If you’ve got a stopwatch, start it now.
We were at a client’s recently when the subject of project planning came up. We were explaining how we go about it and it reminded me of a meeting I was involved in a while ago.
A group of account and project managers were sat around a table discussing a recent project. The project had been a success – launched on time and a happy client. However, a lot of the design and development work had come in over the original time budgets. There was a bit of a witch hunt going on to try to get to the bottom of the situation and I sensed momentum starting to build behind the argument that “these pesky developers have underquoted…again!”.
Admittedly, it’s frustrating that people can’t estimate their work accurately – but let’s be honest, it’s hardly something new and it is incredibly widespread. I’ve always advised project managers to bear in mind the individual’s previous “form” – “Multiply everything desveloper x suggests by 2 and then add a couple of days…”.
Personally, what I find more frustrating is some people’s inability to recognise that inaccurate time estimation is a common human trait. It happens; don’t waste too much time trying to educate the “do-ers” of this world – accept it, work out the right formula and move on. Just remember the golden rule is never assume things will be done quicker than estimated!
Back to my meeting. I posed the question “when was the last time anyone here accurately estimated how long it takes to write a proposal”. It was met with a stoney silence…
OK, stop your stopwatch without looking at it. How long do you think it took to read this article up to here? Are you within – let’s be generous -10%?
What’s my point? Just don’t get too hung up with accurate estimation and specifically, don’t be too harsh on others. There aren’t that many people who can do it consistently accurately. Truth be told, most of us will have been caught out badly at one time or another. What you can do is make sure you add enough contingency in to your timeplans.
Remember, accurate time estimation is a black art, not a science. Project planning on the other hand should - if done well – take all this into account and can therefore be a lot more scientific.
