GUEST POST: You Want it When? For How Much?

Posted on | September 28, 2009 | Author: | JohnZachar | 1 Comment

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A question that I’ve had to wrestle with on a number of occasions is when do I (as the project manager) know how long the project will take? And, of course what it will cost!

There are those, especially sponsors and other senior managers who believe that they know, before they have even explained what they want. The conundrum is all around the known project constraints – time, cost and quality. By quality I mean what needs to be delivered and an understanding of what acceptable looks like. I have on a number of occasions been asked to deliver a Rolls Royce (sic), by the end of the month, for £250.00. Depending on the circumstances it may be possible – if it is a toy car, but if a real car is expected . . . . .

“You can have the Rolls by the end of the month, but not for £250.00.” or “You can have the Rolls by the end of the month, but not for £250.00 as it will take me longer to find one.” or “You can have a car for £250.00 by the end of the month, but I can’t meet the quality standards of a Rolls in that time frame.” Any two of the three are OK, but not all three.

Initiating a project is one of the most difficult processes a PM has to manage. There is often a lack of communication and a number of assumptions are made, but not tested resulting in false expectations. It pays to have the discussions.

One of those discussions should be about the constraints. “Look boss, you can give me any two of the three, but not all three!” is one of my mottos. As a PM, if you accept the imposition of all three at the initiation of a project, you have only set yourself up for failure.

I know that in the ‘real world’ there are pressures that have to be catered for, and in many cases they won’t go away and often get worse. Still, an understanding of the constraints within which you must work is imperative. Not only must you understand the implications, but your sponsor and the other senior managers around the endeavour must as well. This often makes for very awkward discussions; especially if those with whom you are discussing things are being unreasonable – often due to those pressures I mentioned earlier. What to do?

Get outside the box.

Do you really need that level of quality? Or is it just nice to have? What will happen if you don’t meet the standard? Will life cease or will it carry on?
Do you really need to have it that quick? Or is it just convenient? Will customer retention really fall that quickly?
Is that really the budget? What is the cost of failure? How does that balance against proposed costs?

The foregoing does mean that you need to have confidence, know what problem (opportunity) you are working with. Know your stakeholders, their attitudes, plusses and minuses as well as the environment you are working in. It isn’t easy, but then if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!

John Zachar worked for over a dozen years for one of the UK’s more prominent project management consultancies, educating well over 3,500 delegates in all aspects of project and change management. He has also worked for one of the UK’s high street bank groups, and for eight years at senior management level with a national insurance company associated with the building industry. John initially developed his people management and intuitive project management skills with the US military, where he managed engineering, logistical, IT and education projects. John is a current member of both the Project Management Institute and the Association for Project Management. He was Director of Membership for PMI UK, the UK chapter of the PMI and is also an organising member of PPSO SIG.