James Baker Cameron Brown David VanAsselberg Information Systems 8825 Dr. Martha Myers December 7,...

James Baker

Cameron Brown

David VanAsselberg

Information Systems 8825

Dr. Martha Myers

December 7, 2005

Examples Definition Focus on negotiations:

Schedule and budget Team conditions

Death march as a way of life

Agenda

Characteristics:

Schedule has been reduced by half Staff has been reduced by half Budget has been reduced by half Scope has Increased by 50%

Death March Projects

Why organizations attempt them Politics, politics, politics Naïve promises by marketing or senior

mgmt Intense competition caused by

globalization of markets, new technology Unexpected and/or unplanned

government regulations or other crises

Types of Death March Projects

Hap

pin

ess

Chance of Success

High

HighLow

Kamikaze

Suicide

MissionImpossible

Ugly

Focus: Negotiations

Develop rational estimates Accuracy for planning Credibility for negotiating

Identify possible trade-offs Applies triage principles 80/20 rule

Focus: Negotiations

Negotiating Games Double and Add Some Reverse Doubling Low Bid Spanish Inquisition

Focus: Negotiations

Negotiating strategies Avoid the instant estimate Avoid concrete estimates – provide ranges

and confidence intervals

Prepare for failure Be willing to quit Make challenging demands Be honest with team

Focus: Negotiations

Hiring & Staffing Issues Virtuoso team Previous mission-impossible team Well-informed mere mortals Taking who you’ve got

Avoid taking on dead wood! Negotiate the right to assemble the

correct team

Focus: Negotiations

Loyalty, Commitment & Motivation Money, benefits and comfort are hygiene

issues – they matter if they’re missing. Other options:

Extended vacation Paid sabbatical Perks – cool technology toys, paid data

access, etc Negotiate the right to offer unique

incentives

Focus: Negotiations

Issues with Overtime Overtime is a temporary solution Overtime presents diminishing returns on

a daily, weekly and project-long basis Overtime has a natural, physical limit Negotiate the ability to control overtime

sensibly

Net Productivity VS. Hours Worked

40

Hoursper Week

60 80 90 100 120

Death March as a Way of Life More and more projects can be

considered a death march Some organizations are knowingly

accepting lower quality in exchange for greater output

Some organizations are unknowingly adopting bad practices because of previous successful death marches

Questions?