The project as a temporary phenomenon

Project management is about making a plan and executing it. Therefore, the more accurately and accurately the plan is drawn up, the more convenient it is to carry out project tasks and complete the project on time.

Every project has a start and end date. The project is considered completed when the set goals are achieved, or vice versa, it becomes clear that these goals will never be achieved. Some projects can last from several months to several years, but in any case, the project cannot last forever - there are deadlines.

Project appraisals sometimes take a significant amount of time. Moreover, the smaller the budget of the project, the more time is spent on its discussion. A client with a small budget exerts more pressure than a client with a large budget who just wants everyone to "do it right".

How to negotiate with a client with a small budget? There is such a law: “20% of effort is 80% of the result, the remaining 80% is only 20%”. This law can also be applied to website development: a lot of time is spent on various unusual features, and not on developing the main functionality. By removing some features, you can reduce the budget and reduce development time.

poker method

One of the most convenient and effective methods for assessing the time frame of a project is the poker method - "Planning Poker". The principle of this method is the same as in the game of poker. The difference is that no one gets greenbacks, but the project is evaluated efficiently and quickly.

To do this, you need to gather all the participants in the project and give them special cards. Usually the face value of the card is measured in hours. Further, a specific task is brought up for discussion, and each participant chooses one or another card. So, if a “0” card is raised, it means that it takes several minutes to complete this task, and someone can choose a card with a value of “100”. If all the values match, then it is most likely that the estimate is accurate. Otherwise, cardholders who stand out from the total number express their points of view and a re-vote takes place. The third time usually the participants come to a common point of view.

When solving a highly specialized task, the priorities of the participants are set. So, for example, if the task concerns product testing, then the tester's assessment has more weight.

It happens that such a discussion drags on or moves away from the main topic of discussion - in this case, there is a card with a cup of coffee, the appearance of which means that you need to take a break.

This method of evaluation has important points:

• all project participants take part in the discussion;
• in the end, it is necessary to come to a common decision;
• everyone is responsible: by choosing a number, you are responsible for it and will work in accordance with the chosen value;
• the whole team understands well what they are working on, the main goals and what the result should be.

And in the end, you will still row the “greens”, because. make the project better and faster.