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?