Project Cage Match

From the abstract:
Executives believe starting their project now means it will end sooner. Unfortunately, starting one more project costs significantly more than just time. Sharing limited resources causes all the current projects to sub-optimize. Multitasking is costing your organization a fortune.

Are you tired of being time-sliced across too many projects? Learn how value decreases when you work on multiple simultaneous projects and increases when you focus and deliver on a single project.

Transcript

1. Agile / Scrum Training | Lean Software Development | Agile Organizational Metrics | Executive Coaching | Improved Team Dynamics | Improved Efficiency PROJECT CAGE MATCH Multitasking versus Critical Chain 9th Annual University of Texas at Dallas Project Management Symposium August 13-14, 2015
2. @JeffreyGoodReq goodrequirements.com www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreydavidson
9. Critical Path ¨ Determines CRITICAL activities ¨ Provides shortest path to project completion
11. Barry Boehm, Software Engineering Economics, 1981 Ease of Estimating
12. Interchangeable Resources
13. Blockages Solved w/Additional Resources
14. Starting Sooner = Finish Faster
15. No Waste in Multitasking
16. Continuous Partial Attention
17. Task Switching
18. Multitasking
19. 20 3 Projects, Unlimited Resources A B C D E F G H I J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x P1 P2 P3 3 Projects & 3 Project Managers ¨  With unlimited resources Critical Chain will show how to schedule the project.
20. 20 3 Projects, Specialized Resources 3 Projects & 3 Project Managers & 3 Resource types ¨  BLUE resources specialize in earliest tasks, i.e. ABC ¨  YELLOW resources specialize in middle tasks, i.e. DEFG ¨  GREEN resources specialize in the late tasks, i.e. HIJ A B C D E F G H I J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x P1 P2 P3
21. ?? ?? ?? 3 Projects, Shared Resources A B C D E F G H I J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x P1 P2 P3 3 Projects & 3 Project Managers & 3 Resource types How many weeks will it take to finish the project?
23. Critical Chain ¨ Considers chain of tasks AND resource dependencies ¨ Improves focus
24. Critical Chain: Notes ¨  Pressure to show early progress on all projects leads to the detriment of all ¨  Individual, task-level safety buffers are harmful. It’s better to have an aggregated safety at project level ¨  Disadvantage: No room for slippage, or the end date slips. Mitigate via buffers in the chain
25. 20 3 Projects, Shared Resources #2 3 Projects & 3 Project Managers & 3 Resource types Add a FlowMaster, stay on current tasks until complete A B C D E F G H I J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x P1 P2 P3
26. ?? ?? ?? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x 3 Projects, Shared Resources #2 P2 P3 P1 3 Projects & 3 Project Managers & 3 Resource types Add a FlowMaster, stay on current tasks until complete A B C D E F G H I J
27. Benefits of Focus
28. Cost of Delay by Project   Project 1   Project 2   Project 3   Purpose New product   Operational savings   Reduce support costs Cost of Delay $ 10,000 / week   $ 8,000 / week   $ 5,000 / week   TOTAL Cost of Delay
29. ?? A B C D E F G H I J Project 1: Comparison P1 P1 A B C D E F G H I J ?? New Product has a $10k weekly Cost of Delay ¨  How long was the project delayed? ¨  What was the project’s Cost of Delay?
30. P2 ?? ?? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Project 2: Comparison P2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Operational savings has a $8k weekly Cost of Delay ¨  How long was the project delayed? ¨  What was the project’s Cost of Delay?
31. ?? i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x Project 3: Comparison P3 ?? i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x P3 Reduced support costs have a $5k weekly Cost of Delay ¨  How long was the project delayed? ¨  What was the project’s Cost of Delay?
32. Cost of Delay by Project   Project 1   Project 2   Project 3   Purpose New product   Operational savings   Reduce support costs Cost of Delay $ 10,000 / week   $ 8,000 / week   $ 5,000 / week   TOTAL Cost of Delay 22 weeks $ 176,000 28 weeks $ 280,000 16 weeks $ 80,000
33. Focus Wins
34. www.davisbase.com | @davisbase |#BecomingAgile Thank you! Project Cage Match
35. References ¨  Clarke Ching, “Multitasking is Evil.” Unpublished paper; 2014. ¨  Jeffrey Davidson, “Project Cage Match: Multitasking vs. Critical Chain.” UTD PM Symposium; August 13-14, 2015. ¨  Eliyahu Goldratt, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement. North River Press; 1984.