
  • Engineering & Manufacturing - 5 years
  • Aviation - 3 years
  • Healthcare - 5 years
  • Government Contracting - 16 years
  • Non-Profit Organization - 4 years
  • Hospitality & Gaming - 3 years
  • Retail Operations - 7 years

Highlights:
  • Led enterprise implementations for a growing healthcare organization offering health management systems
  • Led enterprise IWMS (TRIRIGA) implementations for Fortune 500 companies and large government entities
  • Authored 7,000+ expert PM, cybersecurity, consulting, business strategy, & best practices articles for clients worldwide
  • Authored dozens of eBooks & white papers on project management, VDI, consulting and biz strategy topics
  • Managed projects and programs in excess of $50 million
  • Directed all remote corporate operations and staff for a $300 million global IT services organization
  • Managed all activities and relationship with technology company's largest gaming & hospitality customer
  • Led corporate technical staff supporting all casino & hospitality and lodging data systems
  • Managed all financial activities for $50 million federal contract including pricing, forecasting and reporting
  • Forecasted, planned and managed staff budgets more than $500,000
  • Pioneered and implemented project management practices for a $2 billion corporation
  • Led teams on successful proposal efforts for over $100 million in federal contracts
​
My Noteworthy accomplishments:​​
  • Named the #1 Provider of Project Management Content in the World
  • 2021 MVP Award winning article on Project Management Update - 7 Key Considerations for Building the Perfect PMO
  • Named #1 on the Best Project Management Blogs to Follow in 2022
  • Named the #1 Project Management Blog to Follow in 2021
  • Year-end 2021 Named one of the Top 11 Blogs to Follow
  • Project Management Roundup: The Best of 2021
  • ​Named #1 of the Top Eight Blogs to Follow Right Now
  • Named #1 Project Management Blog to Follow in 2020
  • Named #1 in the "100 Most Inspiring People in Project Management"
  • Named #9 on the 130 Top Project Management Influencers of 2020
  • Named #6 on the 25 Project Management Blogs You Should be Reading

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Automated Scheduling and Forecasting with LiquidPlanner

6/25/2022

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Many project tools do a nice job of task capture and assignment. Failures occur when change happens or tasks are reprioritized, each requiring manual updates across the project tool. These manual updates represent a burden we project managers are all too familiar with.

There is a better way. 
Built around a proprietary algorithm that calculates when your projects are expected to start and finish, LiquidPlanner’s scheduling engine dynamically updates in real-time. As change happens, which it always will, the tool automatically recalculates and updates, so project managers and team members have visibility into task status across the project or even across a large portfolio of projects.

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OnePlan Easily Connects Strategy to Execution

6/25/2022

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OnePlan includes capabilities to capture and define your corporate strategy in the form of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). This supports Strategic Portfolio Management. The solution enables the linking of your objectives and key results to your projects and programs to fully understand how the strategy is being realized and the key projects and resources needed to make it happen. It includes a wide variety of methods for prioritizing or sequencing portfolios, based on metrics of business value and constraint. For more information on our Strategic Portfolio Management features visit: Strategy Execution Management | OnePlan

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Portfoleon Gives You a Birdseve View of Your Project Portfolio

6/25/2022

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In managing your project portfolio Portfoleon puts emphasis on visualization. Make every conversation you have with your stakeholders productive by instantly pulling the right data from a single source of truth and visualizing it in a way that enables your team to make decisions.

With Portfoleon’s powerful visualization capabilities you can make kanban boards, strategic timelines, spreadsheets, pivot tables, and charts to highlight different aspects and interact with your portfolio. Planning resource demand and supply in broad strokes will enable you to quickly find and address resource gaps.

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Want to Put Your Guest Post Here?

6/23/2022

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​Guest post on my site - you get the credit, do-follow links a few images - fast, same day post and promotion to millions of potential readers and inclusion on a daily newsletter to 110,000+.

Contact me or email me.
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Need Expertise in Project Management Quickly?

6/23/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
I  can be available immediately if needed. I bring over 20 years of successful tech project management experience and a deep knowledge base in best practices. Private and public sector experience. High level security clearance obtainable - have held FBI level security clearance and Nevada Gaming Card. Contact me or email me.

  • Named #1 in the "100 Most Inspiring People in Project Management"
  • Named the #1 Provider of Project Management Content in the World
  • Named #1 on the Best Project Management Blogs to Follow in 2022

Do you need long term or one-off expert project management help right now? I am a very experienced tech project manager with more than 20 years of successful project management experience. I can be available immediately and I can do remote or onsite, full-time or part-time, W2 or 1099. Contact me by email or through my contact form here. Let's discus. Thanks!

My motto is:

"You're only as successful as your last customer thinks you are..."

What does your organization look for in a project management leader?  A 'yes' man? Do you want someone who will listen to you and do exactly what you ask them to do? Hopefully not.  My clients are intelligent and experienced, but they don't always know exactly what they need.  They often don't even know for sure exactly what they want - though they may think that they do.

That might be the case for you as well.

If you decide to seek out my services, what you will get is an experienced professional who is more interested in actually understanding your true needs, how you got to where you are now, and what will satisfy you in the end.

It's not about 'phoning it in' on a project.  It's not always about getting it done in 'x' amount of time, either.  But it IS always about customer satisfaction.  It's about giving you - the customer - something you can live with and be happy with and that your end users can actually use.

View my resume


View my LinkedIn profile

Expertise:​
  • IT / Business Management - 25 years
  • Project Management & PMO Leadership - 20 years 
  • Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS/TRIRIGA/IBM) - 3 years
  • Data warehouse / data integration project management - 7 years
  • Software Development - 6 years
  • Resource Management - 19 years
  • Vendor Management - 16 years
  • Consulting - 12 years
  • Financial Analysis & Planning - 15 years
  • Configuration Management & Change Control - 12 years
  • Disaster Recovery Planning - 6 years
  • Customer Service / Call Center Management - 2 years
  • Export Compliance, Sarbanes Oxley & CMM - 4 years

Industry Experience:
  • Information Technology - 25 years
  • Tech/Business Startup - 8 years
  • Engineering & Manufacturing - 5 years
  • Aviation - 3 years
  • Healthcare - 5 years
  • Government Contracting - 16 years
  • Non-Profit Organization - 4 years
  • Hospitality & Gaming - 3 years
  • Retail Operations - 7 years

Highlights:
  • Led enterprise implementations for a growing healthcare organization offering health management systems
  • Led enterprise IWMS (TRIRIGA) implementations for Fortune 500 companies and large government entities
  • Authored 7,000+ expert PM, cybersecurity, consulting, business strategy, & best practices articles for clients worldwide
  • Authored dozens of eBooks & white papers on project management, VDI, consulting and biz strategy topics
  • Managed projects and programs in excess of $50 million
  • Directed all remote corporate operations and staff for a $300 million global IT services organization
  • Managed all activities and relationship with technology company's largest gaming & hospitality customer
  • Led corporate technical staff supporting all casino & hospitality and lodging data systems
  • Managed all financial activities for $50 million federal contract including pricing, forecasting and reporting
  • Forecasted, planned and managed staff budgets more than $500,000
  • Pioneered and implemented project management practices for a $2 billion corporation
  • Led teams on successful proposal efforts for over $100 million in federal contracts
​
My Noteworthy accomplishments:​​
  • Named the #1 Provider of Project Management Content in the World
  • 2021 MVP Award winning article on Project Management Update - 7 Key Considerations for Building the Perfect PMO
  • Named #1 on the Best Project Management Blogs to Follow in 2022
  • Named the #1 Project Management Blog to Follow in 2021
  • Year-end 2021 Named one of the Top 11 Blogs to Follow
  • Project Management Roundup: The Best of 2021
  • ​Named #1 of the Top Eight Blogs to Follow Right Now
  • Named #1 Project Management Blog to Follow in 2020
  • Named #1 in the "100 Most Inspiring People in Project Management"
  • Named #9 on the 130 Top Project Management Influencers of 2020
  • Named #6 on the 25 Project Management Blogs You Should be Reading









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US is Conducting Cyber Operations Against Russia?

6/23/2022

0 Comments

 
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Gen. Paul Nakasone's remarks this month about offensive operations against Russia caused a stir. But have people misinterpreted his words?

When General Paul Nakasone, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, told a reporter this month that the U.S. had engaged in offensive cyber operations against Russia in support of Ukraine, it caused a stir.


“We’ve conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum: offensive, defensive, [and] information operations,” Nakasone said, noting that the operations were lawful and conducted with the approval of the appropriate civilian authorities.


Nakasone didn’t elaborate on the kinds of operations he meant, but many people assumed he was referring to computer network attacks — operations designed to degrade, disrupt, or destroy a target. Cyberattacks of this nature would seem to contradict the White House's stated policy that the U.S. will not directly engage with Russia in its war against Ukraine. They could also potentially escalate the conflict, and pull the U.S. directly into war with Russia.






Days after Nakasone’s statement, Russia appeared to interpret Nakasone’s remarks as proof that the U.S. had shifted its policy. The foreign ministry warned the U.S. not to provoke Russia with cyberattacks or it would take “firm and resolute” retaliatory measures with potentially catastrophic results. “[T]here will be no winners in a direct cyber clash of states,” the ministry said.


But when asked during a White House press conference whether the offensive cyber operations contradicted the administration’s policy against direct involvement in the conflict, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said they didn’t.


“[W]e just don’t see it as such.… So, the answer is just simply: No,” she said.


She didn’t elaborate on the operations or explain why the administration thinks they don’t cross a line.


So how could both statements be true — that the US is engaging in cyber offensive operations, and the operations don’t contradict White House policy?


I spoke with three experts, who provided insight on the matter: Gary Corn was general counsel for U.S. Cyber Command from 2014 to 2019 and is now director of the Tech, Law and Security program at American University. Gary Brown was the first senior legal counsel for U.S. Cyber Command when it launched a decade ago and is currently associate dean of academics and professor of cyber law at National Defense University. The third expert is a current government official involved in decisions about U.S. cyber operations, who asked to remain anonymous because he’s not authorized to discuss such matters.




What Are Offensive Cyber Operations?
There was a lot of confusion around Nakasone’s comments because it was unclear what kinds of operations he was including in the term “offensive cyber operations,” also known as OCO in military parlance.


Under U.S. military doctrine — specifically Cyberspace Operations Joint Publication 3-12 — offensive cyber operations, broadly defined, are “missions intended to project power in and through foreign cyberspace” in support of combatant commanders or national objectives. The activity includes cyberattacks that either target the cyber capabilities of an adversary or cause “carefully controlled cascading effects” in the physical realm — for example, to affect weapon systems, command-and-control capabilities, or logistical operations. Some offensive cyber operations “may include actions that rise to the level of use of force” as it’s defined under international law.


But offensive operations also include cyber exploitation — operations conducted to collect intelligence. This includes, according to the DoD doctrine, military intelligence activities, information collection, and other actions that do not themselves “create cyberspace attack effects” but may be done in preparation for future military operations that produce such effects.


Gary Corn says this is different from the kind of intelligence collection done by the intelligence community for geopolitical purposes. This is reconnaissance to collect information about computer systems, networks and equipment in order to map their architecture or uncover vulnerabilities that might be used in a future cyberattack conducted by the U.S.


“It isn't necessarily altering the system in any way other than to be able to do the collection [of information],” he says.



Are Cyber Offensive Operations the Same as Hunt-Forward Operations?

No. Nakasone’s remarks created confusion about this because in the same interview where he mentioned offensive operations he also discussed “hunt forward” operations, leading some to believe these are the same thing.


Hunt-forward operations are not offensive operations. These involve threat-hunting activities inside U.S. government systems or inside the systems of a foreign government or entity — with their consent — to find hackers or evidence of a compromise in defense of networks. With regard to Ukraine, this can involve both remote assistance and on-site assistance to help Ukrainians uncover threats inside their networks. But such operations would not involve the U.S. hacking into Russian systems. And it wouldn’t be the first time the U.S. has engaged in hunt-forward operations outside the U.S.


“In the run-up to the 2018 midterms, those hunt-forward operations were done in Ukraine, Montenegro, and Northern Macedonia, as areas which are very much testing grounds for Russia's malicious cyber activities,” says Corn.


While conducting hunt-forward operations, the U.S. might discover Russian malware and implants that it then shares with Ukraine and other allies to develop defenses against them. Nakasone said in the interview that U.S. hunt-forward activities are “an effective way of protecting both America as well as allies” and have involved sharing information not only with Ukraine but also with commercial security firms. Before and since the invasion in February, security teams from Cisco, ESET, Mandiant, and Microsoft have been helping Ukraine defend and uncover threats to their networks, and the government’s hunt-forward operations would augment this activity.




Was Nakasone Talking About Attacks or Exploitation (Reconnaissance) When He Mentioned Offensive Operations?
\
It’s difficult to say. Nakasone perhaps intentionally left his comments vague, and both the White House and U.S. Cyber Command have declined to elaborate, simply referring reporters back to his oblique interview.


The operations may include a combination of reconnaissance and attacks intended to have an effect on systems as defined by military doctrine. But this doesn’t mean the U.S. has been destroying Russian systems. There is a vast spectrum of activity that can qualify as a cyberattack, from operations that produce only very subtle effects to ones that physically destroy equipment and potentially cross a line into a use of force.


All three experts say the U.S. is likely not engaging in the latter.


“I don’t know what [Gen. Nakasone] meant within that very broad range, [but] I doubt he was referring to operations that would constitute anything close to a use of force,” says Corn.


But this leaves a lot of options still available.


“The good thing about cyber is that it allows you to modulate [activity] to control your level of effect,” says the government official who asked to remain anonymous. “[T]here are ways that you can give support [to Ukraine] that don’t give Russia license to attack our country.”


And this is primarily what it comes down to when we’re talking about potentially escalatory activities — whether U.S. offensive cyber operations against Russia would qualify under international law as a use of force or an armed attack that could trigger Russia to respond in a way that pulls the U.S. into the conflict.





So What Kinds of Offensive Attacks Might the U.S. Be Conducting Against Russia?

The White House insists that none of the offensive cyber operations crosses the line into direct military engagement with Russia. Corn says he takes the White House at its word, but without knowing any details about the operations — what the targets were or the effects they had — it’s difficult to say if the operations risk pulling the U.S. into the conflict.


The administration has been very calculated in other types of support it has provided Ukraine to avoid being accused of direct engagement, and it’s likely to use the same considerations in the cyber realm.


What might the U.S. do that doesn’t risk being drawn into the conflict?


If Russia tried to defeat Ukrainian morale or conduct information operations against Ukraine, the U.S. could use a cyber operation to undermine or thwart their ability to send messages in some way, says the government official, and this wouldn't be a use of force, depending on the technique they used and the effect it had on Russian systems.


Corn offers a different example in which Cyber Command discovers the username and password for the administrator of a system being used to launch cyberattacks against Ukraine and gets into the system to change the password.


“[S]o now you've locked out the system user. You've had a disruption effect, but you haven't done anything to harm the system whatsoever,” he says. “That’s eons away from destroying [or] causing damage that would begin to implicate use-of-force questions. “


As for what kinds of activity would qualify as a use of force or armed attack or otherwise escalate the conflict, this is difficult to say because so many of the legal questions around cyber conflict and thresholds are still unresolved, the experts say. Even top legal minds that attempted to answer these questions in the Tallinn Manual — one of the primary resources for assessing cyber operations against international law — failed to agree on many scenarios.


“We could take down a network and as long as there is no kinetic effect and doesn’t cause injury, some could argue that would not be a use of force,” says the government official. “But this is an unsettled question…. We use these operations in a way that we avoid [crossing] the lines, but no one knows what the lines are. They’re forming every day.”


And each nation draws the lines differently.


“[If you’re] changing information, making a system slow down or stop operating temporarily or permanently… France would consider this a sovereign violation,” he notes. “But other nations would think it did not violate sovereignty and international law.”


What individual states say about how they interpret different actions and what they will tolerate matters a lot, says Corn.


“More and more states have been making pronouncements about their views on international law and cyber,” he notes. “But there’s still a lot of ambiguity on the edges of a lot of these rules.”


If a U.S. offensive cyber operation hasn’t killed anyone or done injury, an argument could be made that it’s not an armed attack, the government official says. But if a cyber operation renders equipment permanently inoperable, experts disagree on whether this is an armed attack.


The famous Stuxnet operation reportedly launched by the U.S. and Israel — that destroyed or disabled more than 1,000 centrifuges used in Iran’s nuclear program — was deemed an illegal use of force by the Tallinn Manual experts, but they disagreed on whether it qualified as an armed attack.


Brown says to get around this question about rendering an entire system inoperable, an operation could involve something more subtle like making sure specific malware launched by Russia doesn’t work, either by manipulating the code or diverting its path.


“The adversary doesn't necessarily know what's happening if malware doesn’t work, so they might think something is wrong with the software and not realize that someone reached into a server and made it not work,” he says. But if Russia learned that the malware was sabotaged, it could argue that this was direct engagement by the U.S.


If the U.S. were to take out or disrupt a Russian military system, not just a computer used for cyberattacks, the implications would be even more stark. Many have criticized the U.S. for refusing to impose or enforce a no-fly zone to defend Ukrainian airspace, on the grounds that it would bring the U.S. and European partners directly into the war. But if the U.S. disabled or disrupted Russian computer systems used to monitor and detect Ukrainian missiles launched against Russia or Russian forces in Ukraine, this could qualify as a use of force or armed attack, depending on how they conducted the operation.


Corn and Brown say it’s complicated.


“[There are] differing views by states on whether you need physical damage or injury to persons or just some loss of functionality,” says Corn.


Even if it were a use of force, this doesn’t make it unlawful, however, because Ukraine has the right of self defense and has made requests for assistance.


“And there's a collective component [to the right of self-defense under the UN Charter that would allow the U.S. to assist Ukraine],” he says.


He notes that the U.S. hasn’t said it’s engaging in collective self-defense for Ukraine, so this argument may be moot. But Corn says there is a separate question about whether such a level of coordinated support could still trigger the law of armed conflict, “making the U.S. a co-belligerent in the ongoing conflict.”


And in addition to all of this, Brown says an operation that disables or disrupts Russian air defenses would raise other concerns about potential escalation if it disabled Russia’s ability to detect and monitor attacks coming from other countries besides Ukraine, such as the U.S.


“You have to be very careful about taking away their ability to understand [incoming attacks], because we want them to know that we’re not launching [missiles] on them,” he says.




What About Assisting Ukraine with Cyberattacks It Conducts?

If the U.S. risks crossing a line by engaging in cyberattacks against Russia directly, could it instead provide Ukraine with intelligence that would help Ukraine launch cyberattacks against Russian systems?


“When you have an ongoing conflict, there is a risk that actions that directly enable one of the parties to conduct specific operations may make the enabling state a party to the conflict,” says Corn. “It can be a very fine line.”


It’s been reported that the U.S. provided Ukraine with intelligence that its military then used to sink the Russian warship Moskva and to kill a number of Russian generals. But the sensitivity around such intelligence-sharing was made apparent when the administration rushed to distance itself from Ukraine’s actions after the stories published. A spokeswoman for the National Security Council released a statement saying the intelligence was not provided to the Ukrainians “with the intent to kill Russian generals,” and other officials told reporters that the U.S. did not know that intelligence provided about the Moskva would be used by Ukraine to launch missiles against the ship.


Similarly in the cyber realm, if the U.S. were to provide Ukraine with information about vulnerabilities in Russian computers and networks that enabled Ukraine to launch attacks against those systems, it would potentially put the U.S. in a precarious position, especially because it might be difficult to claim that the U.S. provided the vulnerability information for any reason other than an attack.


Generally speaking, Corn says, “vulnerabilities are something that is pretty specific. Why would I provide the vulnerability if I didn't expect and anticipate that the Ukrainians would use that vulnerability to conduct some operational activity?”



Could Russia Retaliate Even if Cyber Operations Don’t Qualify as a Use of Force or Armed Attack?

Russia can do whatever it wants, though it has to weigh the legal, political and military ramifications of any response. Even if the U.S. conducts an operation that clearly qualifies as a use of force or an armed attack, Russia could decide it’s not in its interest to retaliate.


“There’s an absolutely huge political element to this,” Corn says.


He points to Iran’s lack of response to the Stuxnet attack.
​

“Most who look at [that operation] agree that it [caused] a level of damage and harm to the centrifuges of Iran that would rise to the level of a use of force. But Iran never said it was, and that’s a political decision Iran made,” he says.
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Small business tips for managing projects with a lean team

6/20/2022

1 Comment

 
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Small business owners face the challenge of growing their organization with limited resources. You may think this dilemma is somewhat rare, but 99% of companies are considered to be small businesses. Any major misstep can cost you a big client or potentially the entire business, depending on how critical the mistake is. The best scenario for your organization is to consider slow growth, wise project and customer selection, and focus on profitability by planning, requirements gathering, and scope management. Let’s consider these best practices for managing projects effectively while growing your small business with limited resources.
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Slow and steady wins the raceRapid growth is an exciting temptation for small business owners. It’s thrilling to see revenue grow beyond expectations, making it difficult to say no to new projects or further expansion opportunities. Revenue growth is positive, but can distract you from important consideration of the possible downsides. Before you leap to add additional projects or initiatives, ask yourself these questions:...

Read the full article...
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[Webinar]: How to manage a Product Roadmap in OnePlan

6/20/2022

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June 23, 2022 | 10:00am PST & 1:00pm EST

Adaptive Portfolio - How to manage a Product Roadmap in OnePlan

​
A Product Roadmap is an essential tool for communicating your vision for each product. It drives alignment of key stakeholders, guides investment planning and timing and outlines key decisions and options for each product. When done right, it is a living document that evolves. To be effective the product strategy and roadmap need to be […]
Signup for the free webinar...
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    Brad Egeland


    Named the "#1 Provider of Project Management Content in the World," Brad Egeland has over 25 years of professional IT experience as a developer, manager, project manager, consultant and author.  He has written more than 8,000 expert online articles, eBooks, white papers and video articles for clients worldwide.  If you want Brad to write for your site, contact him. Want your content on this blog and promoted? Contact him. Looking for advice/menoring? Contact him.

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