Accurate time estimation is an accurate skill in project management. Without an assigned timeframe, it is difficult to estimate the period of the project. Prior to the assigned tasks/ project, all the team members should be involved in a team meeting to discuss the possible ways of splitting the work in a given timespan. The control meetings should be arranged to keep everyone updated.
In the lecture this week, it was emphasized that the entirety of the team working on the project is consulted when determining the duration of each task in the work breakdown structure. This makes sense, as this seems as if it would be the most difficult part of the process to estimate. Especially for tasks that aren't necessarily trivial, it could be very difficult to estimate the time frame required. In this case, estimating the duration of the step either too long or too short could be detrimental to the planning of all other steps and the overall project. Other than giving the task wide range of time between earliest completion and latest completion, what can be done to remedy this situation? Is there ever a point where the team will have to update the whole planned process due to finishing a tasks too early?
I agree with estimating the timeline for a project can be very challenging because as you’re working you encounter challenges that might delay you from being consistent with the timeline. I believe the ideal way to make a timeline for a project is to set a timeline for each stage of the project. That way if one stage finishes later than expected, another stage finishes earlier than expected, overall you would be on track for the whole project completion timeline. It always overestimates the timeline of the project because if you do finish earlier than expected, you can use the remaining time to work on improvements.
In the lecture this week, it was emphasized that the entirety of the team working on the project is consulted when determining the duration of each task in the work breakdown structure. This makes sense, as this seems as if it would be the most difficult part of the process to estimate. Especially for tasks that aren't necessarily trivial, it could be very difficult to estimate the time frame required. In this case, estimating the duration of the step either too long or too short could be detrimental to the planning of all other steps and the overall project. Other than giving the task wide range of time between earliest completion and latest completion, what can be done to remedy this situation? Is there ever a point where the team will have to update the whole planned process due to finishing a tasks too early?
I agree with estimating the timeline for a project can be very challenging because as you’re working you encounter challenges that might delay you from being consistent with the timeline. I believe the ideal way to make a timeline for a project is to set a timeline for each stage of the project. That way if one stage finishes later than expected, another stage finishes earlier than expected, overall you would be on track for the whole project completion timeline. It always overestimates the timeline of the project because if you do finish earlier than expected, you can use the remaining time to work on improvements.
Setting a timeline must be very tough when you don't know how long it will take you to do something that has never been done before. In this case it is best to tell your project manager the worst case scenario amount of time, then give your best input of how long it would take. It is up to the project manager to decide how to convey that to their bosses and executives, but most likely telling the worst case scenario is a good rule of thumb because people will normally be disappointed when a project deadline is delayed and happier when it is pushed closer.
Estimating project timelines is no easy feat, the issue comes with the ability to understand everyones job, number of team members, and difficulty of tasks. I think the best way for a PM to do a proper estimation is to ask each member what they feel is the proper amount of time needed to perform their task, if the team members are experienced and have done similar tasks in the past, this would make figuring out the timeline a little bit easier. I don't think there has ever been a situation where a whole planned process will be changed due to a task being too early, there is always room for improvement and correcting any overlooked details. If something is rushed too quickly there is a chance there may be a hiccup down the line where the whole protocol may have been incorrect due to one simple hiccup, during that early time period is a time to review and not move on to other phases until everything is correctly looked over.
In estimating project time I think having a team that has worked together before and a leader that has a good understanding of how the members of the teamwork will best remedy the issue of poor time estimations. If the project manager knows each of the members on the team and how well they work, then they will bein a much better position to understand how long something will take. It is also important to delegate the right work to each member. They will all have their strengths and weaknesses, so making sure that the right people are working on the right parts of the project is key to estimating how long each part of the project will take.
I agree that a good understanding of how team-members work will remedy the issue of inaccurately predicting timelines, since every team-member is not only of a different skill-level, but works at different speeds. Therefore, if a project manager knows the productivity level or speed of one team-member, the timeline can be adjusted more accurately. Additionally, the input of all team-members is crucial, not only the voice of the more experienced team-member, since even though the more experienced member has done the project before and knows how long it usually takes for that particular task, the task may be carried out by someone less-experienced, which could delay the completion time. Therefore, input from the less-experienced team-members are also important, since they may be the ones carrying out the tasks and may work at slower speeds due to inexperience.
With uncontrollable factors like time, it is hard to estimate properly how long a project will take. The best way to go about finding a viable estimate is to look back on previous executions of similar protocols or tasks and see how long they took. If there are not many examples or if there are too many factors to consider, it would be a good idea to consult with the team to figure out how to delegate tasks and how they would complete them to get a general timeline from each side, especially if they are working on other projects. Team members/ employees may have other projects that they are working on and it is not fair to make your project a high priority one if all their projects are high priority as well (of course, this does not always stand, depending on what the project is and the goals). It would be smart as well to do check ins at least biweekly to see progress or if some tasks are at a standstill and realign priorities.
I think you should estimate the work resources needed to carry out each activity. This includes estimating the necessary resources from human resources, financial resources, and equipment. And the resource needs for each activity must be determined before doing an estimate of the duration of each activity.
Also, schedule monitoring along the project period, and ensures that the work results go in line with the schedule plan. It requires monitoring and following the schedule to use and submit reports, and using control systems to change the schedule, such as the use of project change requests, performance management, Analysis of variance to determine whether additional measures are required to return to the schedule in line with the project’s original reference plan.
Project timeline always depends on the customer’s requirement. Later have to be analyzed and planned according to the project demand. A project timeline tracks the chronological order of events. These timelines give teams an understanding of a project at just a glance, keeping everyone informed and aligned at every stage of the project.
The timeline is composed of a series of tasks, each of which has a due date and duration.
Deciding on a timeline for each task within a project is the most difficult part of project planning in my opinion as you have to try anticipate any possible scenario that may delay the completion of a task. This is why I think it is best to overestimate task timelines as much as possible. You don't want to get stuck in a situation where an entire project can no longer meet the deadline due to one task being delayed. It is also important to map out which tasks depend on one another and which can be done independently in order to effectively plan according well in advance. All tasks can be mapped out with their durations using effective visual aids, such as a Network Diagram, Pert Chart, or Gantt Chart. Once the diagram is finalized, the project team can start to initiate the execution of such tasks one by one, paying close attention to the timeline of the most vital tasks, or those on the critical path. Most importantly, every member of the project team should be aware of all tasks and their respective timelines.
Estimation in general is not an easy task when it comes to giving an estimate on budget, size of the project and timing. When estimating timeline for a project, you have to make sure that deadlines isn’t too tight thereby making team members work ridiculous hours.
You need to estimate time accurately if you're going to deliver your project on time and on budget. Without this skill, you won't know how long your project will take, and you won't be able to get commitment from the people required to help you achieve your objective. More than this, you risk agreeing to impossibly short deadlines, with all of the stress, pain, and loss of credibility associated with this.
To estimate time effectively, you need to Understand what's required, Prioritize activities and tasks, Decide who you need to involve, Do your estimates using a variety of estimating methods like: Comparative Estimating, Parametric Estimating, Three-Point Estimating in other to get the most accurate time estimates.
Also, consider using a time sheet software to track time spent on your project. This way you can make better estimations for future tasks and projects. Plus, when it’s rolled into your larger project management software, this time data syncs with all of your other project management tools.
Reference: www.projectmanager.com/blog/time-estimation-for-project-managers
Setting timelines is very important to any project, since it determines the launch date of the product that is being developed or modified. Based on my experience, with the current technology most companies in the industries use excel to have a gantt chart with an accurate timelines. The way it works is that the team goes ahead to input all the requirements/deliverables that are required until production or even after that to close out all activities related to the project. Each task would have some set dependencies from the tasks before it and it would list the duration of each task. The duration is usually determined based on prior experience related to that specific task and the deliverables that are related to it, plus when it is planned on being executed. For example, if a task is planned to be executed during the third week of December then the project manager has to keep in mind that most people go on vacation during that time and that two extra weeks might be necessary to complete this task. Other factors also play a role into putting a timeline together; this can be because of some workers getting sick, snow delaying sample shipment, and of course any failures in the Design Verification. The project manager has to put some buffer time either in technical tasks that are expected to take longer time or add that time to the total project timeline, which can be anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months depending on how big the project is. If a task is completed early then the team puts a check mark next to it and moves to the next tasks, which does not mean that the timeline is getting shorter now but it means that the team would have some extra time to complete tasks. The team would only communicate a sooner launch date towards the end of the project when everything is almost completed and the team knows that no other delays can happen.
From my very limited experience the best way to estimate a project timeline is really to go backwards from the required/expected completion date. Experience in making timelines and having realistic expectations on the workload and abilities of team members is key to making them.
Reworking a project timeline for being early is possible but more often issues will arise when delays cause timeline changes. I cannot really think of issues occurring due to completion of tasks too early as in the worst case that just leaves more time for testing. The main “issue” I see from early completion is there can be wasted time from team members waiting for concurrently running parts of the project to be completed.
In terms of effectively estimating the duration time of tasks, I believe many factors should be considered to ensure an efficient usage of time. One factor would be to reference similar tasks in prior projects and assess both the time allotted for that task as well as any comments or lessons learned in relation to it. Additionally, it is imperative to obtain feedback from team members who have prior experience working on similar tasks. Despite this there might be team members with no experience with the task at hand, so this should be considered in combination with the suggestions from an experienced team member. Personally, from my time working in a lab on campus, I believe experience is a major determinant of the duration time of tasks. For example, one of the first tasks I was assigned while working in the lab was to create a system to wirelessly control a virtual game object using an inertial measurement unit sensor. This task now takes me less than half the time it took to accomplish the first time. Furthermore, in terms of finishing a task early, I believe the team's initial reaction shouldn’t be to update the planned schedule, but instead start the next task early if possible. The reason I believe the team should withhold making changes to the schedule is because it might be possible that the next task required a greater duration of time then was initially scheduled.
