Dreams and Friends

By Karl E. Wiegers @ www.processimpact.com
Laying the foundation:

* Define project success criteria.

* Identify project drivers, constraints, and
degrees of freedom.

* Define product release criteria.

* Negotiate commitments.

Planning the Project:

* Write a plan.

* Decompose tasks to inch-pebble granularity.

* Develop planning worksheets for common
large tasks.

* Plan for rework after a quality control task.

* Manage project risks.

* Plan time for process improvement.

* Respect the learning curve.

Estimating the Work:

* Estimate based on effort, not calendar time.

* Don’t overschedule multitasking people.

* Build training time into the schedule.

* Record estimates and how you derived them.

* Use estimation tools.

* Plan contingency buffers.

Tracking Your Progress:

* Record estimates and actuals.

* Count tasks as complete only when they’re
100% complete.

* Track project status openly and honestly.

Learning for the Future:

* Conduct project retrospectives.