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SCHEDULING REVISITED

by George Martin

Start ı Experience Required? ı An Example ı Requirements ı Estimating ı User Interface ı Breaking it Down ı Sources and PDF

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED?

What really prompted me to "revisit" this topic so soon was a rush project for one of my customers. I suspect that the sales staff was attempting to show responsiveness and promised the end user a quick turnaround. It turned out that their customer supplied some units later than expected, and it turned into a rush project on Friday that didnıt get completed on time. The internal turnaround time for the engineers on the project shrank from one week to four hours. We estimated one week for the work but didnıt express that the task began one week from when we received the customerıs material. Everyone remembered the delivery date and forgot our terms and conditions (requirements and dependencies).

I heard a great comment on the radio today. It went something like, "If I donıt deliver what the customer expects, then Iıve failed. If I give you one million dollars but you expected 10 million, then Iıve failed." The part that you should remember is to manage the customerıs expectations. A good salesperson will do this at all times and never let the customer's expectations get out of line.

A good schedule from an engineer must also not let your managerıs expectations get out of line. If you need a specification before designing the system, you and only you must ensure that no one thinks you can start anything before that specification is complete. Itıs just human nature to assume the best (thatıs what accountants are for, assuming the worst), so keep sales and management in line.

When I estimated the network, I drew upon experience. But, what if you donıt have any experience in the project youıre being asked to estimate? You can break it down into small and easily identifiable and measurable tasks.

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