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Estimating and Planning Posts

Is there a Resource Shortage or a Priority Shortage?

Posted: April 24th, 2012 by Andrea Brockmeier. 1 Comment »

To Do list When I ask students for their biggest challenges in managing projects, they usually tell me it’s the lack of people, time, or money. They just don’t have enough resources to get done what’s expected of them. 

I don’t doubt it. The relentless battle cry to reduce waste and increase productivity has many project managers feeling like they are expected to build a bridge over the Mississippi River with one team member and a box of toothpicks. By tomorrow. 

How much of this challenge is exacerbated by the lack of clear organizational priorities to guide how those precious resources are allocated? 

Continue Reading: Is there a Resource Shortage or a Priority Shortage?

Doing It Right Doesn’t Mean Doing It All

Posted: April 5th, 2012 by Andrea Brockmeier. 2 Comments »

Man PerplexedAt the conclusion of a recent project management class, a student sighed heavily and noted that, “If I did all of this stuff, my stakeholders would shoot me.”

I hear this sentiment often from students who are new to project management or working in organizations that are new to project management. 

The good news is that no one suggests that project management best practice means implementing every best practice on every project. Considering that many organizations expect project managers to manage projects and be a team member and, often, the SME, that wouldn’t be feasible.  And, frankly, it probably wouldn’t be good project practice.

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A New Year’s Resolution?

Posted: January 23rd, 2012 by Bob Prentiss. Comments »

New Year CalendarBobtheBA here and the last time I blogged, we briefly took a look back at 2011. The New Year is a time when people make predictions, resolutions, and plans with the hope of change and improvement. It can be a very exciting time with anticipation to see if the predictions come true, resolutions are met, or if the plans were effective. What resolutions and plans have you made for 2012? I have to tell you though, I am not a big fan of New Year resolutions. More on this shortly.

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My B.A. Holiday Wish List for You

Posted: November 15th, 2011 by Bob Prentiss. 2 Comments »

SantaHello there – BobtheBA here wishing you fantastic Holidays in advance.  Yes, it really is that time of the year again!  Where did the time go?  Seems like yesterday when 2011 was full of plans, promise and new projects.  Now, with less than 7 weeks to go everyone will be busy cramming (whoops – I meant implementing) projects and of course focused on family and friends during the Holiday(s) of your choice.  So whatever you are celebrating be it Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanza, New Years, or something else, I thought I would share my B.A. Holiday Wish List for you.  Many of you may not know (my students and some of my colleagues do) that I am actually the Santa Claus of Business Analysis.  That’s right, I will know if your requirements have been naughty or nice so here are my top 5 things I wish for you during the Holidays (to remain on the nice list of course).

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Training for Project Closure

Posted: November 8th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »

Business people crossing the finishing lineI ran my first triathlon this past summer.  My biggest concern going into the race was how I was going to hold up toward the end.  Running is the last of the three events, and the one about which I was least confident.  I wondered if I would be able to finish that last mile or if I would simply be so exhausted that I would not make it across the finish line.  As it turns out, I was so invigorated by the experience and so excited about completing the race that the closer I got, the easier it actually became as I moved toward the finish line.

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Who Owns Project Success or Failure?

Posted: October 18th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »

TeamRecently, a project management colleague was expressing frustration with her inability to get a project moving in a constructive direction. She commented that she knew the success of the project was her responsibility, but she felt hamstrung in her ability to get what she needed from people.  Even simple requests for information from external stakeholders went unanswered and resulted in project inertia.

I hear this from project managers on a regular basis and it always brings me back to one of the truisms in project management: The project manager is responsible for project success. 

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Things We Know and Things We Don’t

Posted: September 27th, 2011 by Andrea Brockmeier. Comments »

Knowns-Unknowns_MatrixOn every project there are things we know and things we don’t know – Knowns and Unknowns.  Organizing your thoughts around those concepts can be a constructive approach to understanding a project as shown in the matrix.

The Known Knowns you handle via the plan, but what about those various flavors of Unknowns?  How do you normally account for those things in the project?  Often it’s with padding – estimates that include unidentified amounts of time and/or money just in case. 

Continue Reading: Things We Know and Things We Don’t