| Skill Sharpener Item #20 |
| I normally meet with project participants while or just before they are scheduled to perform their tasks in order to (a) ensure their readiness to participate, (b) arrange for needed resources, (c) get an update on their progress, (d) confirm their adherence to intermediate outcome quality standards and/or (e) diagnose/remedy any problems or shortfalls. |
Outstanding! Here are some of the benefits you've probably received because you take a few minutes to make sure that project participants are ready, willing and able to make their contributions to project progress:
You avoid the classic project pitfall of having your schedule 'nickel-ed and dime'd' to death by several short but deadly delays because you check on people who may have forgotten or postponed their project commitments.
You follow up on promises to resource your participants by confirming that they have any equipment, software or other non-routine 'stuff' that work on your project would require.
If someone hasn't gotten a participant something s/he'll need to do his/her work, you have enough time to get it for her without schedule-killing delays. (You know that some participants will actually not do the project work and not check in with you under the excuse that you didn't get the resources they needed and that you promised.)
You can juggle project timelines (eg. slack time, float time, the critical path) because you're regularly comparing the actual progress of project work against your best estimate, as it appears in the project plan.
You can remedy problems (eg. ability overestimates, competing priorities, wrong resources, malicious compliance, etc.) before they breach your schedule or degrade the quality of an intermediate result.
You can ensure that the project schedule isn't busted by the need for re-work due to unacceptable intermediate results.