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    Project Scheduling Alternatives
    Project Scheduling Alternatives
    Project Scheduling Alternatives
    Ebook62 pages55 minutes

    Project Scheduling Alternatives

    By Robert Perrine

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    About this ebook

    The purpose for this ebook is to examine project scheduling alternatives and describe a tool that is useful when managing a project in a chaotic environment. Alternatives include the classic waterfall method, fast-tracking and cumulative flow diagrams. Arguments are then presented to explain why cumulative flow diagrams are an excellent choice for project management in a chaotic environment.

    The time and scope for this project are small in order to better illustrate the technique.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRobert Perrine
    Release dateNov 17, 2010
    ISBN9781452355610
    Project Scheduling Alternatives
    Author

    Robert Perrine

    Robert is a wayfarer on this journey through life. He was born in Pennsylvania and now resides in California. During his career he has been a civil engineer, computer programmer, professor and a project manager. Throughout this journey Robert has tried to fit all the pieces together into a holistic framework. His goal now is to describe an integrated model of psychology that he found by delving deeply into a study of project management.

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      Book preview

      Project Scheduling Alternatives - Robert Perrine

      Project Scheduling Alternatives

      By Robert E. Perrine.

      Smashwords Edition.

      Copyright 2010 Robert E. Perrine.

      Copyright

      Copyright held by Robert Perrine and Marlene Weldon, Long Beach, California. You may not copy or distribute this document without advanced written permission from the document authors. Contact Robert E. Perrine at http://www.robertperrine.biz.

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Acknowledgements

      I want to thank all of the friends I have worked with over the years who helped me learn about project management and about people. Special thanks go to Craig, Franklyn, James, Lesley, Ramesh and Tom for their support and encouragement while I worked on this book.

      Table of Contents

      Overview

      Problem Definition

      Possible Causes

      Three Schedules

      Un-Scheduled but Managed

      Supporting Theory

      Creating a CFD

      Overview

      The purpose for this short book is to explain a project management method that is useful in a chaotic environment. The discussion and examples in this book focus on Information Technology (IT). The same problems and same solution also apply in other environments.

      This book is divided into five sections. Problem Definition is focused on the fact that Information Technology has a difficult time finishing projects on time and within budget. Possible Causes explores a few of the typical explanations. Three Schedules illustrates three approaches to scheduling a small project. Un-Scheduled but Managed describes a tool called Cumulative Flow Diagrams (CFDs) and explains how to use a CFD to deal with the chaos within IT. Supporting Theory explains the key theories that undergird this approach. Those underlying theories imply that this approach is useful in a broad range of situations.

      Problem Definition

      Many IT projects fail. This problem was first clearly articulated by Frederick Brooks in the 1960s. Brooks was in charge of the project to create the IBM 360 Operating System. He failed to deliver.

      Since then the Standish Group and Gartner Group have reminded us that IT has a problem with projects. Traditionally the failure rate is reported as somewhere between forty and ninety percent. Those failures cost the company money. They damage the reputation of IT. And they demoralize the people in IT.

      Personally, I do not like failing. Failing damages my ego. It hurts my sense of worth. It can affect my ability to get more work. And it generally makes for a bad day, month or year, depending on how long it drags on.

      The problem is more widespread than we admit. I recently completed two case studies in which I used best practices to manage two IT projects. Both projects eventually delivered adequate results. In both cases the project teams congratulated themselves on delivering complex technology in a difficult environment. When measured objectively, however, both of those projects failed to deliver what was promised. This is a widespread problem in IT. We stumble along and then declare victory when we run out of time. But we fail to assess whether or not we delivered what we promised.

      Suppose the state hired a contractor to build a freeway to connect two cities. Meetings are held and the media report on the benefits

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