Planning & Estimating

Planning what?

Approach

Effective planning requires a consistent and systematic approach to each of the items in the above list. The following are fundamental:

The Project Manager is responsible for the plans.
Planning tools must not be a substitute for intelligent thought!
Guidelines for estimating and contingency must be agreed with the Project Board
Once agreed, the plans become a baseline against which any revision to the plans is evaluated. The plans must be maintained to include exception plans, and to show actual progress against plan.
Use Milestones to identify significant points in the project. Reporting achievement of milestones provides a good high level view of project progress against plan.

Product based planning

Deliverables or 'work products' should be the main focus of planning. It is therefore essential to define the products and their dependencies as a first step in planning. A simple tree diagram may suffice to show how the end products break down into sub-products and so on down to the lowest level. Each product must have an owner who is responsible for the delivery of the product. The product may then be analysed into a series of tasks required to complete it, or it may be contracted out.

Estimating

Poor estimates lead to poor plans and therefore poorly managed projects. To ensure that estimates are sound, consider the following guidelines;

Take account of past experience.
- Previous estimates for similar products
- Previous estimates by the same person
For technical products, get an estimate from someone with the technical knowledge. Ideally one who has direct experience of this type of product.
Validate the estimate, by vetting:
- the approach used
- comparisons made
- assumptions stated
If necessary get an independent second estimate.