Shoot me, or deadline again.
I don’t know about you, but I have long since lost the thought that there may not be any hard work in the work. The reasons are many: incorrect assessment of the complexity and tasks and deadlines for their implementation, delays in approving documents or providing information on a project on the part of the customer, the human factor. As a result, we get a very heavy amount of work for a couple with stress. Moreover, the problems may not always be internal. How many times have I seen and participated in projects in which everything goes according to plan. Calm and measured. The functionality has been worked out, all the necessary tests are available and passed, the documentation has been written. And then there remains a day - two before delivery, and ... An angry letter comes from the customer that he has studied the latest version of the product and realized that everything is wrong and that this and that should be changed, and this should be done as soon as possible.
Yes, it can be sent. Refer to the requirements procedure and development cycle. But in this case there is a very high probability that there will simply be no further relationship with this customer. I agree, customers can and should also be brought up, especially if long-term relationships are expected. And if this is the first contact? Sometimes you have to make concessions.
What are the symptoms of trawling:
What to do with it all?
1. Calm down.
I think no need to explain that in a tense state, productive work is almost impossible. More errors are allowed, time is spent searching for and eliminating them. Falling attentiveness. In such cases, one should not panic, but work to reduce uncertainty in the project.
')
2. Determine the requirements.
Sometimes, this is a completely non-trivial task. Some managers, if you press them ... deadlines in the project, completely lose their ability to clearly express their thoughts. “Everything is wrong, everything needs to be redone” - this is the standard version to which, I think, everyone is already used to. But the phrase - “This green is not heavy enough” at one time drove me into a short stupor. So, having understood that they want from you, create a list and repeat it again (with the manager or customer). Receipt for each item. So you will be sure of your mutual understanding.
3. Prioritize tasks.
If you have a list of 10 tasks with labor costs for an hour each, and only one evening is available, do not go to the fortuneteller - do not have time. Therefore, all tasks must be sorted by priority. The best option is if the customer does it himself. Because for him, in anticipation of the upcoming presentation to the authorities, it may be more important to “move this green chip to the left, pixels of commercials by 6”, than to fix the problem of data import. Given that in case of successful demonstration of the product, it will be possible to get another week or another time to “refactor”.
4. Raise awareness of all stakeholders in the project.
The last thing your customer (or manager) wants to know from you on the day of delivery of a new version of the product is that you do not have time. Believe me, the majority of adequate managers are ready to accept the shift of terms by 1-2 days while iterating, say, in two weeks. But here nobody loves uncertainty and unpredictability. Report changes in terms and functionality to all interested parties. Reassure them with this. At the same time get the opportunity to work with less pressure. It will be logical to provide them with progress reports along with a description of the problems encountered and methods for solving them.
In addition, you should avoid communication with the customer, in which there is no possibility to keep a log of requests. That is, on the phone, the customer can focus on some tasks - and require completely different ones for delivery. Using e-mail to communicate, these situations can be avoided, since there will always be an opportunity to refer to a specific letter.
And, of course, if you are a contractor and are in direct contact with the customer - a simple recommendation: put the project manager (and all interested parties) in a copy. Then, during the report, the authorities do not have to explain "what have you been doing all this time."
Yes, such situations cannot be called healthy. Everyone knows how to organize work - but in practice, unfortunately, everything is different.
5. Make lists and work plans.
I remember when I had to sit on an urgent project for 16-18 hours in a row. The lists helped me a lot. By myself I knew that my brain would no longer be capable of intellectual activity after 7-9 hours of work. Therefore, I facilitated my task. The first hour - two I spent on the detailed decomposition of the tasks and the formation of the SRI. As a result, even in a state of absolute insanity, I could work quite productively. Because I laid out all the complicated work on the simplest tasks.
If you have several days at your disposal, it would be wise to draw up a Gantt chart.
6. Group tasks
It makes sense, if possible, to solve single-type tasks in one approach, rather than scatter them all the time. Due to this, you can gain time - since the periods of switching between tasks will be reduced and less time will be spent on preparatory work, such as: opening the code, studying the documentation, communication, and so on.
The attentive reader, I think, will notice - and not about the basic concepts of project management in question. It is about them. There is a task, the shortage of resources and the time for which you need to get some result. The difference, perhaps, only in the stress that accompanies abraham.
It seems to me that with all the negativity that the hands-on work carry, one can take advantage of them. Here is what I highlighted for myself:
But this is all only if such situations are exceptional. If the whole process is built on “extreme programming” - this is an occasion to seriously think about changing jobs. (Once, during an interview, a candidate deciphered this term for me: the refinement of business logic and the unloading of a project to combat servers without testing, on Friday evening).
Well and the last - be honest with managers, customers and yourself. It is not worth while taking a long list of requirements and unrealistic deadlines to take the peak and say 'it will be done' With this you will certainly calm everyone down, but also take responsibility for the mistakes of others and you will have to solve these accepted tasks later.
The original is here .
Yes, it can be sent. Refer to the requirements procedure and development cycle. But in this case there is a very high probability that there will simply be no further relationship with this customer. I agree, customers can and should also be brought up, especially if long-term relationships are expected. And if this is the first contact? Sometimes you have to make concessions.
What are the symptoms of trawling:
- Pressure and stress
- Extreme deadlines
- Undefined tasks
- Uncertainty
What to do with it all?
1. Calm down.
I think no need to explain that in a tense state, productive work is almost impossible. More errors are allowed, time is spent searching for and eliminating them. Falling attentiveness. In such cases, one should not panic, but work to reduce uncertainty in the project.
')
2. Determine the requirements.
Sometimes, this is a completely non-trivial task. Some managers, if you press them ... deadlines in the project, completely lose their ability to clearly express their thoughts. “Everything is wrong, everything needs to be redone” - this is the standard version to which, I think, everyone is already used to. But the phrase - “This green is not heavy enough” at one time drove me into a short stupor. So, having understood that they want from you, create a list and repeat it again (with the manager or customer). Receipt for each item. So you will be sure of your mutual understanding.
3. Prioritize tasks.
If you have a list of 10 tasks with labor costs for an hour each, and only one evening is available, do not go to the fortuneteller - do not have time. Therefore, all tasks must be sorted by priority. The best option is if the customer does it himself. Because for him, in anticipation of the upcoming presentation to the authorities, it may be more important to “move this green chip to the left, pixels of commercials by 6”, than to fix the problem of data import. Given that in case of successful demonstration of the product, it will be possible to get another week or another time to “refactor”.
4. Raise awareness of all stakeholders in the project.
The last thing your customer (or manager) wants to know from you on the day of delivery of a new version of the product is that you do not have time. Believe me, the majority of adequate managers are ready to accept the shift of terms by 1-2 days while iterating, say, in two weeks. But here nobody loves uncertainty and unpredictability. Report changes in terms and functionality to all interested parties. Reassure them with this. At the same time get the opportunity to work with less pressure. It will be logical to provide them with progress reports along with a description of the problems encountered and methods for solving them.
In addition, you should avoid communication with the customer, in which there is no possibility to keep a log of requests. That is, on the phone, the customer can focus on some tasks - and require completely different ones for delivery. Using e-mail to communicate, these situations can be avoided, since there will always be an opportunity to refer to a specific letter.
And, of course, if you are a contractor and are in direct contact with the customer - a simple recommendation: put the project manager (and all interested parties) in a copy. Then, during the report, the authorities do not have to explain "what have you been doing all this time."
Yes, such situations cannot be called healthy. Everyone knows how to organize work - but in practice, unfortunately, everything is different.
5. Make lists and work plans.
I remember when I had to sit on an urgent project for 16-18 hours in a row. The lists helped me a lot. By myself I knew that my brain would no longer be capable of intellectual activity after 7-9 hours of work. Therefore, I facilitated my task. The first hour - two I spent on the detailed decomposition of the tasks and the formation of the SRI. As a result, even in a state of absolute insanity, I could work quite productively. Because I laid out all the complicated work on the simplest tasks.
If you have several days at your disposal, it would be wise to draw up a Gantt chart.
6. Group tasks
It makes sense, if possible, to solve single-type tasks in one approach, rather than scatter them all the time. Due to this, you can gain time - since the periods of switching between tasks will be reduced and less time will be spent on preparatory work, such as: opening the code, studying the documentation, communication, and so on.
The attentive reader, I think, will notice - and not about the basic concepts of project management in question. It is about them. There is a task, the shortage of resources and the time for which you need to get some result. The difference, perhaps, only in the stress that accompanies abraham.
It seems to me that with all the negativity that the hands-on work carry, one can take advantage of them. Here is what I highlighted for myself:
- Avraly forced to mobilize. Working at the limit allows you to learn more about your abilities.
- It is possible to find new and truly effective ways to solve problems.
- In some cases, rush jobs contribute to team building.
But this is all only if such situations are exceptional. If the whole process is built on “extreme programming” - this is an occasion to seriously think about changing jobs. (Once, during an interview, a candidate deciphered this term for me: the refinement of business logic and the unloading of a project to combat servers without testing, on Friday evening).
Well and the last - be honest with managers, customers and yourself. It is not worth while taking a long list of requirements and unrealistic deadlines to take the peak and say 'it will be done' With this you will certainly calm everyone down, but also take responsibility for the mistakes of others and you will have to solve these accepted tasks later.
The original is here .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/20286/
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