Martha Stewart and project schedules

Once upon a time, the Slo-Man was a software programmer, a systems designer known for solving complex problems.

His penchant for using innovative data models was a source of much admiration and satisfaction, mostly by and to himself. He ran software development teams with an iron hand, laying down detailed coding standards focused on reusable code that was maintainable and extendable.

In his middle ages, one day, he found himself called a Project Manager.

Embracing change, a talent he possesses in spades, except in his reading and music habits, he decided to gain accreditation for his new found status. So he did.

His new status also brought him up against a new enemy, the bane and downfall of many a project manager. Yes, Microsoft’s ubiquitous Project is notorious for it’s esoteric settings, sometimes inexplicable behaviour and general air of do-what-you-will-I’m-here-to-screw-you-over.

The Slo-Man, as crazy as he was geeky, decided to meet this foe head on. He dug into the calculation logic, the effects of all those tick boxes and settings, the various hidden fields and even wrote custom code using VBA.

In short he came to be viewed with some awe, much suspicion by his colleagues.

Somewhere in 2006, he produced a brief article on dressing up Microsoft Project for visual appeal. It is an early attempt at publishing articles,  and is useful now, not just for the knowledge it imparts, but, more importantly, it serves to show us an early glimpse into a writing style, a style that you, dear reader, have come to love (or not).

And so, ladies and gentlemen, the Slo-Man, with a little pride and much trepidation, presents

The WBS as an Art Form – aka MS Project Schedules in Colour

Your comments will be read with much interest.