Topic Teasers Vol. 71: Better Estimates

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  Estimating   Scheduling  

I have a person on my team who is constantly late with his activities. We’ve spoken, with me using my best managerial techniques, to try to help him understand the impact to the project when he does not finish work as planned. Where do I go from here?

A. When a person consistently does not finish as planned, there is a problem with team estimates. Hold a full team meeting to see what can be done to create more realistic estimates in the future by all team members.

B. You have an employee who obviously has no regard for the other members of the team. Put him on report, and if he misses even one additional deadline, either fire him or ask to have him removed from your team, depending on your power.

C. This person must be doing an acceptable job when he finishes; the issue is just with his estimating skills. Track his work and find a multiplying factor to use when adding his activities to the Work Breakdown Structure.

D. This employee seems to have a communication issue. He cannot clearly state how long it will take him to finish an activity he estimated himself, and he is not communicating to you when he will be late. See if Human Resources has a training class to help him become more articulate.

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Answer: C. This person must be doing an acceptable job when he …

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