Maneuvering the project traffic jams - part 2




My post yesterday discussed the learnings that we could obtain from our drive to work.

Here are a few more observations that are along the same topic.

Each project is like a journey.

When you start your journey, you will have a few decision points in your journey which will determine how fast you will be able to reach your destination. Similarly there are several decision points when the project starts.

Existing Resources
Some of the decision points have been made earlier for example the car you are driving and the location of your residence so you will need to work within these as your starting point. In a project persepective, your resources may also already be pre-determined by decisions made earlier depending on the type of project eg. the number of team members and their skill sets, hardware, software etc.



Timing to start

The first decision point will be the time to start your journey. This will be made based on the information that you have and your previous experiences like :
  • what day it is today ?
  • what is the normal traffic volume for that day and time ?
  • what is the weather condition ?
  • is it a normal working day or is it a public holiday ?
  • do you have other tasks to do or other stops required before reaching your destination ?
  • how long does it normally take to complete the journey based on the above conditions ?
  • how much variance of time can you afford if there is a delay ?


For projects the similar check points that will determine the start point can be
  • when is the best completion time for the project based on the volume of business related to the project ?
  • what is the current work load for the team ?
  • are there any other projects that require to start earlier or at the same time ?
  • what are the upcoming public holidays and leave plans ?
  • how long is the estimated time to complete the project ?
  • what buffer are you able to factor in to allow for any delays ?
Obviously not exhaustive but these are some elements that will need to be considered before planning the start time in order to ensure that you have enough time to complete the project.

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