Organization Project Planning (Part 4)
I continue the series of publications on Pulse Management - Project Organization Management (Pulse Method). In this article I will talk about the most “delicious” part: Project Planning. Planning is the simplest and most difficult part of any project based on the goal of which is the creation of intellectual property. Simple - because "you take the algorithm of actions and went to plan", and difficult - because the devil is in the details of which we constantly forget.
Let me remind you the contents of the previous series on which the calculations in this article are based:
Model of organization , principles of the Method . and Goal Management Rules . And so, when we decided to set goals, and chose the goal, it's time to deal with project planning.
The plan never corresponds to reality, but it is important to have it in order to somehow reduce uncertainty and reduce threats. And you need to plan based on the following principles:
Based on the principles of planning and external obligations of the Organization, it is necessary to apply two levels of planning:
Such a breakdown is associated with the principle of “necessity and sufficiency”, the uncertainty of the content of the project and the unpredictability of human behavior.
The level of project planning provides planning of the sequence of work by the Organization, sets clear focusing goals and provides control over the fulfillment of obligations.
The level of sprint tactical planning provides short and understandable goals for employees implementing the project and takes into account the high uncertainty of the implementation method.
Planning, as a process, should not be limited to “made and forgotten” sessions. This is a process that requires as much effort as product design. Planning and selection of priorities for future work should take place while the current work is not yet
completed. Planning can only be done by leaving the “creating stream” - the Stream of Implementation in the Stream of Control.
Rules:
When you build a project schedule, you program decision-making in the Organization for a long period. Having a project schedule and order of tasks, not
it takes effort to choose the most important and priority task every time you need it. This saves decision making efforts.
A project schedule is a rule that determines the priority of tasks that should be followed. If something has changed in the external or internal environment, then re-planning should be carried out to take into account all interested parties and the obligations of the Organization. Continuing work on the old plan is dangerous for the Organization. The presence of a calendar schedule allows you to better understand the approximate dates for achieving goals, on and on the basis of this synchronize other work.
When planning the implementation of projects, several factors should be considered:
Based on these factors, it is necessary to choose a strategy for implementing the entire portfolio of projects.
Strategy Options:
Focus on one project provides a high level of interaction among all project participants and mutual assistance. Even when an employee is not busy with any work, he can help others to do it. Due to this, the project execution time is reduced.
The disadvantages of this approach are that it creates the illusion of “resource downtime”. Especially when some resources are needed only at the beginning of the project, and then are not required. But this is also an illusion. For example:
Remember: the lack of timely assistance from colleagues reduces the motivation of the contractor, respectively, and the speed of product implementation.
In the figure: projects A, B, C, D are carried out sequentially. Green resource - the restriction is forced to wait until the red and blue resources work.
Resource constraint - a resource of the Organization, a specific employee or team, or a material resource limiting the ability of the Organization to make money.
A resource-leveling strategy reduces the execution time of all projects. Due to such planning, the most expensive resource of the Organization will work with 100% employment.
In the picture: projects A, B, C, D are aligned on the green resource - the restriction. This resource is a limitation because it does the most work in this set of projects. With such planning, it is important that by the start of the work of the green resource everything that is needed to complete the work should be prepared with the highest possible quality.
Remember: the cost of the resource-constraint time is the income of the Organization for this period.
The disadvantages of this approach are that projects B, C, D have a high uncertainty about the start date of the project. This is due to the fact that we do not know exactly "when the resource-constraint will complete its work."
We examined the basic principles of planning and options for cascading projects. Each strategy has pros and cons, worse if there is no strategy. Two levels of planning ensure the matching of external obligations and high uncertainty at the implementation stage.
If you write in the comments what planning principles you use when planning your projects, it will be super!
To be continued.
PS: But, if you want everything at once, then there is a manual “Pulse Management: Project Organization Management”
Let me remind you the contents of the previous series on which the calculations in this article are based:
Model of organization , principles of the Method . and Goal Management Rules . And so, when we decided to set goals, and chose the goal, it's time to deal with project planning.
Planning
The plan never corresponds to reality, but it is important to have it in order to somehow reduce uncertainty and reduce threats. And you need to plan based on the following principles:
Planning principles
- Any work will take exactly as much time as or allotted to it. (Parkinson's Law) .
- People put off all work to the last moment of time. (Student syndrome).
- People tend to give optimistic forecasts regarding the complexity of small jobs. Except in cases when they were deprived of bonuses for violation of grades, in these cases the grades are pessimistic and overstated.
- People give pessimistic forecasts regarding the laboriousness of large jobs. Because they want to be in time “for sure” and conduct a “victorious war”.
- People never start work at a time when the work is planned and never finish the task on time .
- All projects are associated with uncertainty. (Murphy's Law - if something can go wrong, this is exactly what will happen. We never know when Murphy's law will manifest itself).
- Reality will never fit the plan . No matter how well we plan, our plan will not cover everything.
- The scope of the project is not constant . The essence of the Project is to create something unique, and we never know “what exactly needs to be done” until we begin to do it.
- People never do exactly what is written in the terms of reference . They do more or less, or in another way.
- People can only perform one task effectively at a time .
Two levels of planning
Based on the principles of planning and external obligations of the Organization, it is necessary to apply two levels of planning:
- The first level is strategic planning, large-block project planning based on the Project Planning Rules.
- The second level is tactical sprint planning and defining short goals.
Such a breakdown is associated with the principle of “necessity and sufficiency”, the uncertainty of the content of the project and the unpredictability of human behavior.
The level of project planning provides planning of the sequence of work by the Organization, sets clear focusing goals and provides control over the fulfillment of obligations.
The level of sprint tactical planning provides short and understandable goals for employees implementing the project and takes into account the high uncertainty of the implementation method.
Planning is a process
Planning, as a process, should not be limited to “made and forgotten” sessions. This is a process that requires as much effort as product design. Planning and selection of priorities for future work should take place while the current work is not yet
completed. Planning can only be done by leaving the “creating stream” - the Stream of Implementation in the Stream of Control.
Rules:
- Planning for future projects and product development is carried out regularly.
- Planning sessions are embedded in the workflow.
- Any employee can take part in planning if he sees his own benefit in it.
- Planning meetings are convened regularly to synchronize all plans and vision decisions.
Project planning
When you build a project schedule, you program decision-making in the Organization for a long period. Having a project schedule and order of tasks, not
it takes effort to choose the most important and priority task every time you need it. This saves decision making efforts.
A project schedule is a rule that determines the priority of tasks that should be followed. If something has changed in the external or internal environment, then re-planning should be carried out to take into account all interested parties and the obligations of the Organization. Continuing work on the old plan is dangerous for the Organization. The presence of a calendar schedule allows you to better understand the approximate dates for achieving goals, on and on the basis of this synchronize other work.
Project planning strategy
When planning the implementation of projects, several factors should be considered:
- Project duration
- Direct profit from the completed project.
- Indirect profit from the implemented project, or the amount of the change in the company's income for 12 months when introducing the product created as part of the project. Saving resources on performing work is also the Organization’s profit.
- The cost of delaying the delivery of the result in the promised time.
- The opportunity to profit from the developed Product until the completion of the entire project for the creation of the Product.
Based on these factors, it is necessary to choose a strategy for implementing the entire portfolio of projects.
Strategy Options:
- All organization resources are focused on one profitable project to reduce its execution time.
- Projects are cascaded (aligned) by resource limit.
Focus strategy on one project
Focus on one project provides a high level of interaction among all project participants and mutual assistance. Even when an employee is not busy with any work, he can help others to do it. Due to this, the project execution time is reduced.
The disadvantages of this approach are that it creates the illusion of “resource downtime”. Especially when some resources are needed only at the beginning of the project, and then are not required. But this is also an illusion. For example:
- There are phases in an IT project: analysis, development, testing. The analysis is performed by analysts, development by developers, testing by testers. If all the analysis work is done at the beginning of the project, then there is an illusion that the analytics will be idle. But in fact, they are constantly required to clarify the requirements for the Product or to clarify them. Of course not in full, but required.
- In the construction project in the phase of "implementation" there is "field supervision" from the designers of the structure. That is, regular verification of compliance of the result with the technical specifications and design documentation.
Remember: the lack of timely assistance from colleagues reduces the motivation of the contractor, respectively, and the speed of product implementation.
In the figure: projects A, B, C, D are carried out sequentially. Green resource - the restriction is forced to wait until the red and blue resources work.
Resource Constraint Alignment Strategy
Resource constraint - a resource of the Organization, a specific employee or team, or a material resource limiting the ability of the Organization to make money.
A resource-leveling strategy reduces the execution time of all projects. Due to such planning, the most expensive resource of the Organization will work with 100% employment.
In the picture: projects A, B, C, D are aligned on the green resource - the restriction. This resource is a limitation because it does the most work in this set of projects. With such planning, it is important that by the start of the work of the green resource everything that is needed to complete the work should be prepared with the highest possible quality.
Remember: the cost of the resource-constraint time is the income of the Organization for this period.
The disadvantages of this approach are that projects B, C, D have a high uncertainty about the start date of the project. This is due to the fact that we do not know exactly "when the resource-constraint will complete its work."
Part conclusion
We examined the basic principles of planning and options for cascading projects. Each strategy has pros and cons, worse if there is no strategy. Two levels of planning ensure the matching of external obligations and high uncertainty at the implementation stage.
If you write in the comments what planning principles you use when planning your projects, it will be super!
To be continued.
PS: But, if you want everything at once, then there is a manual “Pulse Management: Project Organization Management”
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