New study produces new deadline trick to help project managers

New study produces new deadline trick to help project managersNew study produces new deadline trick to help project managersSome researchers from the University of Michigan got real with the nature of deadlines theyre often more elastic than they seem.Our society tends to think of deadlines as less flexible than other aspects of a project, but in reality, thats often not the case, said Tom Logan, study co-author and a University of Michigan doctoral student in industrial and operations engineering, in a release. When we recognize that, it enables us to do some really novel things. The findings were published in theEuropean Journal of Operational Research.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIn typical project management, the project manager is given a deadline for completion and makes decisions around that, assuming that it will not change. But in reality, it often does.Optimistic ve rsus pessimisticWith that in mind, they ran a series of experiments.The gruppe built a computer model that cycled through 1,000 simulated projects, some which ignored deadline uncertainty and some which recognized it and re-allocated resources as necessary.A deadline is just another stakeholder requirement and we all know that stakeholder requirements hold a certain amount of uncertainty, said study co-author Robert Bordley, a professor at University of Michigan College of Engineering. We cant eliminate that uncertainty, but we can often quantify it. And Ive found that the value of doing that is very big.Managers should sit down with stakeholders and ask for more than just the optimistic and pessimistic dates for completion. They have to ask for the real reasoning behind those dates, so they know if and why they have flexibility on the deadlines.Stakeholders are always verstndigung im strafverfahrening with a complex set of uncertainties, but they are rarely shared with project mana gers. The goal is to bring the two worlds closer together and incorporate the knowledge thats uncovered into the management process, Bordley said. I like to ask stakeholders to think of a situation that would cause a deadline to get pushed forward by a month, for example. Tell me about that situation, estimate how likely it is to happen. Focus on the extremes. That way, you end up with optimistic and pessimistic deadlines that are more than just numbers.Once a manager knows the optimistic and pessimistic deadlines, they must express their level of uncertainty with the deadline within the project. A more uncertain deadline means a larger window for completion and more flexibility to get work done and focus their energy on other requirements that are surer.This technique can save a manager from spending a lot of time and resources on a deadline that might not matter much in the end, Bordley said. If its soft, the manager can quickly see that its soft and focus resources on other requi rements that are less likely to change.Meanwhile, new research from Harvard Business Review shows that men are twice as likely to ask for an extension on a deadline as women.And if you just cant deal with deadlines at all, CNBC lists 10 jobs that dont really have them, including an audiologist, massage therapist, and conservationist.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people