Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 : Rambling

So, I’ve got 6 minutes while I wait for this file transfer, and this thought came to mind. Real world project management.

I’ve been working on project optimization and process automation for years. Worked on a centralization dashboard for the DoD, developed a task management system for “The Job” recently, and during this time I’ve realized the scope of work direction shifts as projects go forward really fits into a neat little equation:

(Think-tank Time + Concept Design Time + Interface Design + Development Time + R&D Time + Testing Time + Revisions Time + Time for Training + Time for Deployment) x 2.5 = 90% probability of meeting your deadline. I’ve tried to determine the other factors involved in this, and why the delivery time needs to be so dynamically guestimated based on educated assumptions of the task items on the plate for a project - in other words, wtf is the deal with the x2.5? How can it be avoided?

Well, I’ve found it can only be avoided under two conditions:

1. The project is for a company that’s so bleeding edge awesome that every person involved (at the decision making level) of the project is a developer/designer, has worked extensively with developer/designers, or has a second cousin twice removed that’s a developer/designer.
2. Your project is self motivated, self created, self managed, and requires no outside input from anything or anyone, and other projects aren’t on the horizon or the plate… Oh, and it’s also something that you’ve done before, only a little different, or requires zero research.

The flip side of this, of course, is - without people that are living outside the “box” of the developer/designer world, there are chances that you’ll miss the opportunity for out of the box, left-field innovations that actually lead to newly developed awesome shit. Problem? Newly developed awesome shit takes time and effort, energy, and… TIME.

So this 2.5 factor, and 90% mark hitting ratio? Well… It makes development/design work sound a little hit & miss really. But, if you increase the time by 2.75 (barring your outside influences and dynamic project factors are minimal at best) you can hit the mark about 98% of the time.

Just something to consider. 8 hour project? So your brain says… Well that equates to about 22 hours of production/project time. Here’s the tricky part… 8 hours of actual project time is being dished out, but there is some 14 hours extra in just management/mis-management and other factors going into this. Wherever the fault lands, I still hate the fact that 99% of the time it isn’t the developer/designer’s issue, and thus the client gets slapped with a fatter bill. Making us, of course, appear to be auto-mechanics in an industry that should be a little more forgiving to those that are less understanding about what goes into things. Too bad time is money, aye?