Change Your Estimates Now!
You’ve heard that probably.
“Your projects are usually late. Do something about that. We lose credibility in the eyes of our customers.”
Ouch.
“And another thing. Last schedules you’ve prepared are unacceptable. They should be cut at least by a half.”
And now you’re confused.
“Sure, feel free to cut deadlines by 50% and yes, this time we’ll deliver on time.”
Except of that’s not true.
To be honest I always feel uneasy when I have to deal with those kinds of situations. Yes, I understand so called business perspective. I actually can imagine that a couple of months of schedule can be unacceptable for a customer. I know that easier or more appropriate solution from the technical perspective can be rather not suitable business-wise. However at the end of the day you need to deliver. Hopefully something within scope, time and budget.
There is no easy answer how project manager can discuss those accusations. Several things can help however.
1. Make your estimates as reliable as you can. Create something what you believe can be achieved. It’ll be easier to discuss that later on.
2. Look for a compromise. A couple of man-months of development can be covered differently with different resources. You need different buffers for a newbie than for a veteran member of the team.
3. Remember about your environment. Estimates shouldn’t be done for veterans when you don’t have any in your team. If you have a number of other projects to do don’t consider there are none.
4. Be assertive. When something isn’t reasonable, point it. When something can’t be done, explain why your team isn’t capable of doing that. Describe what needs to be done if you are expected to achieve that goal. More experienced team? Some training maybe?
5. Talk about merits. Don’t start “it is so because I say so” type of discussion. It’s a dead-end. Think. Were past estimates good? Where you made mistakes? Why? Is that similar situation in any way?
6. Admit where you failed. Don’t try to play the hero because most likely you’re not. Most likely at least several of your estimates were wrong. Don’t try to hide that. Try to name reasons why it happened so. If it don’t help with the current discussion at least you look more credible with that.
And remember one thing: it isn’t a win-lose only scenario. You can end with win-win or lose-lose too. The former should be your goal.
2 comments:
Excellent points - all true!
Another possible solution might be to offer shorter milestones in the future. Perhaps the customer needs to see each milestone met before proceeding. This might help keep the project on track, instead of running open-ended.
In any case, the points you suggested are good.
--ray
Of course bringing shorter milesontes is very helpful and should be used whenever it is possible. Unfortunately we often are expected to give one single rock-hard date when project will be finished, which is virtually impossible.
The date will be always burdened with some probability of failure. There will always be some unpredictable events on the road. The closer the milestone is the better visibility we have but still you just can't be 100% sure.
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