The Art Of Estimating
Posted on | May 1, 2010 | 21 Comments
Let’s be frank, estimating is not an easy task. Guessing is. Read more
(10 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
Email This Article
The Ten Commitments
Posted on | April 1, 2010 | 5 Comments
There are at least 10 commitments I see a PM must have. Read more
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ... Email This Article
Deadlines: The Fast And The Furious
Posted on | March 1, 2010 | 2 Comments
With deadlines we procrastinate. Without deadlines we don’t get the job done.
Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of Stanford University and Business 2.0 Magazine columnist said in a 2007 article that setting a deadline can increase the credibility of commitments.
Deadlines not only for projects but for major milestones within projects allow the project team in concentrating on the accomplishing the work.
Most problems with missing agreed upon deadlines arise when such deadlines are unknown or not properly communicated to the team. A good project plan and schedule (that include best case, worst case and most likely case) go a long way in minimizing the risk of missing deadlines.
Some deadlines are dictated by the business based on market conditions (such as competition) and credibility, and the work has to be accommodated inside that time window. Most of these deadlines are missed as well because the amount of work is just too much and cannot be accomplished in that time. However, for most businesses it is more important to go to market first than to have excellent quality in the product or service.
Deadlines that are perfectly achievable are also missed due to a number of factors that must be considered during planning. One of the most important is the resource’s skill set and current workload. Assigning a resource to a task that he or she does not have the correct skill set to perform sets the grounds for failure. Assigning a resource 100% to a task when he or she is already allocated to other tasks and/or projects is a mistake since there is no availability left.
Lastly, reward people for meeting deadlines. They want to be recognized.
Once a deadline has been agreed upon (whether realistic or not) is has to be taken seriously because they are closer than they appear in the mirror.
Deadlines are like promises, they have to come true. Don’t you think so…? Well, I do.
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ... Email This Article
« go back — keep looking »
About
Expiriance.com, the worldwide leader in program and project management services, blog, resources, and news.
Subscribe to our feed
Follow Expiriance on Twitter
Search
Tags
Adaptive (2) Books (2) Clarity (2) Cost (4) Deadlines (2) Deliverables (5) Documentation (8) Estimating (2) Management (16) Mentoring (7) Methodologies (7) MS Project (5) Performance (5) PMBOK (2) PMI (5) PMO (3) PMP (7) Processes (9) Products (2) Project plan (4) Quality (4) Requirements (2) Resource leveling (2) Risk (2) Scheduling (2) Scope (6) Status (3) Teamwork (4) Techniques (15) Time (5) Tools (2) Training (7) WBS (2)
Random Articles
- The Curious Case Of The CHAOS Report 2009
- The Ten Commitments
- Clarity-MS Project Best Practices
- Tips For Passing The PMP® Certification Exam
- Project Management: Art Or Science
News
More News >>Powered by Newsfeed Maker
Blogroll
- allPM - The project management homepage
- deGerencia - Management and business in hispanic America
- Erhard Seminars Training - Werner Erhard continues to develop methodologies that provide individuals and organizations with the means to design new contexts and paradigms
- Inspired Project Teams - Enduring wisdom and guided challenges to help project teams achieve their best
- Michael Greer's Project Management Resources - Project management articles, tools, links and more
- PMForum - Connecting the world of project management
- PMI - The Project Management Institute
- PMI South Florida Chapter - PMI South Florida Chapter
- ProjectSmart - Project management templates, articles, books and PRINCE2 training for managers
- Reforming Project Management - The magazine for the project age
- StartWright Resources - Remote IT project management
- The International Community For Project Managers - The international community for project managers
- The Project Management Center - The project management center