A big challenge in project estimating is dealing with the requestor! Leaders often have a number in mind. They might want you to deliver an unachievable objective or expect an unreasonable level of accuracy. Here are a few techniques to handle a challenging estimate requestor.   

• Point out unknowns. Because projects are unique, they include things that haven’t been done before. That’s where risk and uncertainty make estimating so challenging. When you discuss the development of an estimate with the requestor, talk about the unknowns. Point out what’s different or unique. This can help the requestor understand how difficult estimating can be. Then, ask the requestor questions about any insights they have about project unknowns. This can spark meaningful dialogue and produce a reasonable expectation for the estimate.
• Uncover and discuss assumptions. Requestors often have unspoken assumptions about the project concept, which can be related to their beliefs about technical complexity. Or they may remember a project they think is like the one they want estimated. Ask the requestor about their assumptions for the project and then talk about whether those assumptions make sense. This can change the requestor’s understanding of the estimating effort and result in a better initial estimate that will be accepted more readily.
• Present research possibilities. Doing research is a part of building good estimates. But sharing that with a requestor rarely relieves the pressure.  You have a better chance of convincing them to support research by explaining what you want to research and the resources you will use to conduct it. The requestor might reduce their pressure for fast estimates when they see the details of the research that’s needed. The research helps bring facts and historical trends into your estimating.
• Use estimation ranges and ways to narrow them. Recommended practice is to associate a range with an estimate. For example, an order of magnitude estimate usually appears like $300,000 plus 75% – minus 25%. This range allows for the unknowns and risks that can affect your estimate. When you talk to the requestor, you need to share more information. A range isn’t enough. Talk about the data points and events that could narrow the estimate. Suppose one of the major unknowns is a vendor’s quote. Once you receive the quote and the cost is known, you can incorporate it into the estimate and narrow the range. Explaining this process helps the estimate requestor accept the variability of the estimate.
• Present historical data about past projects and the inaccuracies of hasty estimating. Discuss similar projects that can validate an estimate. And show how initial estimates are often off the mark. This can temper the requestor’s expectations. Make sure the referenced projects are truly similar. When you look at a past estimate that wasn’t accurate, identify why it differed from the actual values. That way, you can draw parallels to the current estimation process to get a better idea of the estimate and how it might not be accurate.
• Try to understand the requestor’s perspective and challenges. The requestor could have a valid business reason to pressure you for an estimate. Understanding their challenges can be helpful — it could uncover alternatives.  For example, breaking a project into smaller phases to achieve the requestor’s objectives more quickly. Or expanding the use of a tool or process already in the business to satisfy a pressing business need.

What else have you done to manage requestors’ expectations and demands for estimates? Or what unsolved challenges do you have related to people asking for project estimates? Share with us in the comments section.

For more about estimating methods, check out my Project Management Foundations: Scheduling course.

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 61,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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The justification for a project isn’t always obvious. There could be a lot of negotiation to address conflicting business needs. And it can go beyond juggling the triple constraints of cost, scope, and time. When the team is struggling to agree on project justification, here are some trade-offs to consider.

• Resources versus project finish date. Project requirements often come with pre-set, aggressive deadlines. Adding resources, including contracting specialized skills, is one way to meet those deadlines. Keep in mind, even with more resources, aggressive deadlines can increase risk because the schedule is more sensitive to resource changes and task completion issues.
• Using out-of-the-box, configuration, or customization when implementing software. Software products often come with a standard set of business processes they support. This out-of-the box approach to implementing software is the easiest and least expensive. Most software packages also supply features to configure the product, providing flexibility to support varied business processes. While configuring is more expensive and time-consuming than using out-of-the-box software, configuration can enhance business efficiency and effectiveness. Alternatively, businesses might choose to customize the software to address specific or unique processes. Customization is costly and comes with inherent risks, such as compatibility with future software updates from the vendor. Prioritize using out-of-the-box or configuration. Reserve customization for cases where the business relies on proprietary and unique processes that require tailored software support.
• Deliver in phases versus running one large project. Many stakeholders submit a broad set of project requirements. While they are all useful, you might not need all of them to deliver business benefit. Breaking a project down into phases means you can deliver value earlier. It also reduces risk, especially when project team members have day-to-day operational responsibilities. A longer project means it’s more likely that key team members will be pulled away to handle operational needs. Finally, when the business is cost-conscious, a smaller project is helpful. The initial project phase will cost less. Also, stakeholders will scrutinize the requirements for future project phases, because they need a stand-alone business case. Finally, as business conditions change, a seemingly important requirement might not be as crucial.
• Quality versus speed. Quality versus speed is a powerful yet risky trade-off. Sure, you can reduce project cost and deliver products sooner by using fewer quality assurance processes. However, the project cost might increase if the delivered products have errors that affect the business, or worse yet, your business’s customers. This trade-off is often made late in a project when deadlines are at risk, and teams are desperate to deliver on time. Discuss this trade-off possibility in advance before deadline pressure is present. Negotiate to keep the quality assurance processes needed to protect the business from costly errors.
• Long-term maintenance versus initial development. In product development projects, a crucial decision involves identifying the ongoing maintenance activities required once the project concludes and the product is in daily use. You can minimize product maintenance by investing more effort, cost, and time during development. Development for a simpler product can be faster and less costly, but it can increase maintenance effort and long-term usage cost. For example, you could build a machine that is self-lubricating, which would be more costly. However, maintenance would involve ensuring that there was enough lubricant for the machine to work properly. The simpler machine would cost less to build.  But then, it would require effort, resources, and downtime while the machine is periodically disassembled and lubricated manually. Working with the product designers, project managers can identify the holistic total cost of ownership to negotiate project approval. 

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 59,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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Here are seven of the hottest trends in the evolving field of project management. Post in the comment section with which of these topics interest you. I will prioritize future articles based on the topics with the highest interest.

1. AI and automation in project management. Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technologies are being integrated into project management tools. These help streamline routine tasks, improve accuracy in project forecasting, and enhance overall efficiency.

2. Agile in non-IT environments. The principles of Agile, such as iterative development and continuous feedback, have reached beyond software development and are being embraced in fields like marketing, HR, and manufacturing.

3. Hybrid project management. Many organizations are adopting hybrid project management approaches, which combine traditional waterfall and Agile practices. The benefit is to use appropriate approaches to different parts of a project to achieve the best project outcomes.

4. Remote project management. With the rise of remote work, project managers must adapt their strategies to manage remote teams in different locations. This requires collaboration tools, virtual communication platforms, and effective approaches for developing teamwork.

5. Emphasis on emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is now recognized as a crucial skill for project managers. With stakeholders, the ability to understand and navigate emotions will enhance communication, collaboration, and project success.

6. Data-driven decision-making. Project managers are leveraging data analytics alongside project management tools to make informed decisions. By collecting and analyzing relevant data, teams can identify trends, anticipate potential issues, and optimize processes for better project outcomes.

7. Focus on organizational change management. Successful project managers are using organizational change management principles to help teams and stakeholders adapt to project-related changes. This includes communication strategies, stakeholder engagement, and addressing resistance to change.

Post in the comments section to cast your vote(s) for your favorite trend!

Coming Up

Marlene Chism is an expert in conflict, anger management, working with difficult people, and having difficult conversations – things most of us want to avoid. Despite the tough topics, she’s a truly lovely person. In this LinkedIn Learning Office Hours, we’re going to dig into some of the concepts she teaches for dealing with conflict. We’ll spend the rest of the session providing practical advice for dealing with conflict and other difficult situations. Bring your questions about the conflict you need help with, and we’ll provide advice for as many as we can fit in!I hope you will join us on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 11am MT, 1 PM ET for this no-nonsense, advice-packed session on dealing with conflict with composure.

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 58,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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One of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly-Successful People is to put first things first – that is – put your time and energy into what’s important and say no to what isn’t. Let’s look at common project manager habits that you might want to break in order to have time to focus on what’s truly important in your projects.

• Attending repeat meetings routinely. Meetings are often pre-scheduled every one or two weeks. It’s a handy way to carve out time to keep stakeholders up to date. What if there’s no significant project news or risks to talk about? There’s no need for a meeting!  New habit: Work with your team to determine whether a meeting is necessary. Then, skip or cancel it if there isn’t anything relevant to cover.

• Answering emails in order of receipt. Many project managers answer emails in the order they were received to reply in a timely fashion. Timely communication is important, but not every email requires an immediate response. New habit: Set specific times in your day to respond to emails. Review all new emails and prioritize responding to them based on their urgency and importance. (Give people another communication method for emergencies.)

• Getting administrative tasks out of the way. Everyone has administrative tasks to do and seeing them on our desks can be annoying. (This is so me!)  Many people will finish these low-priority tasks up front, so they aren’t nagged by the piles of paperwork. Most of the time, you can postpone these activities until things calm down. New habit: Set aside time in your schedule when it’s usually quiet to handle your admin tasks.

• Worrying about non-critical-path tasks. Keeping the project schedule on track is important. But you don’t have to scrutinize every task in your project. Don’t get distracted by issues with tasks that aren’t on the critical path. Instead, focus on critical tasks – the ones that affect your project timeline. New habit: Focus on critical path tasks and tasks with very little slack. Leave the management of other tasks to your team members.

• Wasting time on time-consuming reporting processes.  Reporting is important — and time-consuming. You can streamline reporting, but that usually takes time. So what? Take the time to automate or delegate reporting. You’ll recoup it many times over during your project management career. New habit: Spend time up front to streamline reporting. Consider restructuring your project reports to make them easier to create.

• Wasting time on any process. Just like reporting, there are lots of project management activities that are important, but chew through your workday. Think about ways to perform these tasks more efficiently. Prioritize them by how much time you can save. Then, spend some time each week making your efforts more productive: build templates, implement new tools, harness AI, and so on. New habit: Set aside some time each week to work on ways to make your work more productive.

• Interrupting your focus by answering the phone. Phone calls interrupt your work and distract you. But they aren’t necessarily important or urgent. Don’t answer the phone unless you know it’s important. New habit: Don’t answer the phone unless you’re expecting the call. Set up a communication method (I recommend texting) for immediate and important communication. Commit to answering other forms of communication within a specific timeframe, such as 24 or 48 hours.

Do you have habits that you know aren’t effective? Do you have ideas for how to focus on what’s important? What is the one thing you could do differently that would help you focus on what’s truly important? Share with us in the comments section.

For more about being effective, check out Dave Crenshaw’s Time Management Fundamentals course. Or look at Chris Croft’s Five Ways to Control Your Time course.

Coming Up

Marlene Chism is an expert in conflict, anger management, working with difficult people, and having difficult conversations – things most of us want to avoid. Despite the tough topics, she’s a truly lovely person. In this LinkedIn Learning Office Hours, we’re going to dig into some of the concepts she teaches for dealing with conflict. We’ll spend the rest of the session providing practical advice for dealing with conflict and other difficult situations. Bring your questions about the conflict you need help with, and we’ll provide advice for as many as we can fit in!I hope you will join us on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 11am MT, 1 PM ET for this no-nonsense, advice-packed session on dealing with conflict with composure.

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 57,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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As a project manager, you must be able to recognize that your project schedule isn’t feasible. That way, you can proactively address issues, mitigate risks, and increase the likelihood of project success. Here are common warning signs that your project schedule needs work.

• Building and sharing a schedule before scope definition is stable. When project objectives and scope are still in flux, a schedule is nothing more than a rough guess. Teams may be anxious to get to work, but it’s too soon to share a schedule if scope continues to change. This schedule will mislead people about when deliverables will be available. It also makes life miserable for the managers who allocate people to the project, because they have to replan staffing for the viable schedule when it’s available. Best practice: Ensure your scope is stable before distributing a schedule.

• The schedule depends on heavy workloads. Team members often juggle multiple tasks on a project. And many have day-to-day business support responsibilities that aren’t tracked by the project. This combination can produce an excessive workload for a team member, which leads to burnout, decreased productivity, and increased risk of errors. Best practice: Understand the percentage of time each team member can dedicate to the project and schedule accordingly.

• The schedule doesn’t consider competing priorities. The most critical project team members often deal with competing priorities (in addition to day-to-day bustiness duties), such as working on other projects, resolving business issues, reviewing project change requests, and taking on work delegated from their managers. These other duties take time and can affect the person’s availability on your project. Talk through what your crucial team members do in the organization and allocate their time to project tasks with this in mind.

• The schedule was built on unrealistic estimates. Overly optimistic estimates plague a lot of project schedules, which means trouble. The uniqueness of project work makes it difficult to estimate. Plus, people might not be trained on estimation techniques. One way to improve estimates is to use PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) estimation. Estimators provide three estimates for a task: optimistic (O), most likely (ML), and pessimistic (P). People don’t pull these numbers out of the air. They think about the work and consider what might happen (good and bad. This analysis improves the accuracy of the estimate. The typical formula for calculating PERT estimates is: (O+(4*ML)+P)/6.

• Note: There is another way to improve estimates. Get into the habit of comparing final actual effort to your original estimates. These comparisons help project team members understand what happens in projects and how much effort different types of tasks take.

• Stakeholder managers don’t buy into the schedule. Managers who allocate their people to a project have a big impact on the project schedule. If managers don’t think the schedule is realistic, they aren’t likely to allocate their people to work on the project. Review your project schedule with the managers whose people are needed for the project. Make sure they have bought into the schedule and the project outcomes.

Have your schedules suffered from gotchas I haven’t mentioned? Do you regularly look for other warning signs on your schedules? If so, share with us in the comments section.

For more about project scheduling, check out my Project Management Foundations: Schedules course.

Coming Up

Marlene Chism is an expert in conflict, anger management, working with difficult people, and having difficult conversations – things most of us want to avoid. Despite the tough topics, she’s a truly lovely person. In this LinkedIn Learning Office Hours, we’re going to dig into some of the concepts she teaches for dealing with conflict. We’ll spend the rest of the session providing practical advice for dealing with conflict and other difficult situations. Bring your questions about the conflict you need help with, and we’ll provide advice for as many as we can fit in!I hope you will join us on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 11am MT, 1 PM ET for this no-nonsense, advice-packed session on dealing with conflict with composure.

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 55,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

Want to learn more about the topics I talk about in these newsletters? Watch my courses in the LinkedIn Learning Library and tune into my LinkedIn Office Hours live broadcasts.

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