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40 January/February 2011 | APICS magazine
status while there is still time to tackle problems. Over
the
lie o a project, there are times when some deviation rom
the plan is acceptable and times when it is not. VPM uses a
simple green zone (OK) and red zone (not OK) approach.
(See Figure 1.) I a project is in green, everything is fne; i
its
in red, managers must take prompt action to help the project
return to green. Tis means redirecting resources to the
project. Tese resources may come rom other projects, be
internal experts, or derive rom outside the company.
Project status is shown by plotting progress based on
percent project completed and percent buer consumed.
Te percent buer consumed is obtained as:
percent buffer= 2 ( percent time percent project )consumed
consumed completed
Te project status chart in Figure 1 has a ratio o two units
wide and one unit high in order to depict the correct scale
along the x and y axes. (Te project buer is 50 percent o
the aggressive project duration.) Tis chart enables users
to track the progress o a single project, or it can provide
a
snapshot view o many projects.
In Figure 2, each small circle indicates project status at a
specifc reporting time. For instance, the second data pointshows
about 20 percent o the project completed and 5 percent
o the buer consumed. Tis means tasks fnished between the
frst and second reporting periods took only slightly longer
than estimated (about 5 percent more than expected). While
these tasks did take longer than expected, it was not a
problem.
VPM allows or a 50 percent buer consumption rate or the
project.
From the third circle to the ourth circle is a vertical
line,
implying no progress (no additional tasks reported as com-
plete). Tis could occur i a long-duration task still is in
prog-
ress at the end o the reporting period. It also could
indicate
some diculty completing a task or be the result o poor
multi-
tasking that pulled away resources rom the project. Either
way,
the result is the same: Te project moved into the red zone.
The expert resource benchWhen a project is in red, VPM asks that
managers act
immediately to move it to green. Te frst line o response
is the expert resource bench, which is comprised o about
20 percent o the resource pool. Tey are the best resources
specifcally assigned to respond to red zone penetrations.
When a project is red, the bench assists those working on
it to put the task back into green. Eorts may include help
with the work, o-loading some work, training, or Socratic
inquiry.
Figure 2 shows a signifcant recovery in buer consump-
tion rom the ourth circle to the fh. Tis means a long-
duration task was completed in this period or other projects
fnished in less-than-estimated time. Te status is better,
but
the project still is in red, demanding continued attention.
From then on, the project progresses well, fnally completing
aer using about 80 percent o the project buer (about 140
percent o the aggressive project schedule).
Figure 3 presents a status chart or many projects. Tis
shows the condition o all projects at a moment in time. Most
are progressing well, with buer consumption ranging rom 0percent
to less than 100 percent or near-complete tasks. Te
fgure also shows that projects 1421, 1541, 614, and 644 are
in
the red zone, requiring aggressive management action.
Tis chart provides important management inormation.
oo many projects in red implies the organization is unable
to cope with its projects in progress, signaling the need to
choke the release o new projects into the system. Having no
projects (or too ew) in red suggests that more tasks can be
inserted into the system. It is advisable to aim or no more
than about 10 percent o projects in the red zone.
Te chart also identifes which projects are progressing
routinely. Projects well inside the green zone (such as 16
and
Figure 2: Single project status chartFigure 1: Project status
chart
Percentbuffercon
sumed
Percent project completed
Red zone
Green zone
0%
0%
100%
100%
Percentbufferco
nsumed
Percent project completed
0%
0%
100%
100%
Red zone
Green zone12
3
4
5 6
7
8
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APICS magazine | January/February 2011 41
941) can be a source o resources or tasks in red. Managerseasily
can make inormed assignments o resources based
upon bufer consumption status.
VPM in action
Implementing VPM requires only oneadditional step, which is to
reeze 25
percent o currently active projects. Tisis controversial, but
necessary. Freezing
projects means removing them romthe active project workload.
Deciding
which projects to reeze depends uponthe system and the customer.
Te rozen
projects typically are low-priority workthat can wait.
Implementing VPM without remov-ing low-priority work will
immediately
drive many projects into red. It is muchbetter to reeze and thaw
at a con-
trolled rate that the system can handle.And, in the end, tasks
rozen or VPM
will nish at about the same time they
would have without VPM.
Te remaining 75 percent o activeprojects should be planned as i
theywere new projects. Previously com-
pleted work should be ignored, and allactive projects plotted on
the project
status charts so that managementdecisions based upon bufer
consump-
tion rate will be correct. Identiyingproblems early gives enough
time to
overcome any diculty.Meanwhile, the expert resource bench
observes the whole systemusually
without interering. Members ponder,
analyze, and recommend better methods and techniques andreport
to management on how and when such improvements
should be made. Te bench is the oundation o the
learningorganization.
VPM uses resources efectively. Workers are less stressed,and
there are ewer distractions, interruptions, and delays.
As employees become more condent, they will provide
better (more aggressive) task duration estimates. Lead
timedecreases, and the number o projects that can be
completedincreases. Prots rise. Managers are less stressed. Most
impor-
tantly, the customer receives quality work when promised.
James R. Holt is a clinical professor of engineering and
technology
management at Washington State University. He has been
executing projects and studying systems, operations,
optimization,
organizational behavior, and simplification for more than 50
years.
He may be contacted at [email protected].
Mandyam M. Srinivasan is the Pilot Corporation Chair of
Excellence
at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has more than
35
years experience in industry and academia, managing supply
chain
operations and projects in a wide variety of industries. Hey may
be
contacted at [email protected].
To comment on this article, send a message to
[email protected].
Figure 3: Status chart for multiple projects
Percentbufferc
onsumed
Percent project completed
0%
0%
100%
100%
Red zone
Green zone554 230
644614
101
1667
1667
941
147
482
16
6185541433
1541
1421
522
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APICS Extra Live: Keep Projects Flowing
with Visual Project Management
Presented by:James R. Holt
Clinical professor of engineeringand technology
managementWashington State University
Mandyam M. SrinivasanPilot Corporation Chairof
ExcellenceUniversity of Tennessee,Knoxville
Date: February 10, 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m.2:00 p.m. CT
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