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

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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


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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How to:

Reduce project lead times?

Improve resource productivity?

Reduce project costs?

Make the project an enriching experience?


Why does project performance suffer?

Planning

Resources Multitasking

PMs Focus on the Past


Many Surprises

Many Meetings

Chronic Resource Shortages

Unhappy People

Poor Results

The cost?


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


2nd Secret to Projects in Less Time

Limit the amount of work in process

to maximize flow


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


“In preparing for

battle I have

always found

that plans are

useless, but

planning is

indispensable.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower


We believe more time =

Greater reliability

Projects are longer than necessary

Projects have an oversupply of safety time


All task durations in the plan are a

forecast of how long it will take.


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

15


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

15


Steps to Build the Plan

1. Tasks with aggressive estimates

2. Identify the critical chain

3. Buffer the project completion

4. Add feeding buffers


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


Create the Critical Chain

The longest sequence of dependent tasks

after resolving resource contention


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


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


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


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


The prevailing notion is that to finish

early, one should start early.


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.


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


Limit the work in the system

Control work flow by the rate of

constraint resource(s)


Staggering the release of projects

reduces work in process.


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


Staggering release reduces project

duration and reduces resource

contention.


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


Human behavior causes the safety

built into tasks to be wasted. Multi-tasking

Student Syndrome

Parkinson’s law


Multitasking Adds Significant Time


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


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


The only meaningful measurement

of project status is the answer to

this question:

When will the

project be

complete?


What is the Status of This Project?

Task A is 20% complete

Task B is 70% complete

Task C1 is 50% complete


• 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%


It’s hard to know where to focus

the team’s efforts.


The most successful projects

have the best negotiators leading

the project.


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


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


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


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


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


CCPM Concerns

What to do with the extra capacity?

It’s hard to do?

Culture is a big obstacle?

Is software necessary?


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


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


CCPM In Projects

Completed in less time

Improved resource productivity

Reduced costs

An enriching experience


Horace Wilcox

Projects in Less Time Critical Chain Project Management

Pinnacle Strategies

http://pinnacle-strategies.com





projects in less time; 3 secrets to reducing project lead time, on time

Business

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past http

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theconstraint http

oversupply of safety

feeding buffers http

project performance

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