Projects in less time; 3 secrets to reducing project lead time, on time
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Transcript of Projects in less time; 3 secrets to reducing project lead time, on time
Projects in Less Time 3 Secrets to Reducing Lead Time, On Time
Pinnacle Strategies
http://pinnacle-strategies.com
1 http://pinnacle-strategies.com
The Standish Group PDI Survey
75% of completed
projects are late
Average cost overruns
are 189%
Average time overruns
are 222%
30% are cancelled before
they finished
91% finish “a little late”
51% come in over
budget
63% overload resources
38% do not meet
expectations
2 http://pinnacle-strategies.com
Even though there are many types of projects,
the complaints are essentially the same.
• Deliveries are usually late
• Too many changes
• Over budget
• Excessive rework
• Frequent priority battles
• Require resources with limited availability
• Compromise scope for cost or schedule
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UDE
UDE UDE
UDE
How to:
Reduce project lead times?
Improve resource productivity?
Reduce project costs?
Make the project an enriching experience?
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Why does project performance suffer?
Planning
Resources Multitasking
PMs Focus on the Past
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Many Surprises
Many Meetings
Chronic Resource Shortages
Unhappy People
Poor Results
The cost?
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Planning
Resources Multitasking
PMs Focus on the past
1st Secret to Projects in Less Time
Build good plans
◦ Focus on
deliverables
◦ Treat task
durations are
forecasts, not
commitments
◦ Recognize the
constraint
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2nd Secret to Projects in Less Time
Limit the amount of work in process
to maximize flow
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3rd Secret to Projects in Less Time
Team work around project completion
◦ Make the plan THE plan
◦ Stop blaming and get moving
◦ Focus on the future
◦ Use buffers as
risk management
tool for completion
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“In preparing for
battle I have
always found
that plans are
useless, but
planning is
indispensable.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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We believe more time =
Greater reliability
Projects are longer than necessary
Projects have an oversupply of safety time
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All task durations in the plan are a
forecast of how long it will take.
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0% 50% 95%
Safety Factor
Mean
42.7% of all statistics are
made up on the spot.
Long task durations =
Long project duration
D: 3d Finish
0 5 10
C2: 6d A: 6d
B: 7d
C1: 2d
C3: 4d
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Does anyone actually believe the planned
durations will even be close to actual?
A second problem;
resource contention.
The plan is not feasible!
D: 3d Finish
0 5 10
C2: 6d A: 6d
B: 7d
C1: 2d
C3: 4d
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Steps to Build the Plan
1. Tasks with aggressive estimates
2. Identify the critical chain
3. Buffer the project completion
4. Add feeding buffers
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Start with Aggressive Estimates
Create a network you can commit to
Estimate tasks at p50, or half the safe estimate
Start as late as possible
D: 2d Finish
C2: 4d A: 4d
B: 5d C3: 2d
0 5 10 15 20
C1: 1d
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Create the Critical Chain
The longest sequence of dependent tasks
after resolving resource contention
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D: 2d Finish
C2: 4d A: 4d
B: 5d C3: 2d
0 5 10 15 20
C1: 1d
Buffer Project Completion
D: 2d Finish
C2: 4d A: 4d
B: 5d C3: 2d
0 5 10 15 20
Buffer: 6 d
C1: 1d
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Add Feeding Buffers
D: 2d Finish
C2: 4d A: 4d
B: 5d C3: 2d Buffer:
2.5 d
0 5 10 15 20
Buffer: 6 d
Buffer: .5d
C1: 1d
Feeding Buffer
Feeding Buffer
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CCPM Planning Principles
The plan is necessary, but, like a forecast,
will always be “wrong”.
Tasks are aggressive, but possible
Relationships are guided by technical
requirements, not preference
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Time spent in planning
reduces overall project duration. Builds consensus & teamwork
Identify early action needs
Resource needs identified early
Tests and validates the assumptions
Creates the baseline for action
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The prevailing notion is that to finish
early, one should start early.
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Task 1 Task 2
Task 4
Task 3
Task 7
Task 6
Task 5
FB
Feed. Buffer
F B
Project Buffer
Task 1 Task 2
Task 4
Task 3
Task 7
Task 6
Task 5
FB
Feed. Buffer
F B
Project Buffer
Task 1 Task 2
Task 4
Task 3
Task 7
Task 6
Task 5
FB
Feed. Buffer
F B
Project Buffer
Too much
work creates
confusion
about
priorities.
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Loading up on projects creates
resource overloads
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Nu
mb
er
of
Reso
urc
es
Weeks
Project 4
Project 3
Project 2
Project 1
Available
Capacity
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Limit the work in the system
Control work flow by the rate of
constraint resource(s)
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Staggering the release of projects
reduces work in process.
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Task 1 Task 2
Task 4
Task 3
Task 7
Task 6
Task 5
FB
Feed. Buffer
F B
Project Buffer
Task 1 Task 2
Task 4
Task 3
Task 7
Task 6
Task 5
FB
Feed. Buffer
F B
Project Buffer
Task 1 Task 2
Task 4
Task 3
Task 7
Task 6
Task 5
FB
Feed. Buffer
F B
Project Buffer
Staggering release evens out the
resource load.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Nu
mb
er
of
Reso
urc
es
Weeks
Project 4
Project 3
Project 2
Project 1
http://pinnacle-strategies.com 27
Staggering release reduces project
duration and reduces resource
contention.
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BUFFER 1 2 3 4 5
BUFFER 1 2 3 4 5
Project A
Staggering Projects Accelerate Completion and
Reduce Resource Contention
BUFFER 1 2 3 4 5
BUFFER 1 2 3 4 5
Project B
Project teams are often devoted to
their individual agendas.
Protecting
reputations
Defending original
task duration
estimates
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Human behavior causes the safety
built into tasks to be wasted. Multi-tasking
Student Syndrome
Parkinson’s law
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Multitasking Adds Significant Time
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Task 1
My Assignments
Task 2 Task 3
10 days 10 days 10 days
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 1 Task 2 Task 3
5 days 5 days 5 days 5 days 5 days 5 days
20 days
25 days
30 days
Multitasking Causes
Poor planning /
priority shifting
Drive to show
progress on all
projects
Earned value focus
on all activities
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The way people work on a project
has a profound impact on its
duration.
Relay runner work ethic
Eliminate any penalty for missing task
estimates
One day response
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The only meaningful measurement
of project status is the answer to
this question:
When will the
project be
complete?
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What is the Status of This Project?
Task A is 20% complete
Task B is 70% complete
Task C1 is 50% complete
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• 25% Complete?
• 8% Complete?
D: 3d Finish
0 5 10
C2: 6d A: 6d
B: 7d
C1: 2d
C3: 4d
15
Project Status Calculation
Task Estimate % Complete Remaining % Complete
A 6 20% 4.8
C1 2 50% 1
C2 6 6
B 7 70% 2.1
C3 4 4
D 3 3
Total 28 20.9 25%
Critical
Path
15 13.8 8%
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It’s hard to know where to focus
the team’s efforts.
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The most successful projects
have the best negotiators leading
the project.
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Buffer Burn Ratio is the guiding
measurement to project status. Relationship
of buffer consumption to
Work completed
Indication of risk to achieving project due date
Identifies the work that is important NOW
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Today
Burn Ratio Directs the Action
When the % buffer consumed is less than % of work
◦ Project is “green”
◦ Risk of being late is low
When the % buffer consumed is greater than % of work
◦ Project is “red”
◦ Project is at risk
◦ It’s time to do something different
Planning
Threshold
Action
Threshold
Today
40 http://pinnacle-strategies.com
Burn Ratio shows snapshot of the
health of all the projects
The System Buffer Consumption Report
% CC Completed
% P
B C
on
sum
ed
0%
Planning
Threshold
Action
Threshold
0%
100%
100%
Cougar
Project Bengal
lynx
Cheetah
Jaguar
Panther
Leopard
41 http://pinnacle-strategies.com
Focus on Project Completion
Eliminate multi-tasking
◦ Don’t start a task unless it can be finished
◦ Project meetings focus when the next task will be completed
Adopt the relay racer mentality
◦ Teamwork
◦ Full effort on tasks until completion
◦ 24 hour response time
During the project, measure quality, not productivity
42 http://pinnacle-strategies.com
CCPM Execution Benefits
FOCUS
Significant reduction in behavioral delays
◦ Multi-tasking
◦ Student syndrome
Future-based management
Improved teamwork
Shorter execution times
Improved productivity
A good experience
43 http://pinnacle-strategies.com
CCPM Concerns
What to do with the extra capacity?
It’s hard to do?
Culture is a big obstacle?
Is software necessary?
44 http://pinnacle-strategies.com
Eight Steps to Implementation
1. Management consensus on the business need
2. Buy-in on improvement potential
3. Buy-in on the rules and set ambitious targets
4. Design the solution
5. Create the pipeline plan
6. Task management processes
7. Supporting processes implementation
8. Continue to improve
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What can I do now?
Reduce the number of projects in process
Allocate the available resources to remaining open projects
Full-kit implementation
Reintroduce projects as other projects are completed
Release new projects using CCPM planning
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CCPM In Projects
Completed in less time
Improved resource productivity
Reduced costs
An enriching experience
47 http://pinnacle-strategies.com
Horace Wilcox
Projects in Less Time Critical Chain Project Management
Pinnacle Strategies
http://pinnacle-strategies.com
50 http://pinnacle-strategies.com