Introduction
This story is about risk at the enterprise program/project level. Design is based on primarily requirements and assumptions. Meeting requirements is usually achievable if they are complete and clear. Soft or poorly written requirements are the source of cost and schedule growth for many projects. Assumptions made during the analysis or design phase if wrong are also a source of poor project performance. This story is one example of a bad assumption. Continue reading
The cost of delay on technical projects averages tens of thousands of dollars per day in lost profit. Major factors involved in these delay costs are lost revenue, cost of resources and opportunity cost.
This briefing describes a recommended practice for estimating project delay costs and using those estimates for decision making. Cost of delay factors are first explained; followed by examples; then, recommendations for using the estimates to increase profits. Continue reading
Something on the Project goes wrong and is fixed – “Let’s put this down for lessons learned” goes the management mantra. But was this experience just a failing that should not have happened in the first place and relearning a previously taught, but now forgotten, ‘lesson’? Continue reading
Chains are often associated with oppression and stultification; chained to one’s desk or being on a ‘chain gang’ are immediate analogies. But chains also drive machines, and provide security through their links.
There are also chains of command which, in the security forces such as the military and police, allow command to be exercised through a clearly defined rank structure with defined responsibility, accountability and liability at all levels. Continue reading
Good communication; the effective and efficient issue and receipt of the right information, by the right parties, at the right time, and in the right medium allowing both timely responses and decisions. It’s easy on paper and in theory but oftentimes the ‘noise’ in the communication channels are blamed for ‘bad’ communication.
This ‘noise’ is attributed to the distractions of an inadequate meeting room, noisy neighbours, a flaky internet connection, black & white rather than colour copies, decentralised teams, and even international time differences. But are these just excuses rather than real reasons? Continue reading