Posts

Showing posts from November, 2016

Three Techniques for Scope Change Management

Three Techniques for Scope Change Management 1. Hold Everyone Accountable for Scope Management Many scope management processes work well at the project manager level, but get compromised by team members. If the project manager is diligent in enforcing the scope change rules, your customer may try to go directly to team members for changes. The bottom line is that everyone needs to be held accountable for the scope management process. Team members must understand the process and why it is important. Your customer  must also understand the process and its importance. Don't consider these procedures to be only of interest to the project manager and the sponsor. Make sure the procedures are communicated to the entire team. 2. Use a Change Control Board for Large Projects Sometimes on very large projects, the project sponsor does not feel comfortable making the scope change decisions alone. This may especially be the case if the effect of the change will impact other organizations. It

Five Steps Before Estimating Work

Five Steps Before Estimating Work Estimating is hard enough. It is even harder if you are not prepared. Estimating a 20 hour chunk of work is not so hard. Estimating for full projects or large chunks of work can be challenging. Templates can help , but consider the following steps before you begin the estimating process. Get a clear picture of the work that is being estimated Many problems with estimation come because the estimator is not really sure what the work entails. You should avoid estimating work that you do not understand. This should not imply that you can know every detail. The estimating contingency is a way to reflect some of this remaining uncertainty. Determine who should be involved in the estimating process The project manager may or may not know enough to make the estimates on his or her own. It is usually a good practice to look for estimating help from team members, clients, subject matter experts, etc. This will usually result in the estimates being far more accur