What are best practices if you will not meet a target completion date? Do you keep the target and then just report actual complete? Or would there be any reason to change a target complete date? I would like to hear from your experiences. thanks! Saving Changes...
If the change will impact a deliverable I would meet with the primary stakeholders and discuss the new delivery dates and process a change/revision to the project plan to account for the new delivery date(s) and make all the cascading date adjustments in the new revision. Keep the original project plan in your project archive so that you can refer to it if needed and your revised plan has only the new data approved through your change process. Saving Changes...
Vijay SuryavanshiProject Manager - Engineering| RECARO Aircraft SeatingPlantation, Fl, United States
Elizabeth,
Change management procedure should be used if and when your miss major DELIVERABLES of the delivery date. Follow the internal process.
If you on the other hand notice that there is a lot of slippages with your tasks, rather than having multiple changes for the project, (in the project plan) be bold when re-scheduling your project. You typically have to run the changed project WBS and new delivery dates via steering group. Steering group will understand if your schedule changes, but they will NOT accept you coming up with a new version of the delivery dates every single meeting.
Make a schedule that you will believe in. And if someone challenges that schedule, explain what you would need to meet with faster delivery.
That is why it becomes important to have a detailed schedule plan in the beginning or upfront. Usually, here in the US we look at the end date (goal) and work backwards on schedule.
A schedule variance is an indicator that shows if a project schedule is ahead or behind schedule (done as a part of EVM).
Assumptions to use EVM are below.
1. The scope (work to be done) of the project can be fully defined. 2. The project’s phases will be executed sequentially.
Hope this helps. Saving Changes...
Latha Thamma reddiSr Product and Portfolio Management (Automation Innovation)| DXC TechnologyMckinney, Tx, United States
Thanks Elizabeth, Topics covered well, good read Saving Changes...
Latha Thamma reddiSr Product and Portfolio Management (Automation Innovation)| DXC TechnologyMckinney, Tx, United States
Thanks for sharing such a nice article Saving Changes...
Hi, if u need to rebaseline then that needs to be made very clear with all stakeholders ("we dont see the original plan as feasible anymore due to XX reason - do you accept setting new targets?"). This should be avoided, but if your baseline is so out of date that you can see you will never meet it it might be required. Also, always re-baseline if stakeholders introduce major changes or much scope creep. Saving Changes...
Latha Thamma reddiSr Product and Portfolio Management (Automation Innovation)| DXC TechnologyMckinney, Tx, United States
It happens very often and it depends. Saving Changes...
Vijay SuryavanshiProject Manager - Engineering| RECARO Aircraft SeatingPlantation, Fl, United States
Target completion date for what ? For tasks or actions. (If you follow up every task or activity as a project manager, you are close to being a micro manager. You must believe the team, allow them to make mistakes and learn. As long as they get from point A to B and how they get doesn't matter. ) That being said, Actions that affect stakeholders and issues that have opened up or cropped must be tracked closely. If the team hits the date well and good, if not our practices in the organization does not allow to revise the completion date but allows me to just put the actual completion date. If you constantly get the dates late then either your estimation is wrong or the team is not adhering to the completion date. One of the things that I do is get the planned completion date from the team itself. (Agile philosophy) and hold them kind of accountable. It is not good that you estimate the date for the job the team does. With practice you must be able to work with team and get better estimates of completion date. Hope this helps.
PS : Project level date completion, I have already answered the question before. Saving Changes...
Latha Thamma reddiSr Product and Portfolio Management (Automation Innovation)| DXC TechnologyMckinney, Tx, United States
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