Herding Cats: Program Management Guidance

There are a few "well, duh" nuggets in Herding Cats: Program Management Guidance post that need continuous repeating. I even need to repeat them to myself when I'm in a management role.

• "Specify outcomes, not processes"
• "Not reaching the goal, as opposed to incurring setbacks along the way, constitutes the only true failure"
• "Technology development programs in particular are difficult to accomplish within fixed schedule and budget constraints. The appropriate guideline in this case is usually to specify the desired performance level and available funding stream, and to let the results mature as they may."
• "Executive management must define appropriate milestones and peer review points, and must be sufficiently disciplined not to interfere as long as commitments are met."