© 2004 Initiatives consulting, LLC 1

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The Power of Gantt

• 1 page tells a lot!

• Outlines the whole Road

• Highlights key activities & milestones

• Indicates ahead or behind schedule

• Identifies critical path activities

• Great template for shareholder & board updates

• Calculates burn rate – if costs are entered

• Resource needs and over-allocations

– if effort is entered

ID Task Name1 Finalize project plan with Reflexite

2 Understand Reflexite's business, mission…

3 Understand Reflexite's competencies

4 Technical understanding of components

5 General optical components

6 Major subsystems

7 UPDATE #1

8 Articulate overlap (competencies to components)

9 Market understanding

10 Overall market (industry size, trends, regulations…)

11 Identify key players

12 Determine focus, key words

13 Search for players

14 Summarize players (build table)

15 UPDATE #2

16 Identify & filter opportunities

17 Brainstorm & scan for opportunities (10-50)

18 Start building ranking filters

19 Filter, prioritize players & opportunities (5-10)

20 Summarize top opportunities

21 Discuss & embellish (5 ideas)

22 Write 1 pg. Plan for action

23 Write 1-2 pg summaries (5 ideas)

24 Project close

25 Organize scrapbook

26 Create & deliver closing presentation

5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 31 7 14 21 28 4 11 18 25 4November December January February March

© 2004 Initiatives consulting, LLC 2

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Envision

“Could I sell one tomorrow?”

Step 1

Envision the technical, marketing, and business tasks

that get your idea from where it is right now to a product that is routinely sold.

?

© 2004 Initiatives consulting, LLC 3

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Task Table: Technology

Task Who* Effort Duration

*Underline the “leader”

Find & set up facilities. Hire Tech1 GandalphFrodo

1 day/wk-

2 months

Repeat base-line experiments with higher sample size and technochlorphenobob

FrodoTech1

1 day/wk3 day/wk

3 months

Design & build beta work units BilboOutsourced Eng

1 day/wk-

2 months

Run final beta prototype validation (vendor acceptance, operational features only)

FrodoOutsourced EngTech1

1 day/wk-3 days/wk

1 months

Repeat validation on beta with technochlorophenobob

FrodoTech1

0.5 day/wk5 days/wk

1 months

Step 2

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Project Plan: Technology

Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3

•Repeat base-line

•Set up facilities

•Final Beta validation

Laboratory & prototyping

•Complete technology plan

Ready to sell!

Administrative

•Test Beta unit

Validation

•Finalize Beta unit

Lab ready

Step 3

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Top 7 Worst Red Flags shown by early task tables & Gantt charts

• Blank page– “You can’t plan technology!” “Too many unknowns at this point!”

• Too many pages– Summarize, Roll-up tasks. Make the milestones more significant

• Hard to follow. Not organized. The story doesn’t flow – Group by phases or task categories

• Progresses too quickly– Be realistic with the effort & duration required

• No setup. No lead-times– Provide time to get facilities and equipment

• All activities begin at once and overlap– Recognize links (dependencies) and resource constraints

• Inappropriate time scale– Quarters or years are best for the big picture