The Problem
By far, the most common project management “methodology” I come across is the “pick a date and we’ll figure it out” approach. Practitioners of this approach create lists of tasks and pin those tasks to dates. This is a project “worst practice.” This is a dartboard approach. When relatively simple practices can dramatically improve how project work is organized, one should ask, “why do project leaders fail to exercising these better methods.” Twenty years of project experience suggest a few theories.
Perhaps project leaders are seduced by the heroic approach. It’s okay to run the project into the ground because then we can “save” it and be recognized as heroes! “I’d like to recognize the team for working 36 hours a day for six weeks last month to successfully deliver our project only two months late.”
Perhaps this is a result of an organization’s existing culture. I know of one organization whose fire-fighting culture was so strong that “emergencies” were contrived to get stuff done. Any work that needed to get done required an “after hours” meeting to declare the emergency. I was always tempted to gift them masks and air tanks for Christmas – they were bound to work over the holidays anyway.
Perhaps it’s a bias towards action. The quicker we get to work — on anything — the quicker we’ll get done. We think we can make adjustments as we go. This is a classic “Ready, Fire, Aim” approach.
A Better Way
A better way of managing project work requires just a minor adjustment to what project managers are doing already. Making this adjustment amounts to an ENORMOUS lever in improving worker productivity and successfully completing projects much more quickly. Consider this chart comparing the two approaches. The Ready-Aim-Fire approach is also called Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
| Ready-Fire-Aim | Ready-Aim-Fire (CCPM) |
| Compile a list of tasks | Compile a list of tasks |
| Estimate task durations (Ready) | 2. Identify task dependencies (Ready) |
| Place the tasks on a calendar (Ready) | 3. Estimate task durations* (Ready) |
| Work the tasks (Fire) | 4. Calculate task schedule (Aim) |
| Make adjustments (Aim) | Work priorities as provided (Fire) |
A major difference-maker between the two is to NOT SKIP THE DEPENDENCY STEP. Some tasks cannot reasonably start until other tasks are completed first. Ignoring that reality will result in incorrect priorities, a lot of plan adjustment, and increasingly unhappy workers who quickly see a plan that’s not credible.
There are two other small adjustments in the CCPM approach worth noting. Steps 1-3 are generally done with the team of task managers that are responsible for the project outcome. They accomplish this during a team formation workshop shortly after a project is officially sanctioned.
The second adjustment (the asterisk on #3), is how task durations are estimated. Typically, task durations must include time for surprises, missteps, multitasking and more. This is often called “padding” or “safety.” Consider a task that might be completed in two days if one were to fully focus on it and not encounter surprises. Since that’s really not our world, when planning we’re likely to negotiate/contract for ten days to complete the two-day task. After all, we’re busy with other work and the task may be harder than initially thought.
In the CCPM approach, we will schedule using task durations WITHOUT this padding or safety. Instead, we add a time “buffer” at the end of the project schedule to prepare for the inevitable uncertainty of project work. We cannot predict the future, but we should prepare for it. This scheduling approach also provides a wonderfully understandable project metric (summarized in this video).
The Differences Are Striking
- On-time project performance improves to 97% (from 60%) for Fortune 200 company
- A 5,000 sq. foot custom home is built in 5-1/2 months (from 15-18 months)
- An ERP implementation delivered 100% on-time releases for over ten years after missing every major milestone in the first three years.
Are you stressing over your projects? Are priorities continuously changing? Do you REALLY know project status? These are symptoms of a Ready-Fire-Aim approach to managing project work. The prescription to get healthy is NOT complex. Take a step towards improving your project system today by continuing a conversation with the experts at GPS. We’ll work with you to Conquer Project Uncertainty.
