Time and Project Management

Michael G. Prais, Ph.D., Director

Information Services

Saint Xavier University

Copyright 2004

Time and Project Management

• Recognizing and predicting our needs—time resources needed for project completion

• Out of the frying pan and away from the fire-fighting

Presenting Problems

• Lots of demands

• Insufficient time

• Frequent critical situations

• Hopelessly reactive

• Putting out fires

Underlying Problems

• Weak understanding of client expectations

• Weak sense of completion

• Weak sense of how much or how long

• Weak plans and schedules

• Weak communication of our needs

Communications Problems?

• Identifying client expectations is difficult, but identifying the needs of our staff has not been easy either.– What will it require to get the job done?

– I can’t predict when--it’s too complex!

– Give me what I want and leave me alone!

• More autonomy requires more communication. (Drucker)

• What is there to communicate?

Prediction Is Magic!

• Then something happens!

UNIV 101Freshman Success

• Objectives, expectations, and change• Diversity and similarity• Decision making• Stress management• Time management• Money management• Teaching, learning, and testing• Relationships

UNIV 101 - Time Management

• Record your activities for a week.

• List typical activities for the class.

• List time spent on each activity.– Except studying (usually last on the list)– Builds agreement on representative values

UNIV 101 - Time Management

• Total time for everything but studying?

• Time available for studying?– Success = sufficient study time

• What are your priorities? Objectives?

• Build a weekly calendar.– You need a schedule--a plan.

Everything Takes Time and More Time.

• There are no long-time, one-time activities.Long-time activities are accumulations of

short-time activities that can be much longer when we ignore or overlook activities and overruns.

• One-time activities are short-but-could-be-longer (time-and-more-time) activities.

• There are no zero-time activities.

Expectations => Time Management

• Clients have service expectations--especially completion deadlines.

• Service is meeting expectations accurately, reliably, simply, and responsively.

• What are my time needs to meet those expectations?

Expectations => Time Management

• What do I have to work on today that reduces the risk of failure to complete my (shared) objectives for the future?

Time Management?

• Do I really want to manage my time?

• I enjoy working creatively--without direction.

• The systems are complex.

• I need some time to learn about the systems.

• I don’t know how long it will take.

• I want to get away from all the demands.

Project Management = Time Management

• You really have to manage your time– Especially for conflicting or complex objectives.

• Risk is the invasion of other objectives and activities that usurp irreplaceable resources.

• Time is more valuable than money:– It doesn’t carry over.

– It’s costly to trade.

Project Management = Time Management

• Make expectations and needs explicit.

• Analyze (breakdown) activities to allow for variation in time of multiple activities.

• Get original and change acceptance through frequent communication.

• Examine estimates and predictions for accuracy and future use.

Prediction and Communication Prediction Is Communication.

• Require accuracy

• Provide understanding

• Provide security

• Encourage agreement

• Provide value (support expectations)

Project Management

• Avoid service variation--especially time.– Variation is a change in response without time for

others to change their plans.

• Meet client expectations within our capacity.– Accuracy, reliability, simplicity, responsiveness

– Response or completion within expected times

• Knowing our capacity requires fine-grained analysis--especially of time.– Identify activity times and elapsed time needed for

completion.

Factory Management?

• Will I lose control of my own time?

• Will I be held to my estimates?

• Will I lose the chance to learn?

• Will I lose the time to be creative?

Factory Management <> Time Management

• The better you are/become at analyzing, predicting, and communicating the time you use for activities and objectives the more valuable and the more autonomous you become.– Control your time through prediction.– Arrange creative and learning time through

prediction.– Manage demands and expectations.

Group Management or Self Management?

• The role of management is to concentrate scare resources to meet important objectives. (Drucker)

• The knowledge worker is a self-manager.

• Everyone must concentrate and communicate!

Group Management = Time Management

• Should you get better pay for better prediction and use of fewer resources?– At least more autonomy, bigger projects, and

access to more resources• Duplicate resources--resources like yourself that can

learn, analyze, predict, and communicate

• Hire and evaluate based on the skills to learn, analyze, predict, and communicate.

Strategic Planning = Time Management

• Many people think of strategic planning as picturing where you want to be.– This is visualization.

• Strategic planning is building consensus, commitment, and alliances for large, complex plans (schedules) that involve extensive resources.

• It is complex project management.

Project Management = Time Management

• How long will it take me to do that in the middle of everything else I do?– Break your work down into smaller activities.– Estimate the time for each activity.– Predict (communicate) when you will complete

your objective.– Evaluate your estimates and predictions.

Project Management = Time Management

• Project management requires discipline and increases value.

• Effort for project management goes into:– The thorough analysis of activities and

objectives– The identification and communication of needs– The arrangements to fit priorities and deadlines

Project Management = Time Management

• The most important lessons are developed from those questions posed in UNIV 101.

Analyzing Activities

• What do I/we do during any week?

• What are my/our typical activities?

• Roughly how long does it take for each activity?

• How much time do I/we use each week?

Scheduling Activities

• What are my/our priorities? Deadlines?

• What are my/our required activities?– Include learning, planning, and rejuvenation.

• What are my/our objectives?

• What is my/our schedule of each week until I/we accomplish my/our objectives?– This is the plan.

Recognizing Completion

• What do I/we value?

• What rules do I/we use to make decisions?

• What do I/we have to observe/measure to know when each activity is complete?

Recognizing Needs

• How much more time do I/we need to complete the activities by the deadlines?

• What material do I/we need in place for each activity?

• What external activities do I/we need completed for each activity?

• What do I/we have to observe/measure to know that these activities are complete?

Communicating

• Who is dependent on my/our activities?

• Who do I/we have to communicate with to notify and check about dependent activities?

• Who has to be notified of completion or slippage?

Learning

• How did my/our estimates compare with actual times per activity?

• Who have I/we collaborated with to complete my/our objectives?

• Who was affected by my/our activities?

• Where did I/we record my/our descriptions and instructions for later use?

Group Management

• Establish culture – Assumptions, values, predictions, artifacts– Process of time management– Search for client expectations– Decision making based on analysis

(AABCDEFG)– Communication of predictions and changes

Group Management

• Provide support and independence– Telling, selling, sharing, delegating– Amount of analysis of time for each activity – Analysis of additional (needed) time, training,

material, and coordination– Communication and coordination

Thank You.

• Questions?

• Comments?

– Time and Project Management– Michael G. Prais, Ph.D.– Copyright 2004