George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
People will only start to fully apply themselves to a task just before its deadline. Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
Student Syndrome in Project Management: What have been your experiences when dealing with this Issue and how have you manage it in your projects? Saving Changes...
Student Syndrome was one of the reason why our project get delayed. It is first coined as one of the constraint of project management in the application of TOC or "Theory of Constraint". TOC applied to PM recognized the human behavior roles in system performance.Best to correlate to planning and scheduling which is part of human nature to procastinate and start a task at the last minute. In order for us to fully understand this constraint of PM, we need to discuss and compare the two approaches of Scheduling , the CPM (Critical Path Method) and the CCPM (Critical Chain Project Management). Although Student Sydrome is present on both , the later is more associated and has a lot of literature which articulate the reason why and how it impact project in attempting to finish a project on time. I would suggested some good references about Theories of Constraint books written by Eli yahu Goldratt. We cannot eliminate Student Syndrome b/c it is always part of every project whether we delay a certain task intentionally due to some valid reasons or just b/c it is innate human behavior or habit . Also, as human being we tend to procastinate or delay certain task b/c we are in a situation of having a deadline. The deadline is the culprit why a task is delayed b/c of our very owned pre-determined knowledge about the duration which we think has an embedded buffer to consume to be able to multi-task ...so we start the task late and when the Murphy strike, the schedule get delayed. Since SS is one constraint of PM and one valid reason why our project will be delayed , we must develop a right amount of level of details on schedule model and put sufficient amount of buffer time in case these type of constraints show up during execution ...and of course when we do monitoring and controlling of our progress , we need to always communicate...communicate and collaborate with all PMT members to share the progress status as well as the risks and issues as early as it is practicable to fix. Remember "Recovery Plan" during on going execution do not work...b/c by the time you receive the recovery plan from your contractor or sub-contractors another delays and issues might pop up which make it obsolete and useless. Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
Renato - Well said... Saving Changes...
Gail RaynorProgram and Project ManagerLas Vegas, Nv, United States
Would you consider SS a constraint or a developmental area that can be worked on and improved with the proper tools and resources?
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1 reply by George Lewis
Aug 08, 2016 4:16 PM
George Lewis
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It can go either ways, but please expand on your question.
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Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Don't forget the crash that happens after the cramming. Give your team members a chance to ramp up to the next milestone.
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1 reply by George Lewis
Aug 08, 2016 4:17 PM
George Lewis
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Stephane, can you expand please... didn't fully get it...
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George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
Aug 08, 2016 12:52 PM
Replying to Gail Raynor
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Would you consider SS a constraint or a developmental area that can be worked on and improved with the proper tools and resources?
It can go either ways, but please expand on your question. Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
Aug 08, 2016 2:28 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
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Don't forget the crash that happens after the cramming. Give your team members a chance to ramp up to the next milestone.
Stephane, can you expand please... didn't fully get it...
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1 reply by Stéphane Parent
Aug 08, 2016 5:17 PM
Stéphane Parent
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Students not only cram at the last minute for an exam, but will crash after the exam. They will need time to decompress and recover.
It's the same thing with your team members. They will spend a lot of time in the last few days to meet the deadline. Give them breathing room afterwards; presume that they will be operating below normal levels.
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Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Aug 08, 2016 4:17 PM
Replying to George Lewis
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Stephane, can you expand please... didn't fully get it...
Students not only cram at the last minute for an exam, but will crash after the exam. They will need time to decompress and recover.
It's the same thing with your team members. They will spend a lot of time in the last few days to meet the deadline. Give them breathing room afterwards; presume that they will be operating below normal levels.
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1 reply by Asad Abbas
Aug 30, 2016 6:26 AM
Asad Abbas
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Students who don't make and follow a plan will always cram and it is not expected from a professional team. Please note that fast tracking and crashing will always increase risk to quality and customer satisfaction. One should always strive to plan, execute and monitor well and do negotiation with customer if the scope of project changes during execution.
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Thomas CooperPMP, CSPO| State of Tennessee Department of Health Care Finance and Adminstration PMONashville, Tn, United States
I have never heard this term but it is appropriate. The analogy to test cramming is ringing so true for me now. I personally try to get team members to think in terms of 'future state' process flows when managing a change. It has helped set the goal.
This seems to be a bigger lift for some. So we can see the disconnect for those who are comfortable in routine operations and teams adapting to project work or significant process changes. I believe this is a different skill set. It may also be why we have a specific knowledge area for risk identification and management. Saving Changes...
