George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
May 03, 2016 5:28 AM
Replying to saurabh mahajan
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I agree Mounir with you, however my opinion was just to take stand if I have to on either side.
I also agree with you that there is no such survey/analysis done that can prove either of the technique causes quality issues. But based on my experience I wrote my comment. I have seen resources being shared for different activities (with project having different business constraints) in parallel.
Hope you understand my point. :-)
Saurabh, your comments are always accepted. Feel free to expand your points whenever you want.
Just to help you re-confirm your Fast-Tracking and Crashing concepts, I quote definitions from PMBOK. Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
Crashing. A technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources. Examples of crashing include approving overtime, bringing in additional resources, or paying to expedite delivery to activities on the critical path. Crashing works only for activities on the critical path where additional resources will shorten the activity’s duration. Crashing does not always produce a viable alternative and may result in increased risk and/or cost.
Fast tracking. A schedule compression technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration. An example is constructing the foundation for a building before completing all of the architectural drawings. Fast tracking may result in rework and increased risk. Fast tracking only works if activities can be overlapped to shorten the project duration. Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
May 02, 2016 7:58 PM
Replying to Rami Kaibni
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Both might affect the quality if not executed properly and wisely.
Rami - Agreed, but as for plain theory, which one affects quality the most. Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
May 02, 2016 9:12 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
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For sure, Rami. Anything that is not done properly and wisely will affect quality.
The real question is, even when done properly and wisely, which one is most likely to impact quality?
Stephane - you're on it... Great... Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
May 02, 2016 7:20 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
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Actually, George, I read it otherwise. The reference to "quality" for crashing is simply mentioned because of the reduction in time. In other words, they presume that doing things in a shorter time would decrease quality. There is no argument presented for that correlation. In fact, I could make the case that if your resource increase is effected through increasing your current resources' availability to your project that it would actually help them focus properly on your project activities and, thus, increase quality.
On the other hand, there is a stern warning of rework around fast-tracking. Rework is definitely a cost of low quality.
Stephane - These type of responses makes my time valuable. Well worded, well explained and I feel your comments are on the right track.
Just what I was looking for. Saving Changes...
Syed Zia ZaidiProject/Program Manager - Agile/Scrum Practices| Nisum Technologies, Inc. North Bellmore, Ny, United States
I haven't really gone through all the comments, but here is my personal opinion on the question:
It's hard to give a straight answer as to which one impacts the quality most, as it would depend on many factors including:
1. Are the activities that you plan to fast track/crash on the critical path?
2. The additional resource(s) that you plan to use for fast tracking/crashing how familiar are they with the project and how skilled and experienced are they?
3. Activities that were originally planned to be done in sequence, if they are now being fast tracked, what are the risks and the level of risks associated with each of the activity that would be done in parallel?
4. Is it even possible to fast track some of the activities? Because sometimes you can't do a later activity until the first one is done.
5. When you are fast tracking/crashing, are the team members colocated or are they distributed?
6. What's the level of interaction and communication between the team members who are working together on a particular activity?
I could probably list few more...
I have faced situations where I had to add resources to the project, and considering the various factors associated with each condition/project I have used both fast tracking and crashing.
So, you can not simply say as to which one would impact the quality most. Either one could possibly impact the quality if it is not not after careful planning. However, I would say, if I am faced a situation where I have to either do crashing or fast tacking, I would take that as case by case basis, and then after assessing overall situation, I would make the decision that not only has lowest risk of impacting the quality but also has the lowest risk of impacting overall project. Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
