Fast Fast Tracking projects

 

FastTracking: Fasttrackingisamanagementtechniqueusedtoensurethatprojectsarecomplet edwithintheshortesttimepossible.Whenprojectsarefast-tracked,itusually indicatesthattaskshavebeenarrangedtotakeadvantageofnon-dependentacti vitiesthatcanoccursimultaneously,thusshorteningtheoverallprojecttimeli ne.But,thereismoretofast-trackingthanthesequencingoftasksandactivit ies.  Isfast-trackingappropriateforyouandyourcurrentproject? Beforeyoucansafelyfast-trackaproject,youmustfirstaddressafewassumpt ions... Youmusthavearealisticschedule,withalltasksandactivitiesproperlyident ified. Youmustbeawareofalltaskdependencies(knowingwhichtasksmustendbefore otherscanbegin). Youmusthaveasolidgrasponprojectrequirements,objectivesandpriorities. Youmusthaveagoodrelationshipwithyourend-usersandmanagement. Youmusthaveagoodprocessfortrackingprogressandmanagingrisksandproble ms. Onceyoucanmeetalltheseassumptions,youwillthenhavetoaddressyourneed s....whydoyouneedtofast-tracktheproject? Fast-trackingcanbeappropriateunderanumberofcircumstancesandconditions. Itisimportanttonotethatfast-trackinghasitsrisks...mostnotably;ap rojectthatisonthefasttrackcanbehardertomanagebecauseofallthesimu ltaneousactivity.Inaddition,ifandwhenproblemsoccur,thenegativeimpact canbemoreseriousconsideringtheextentofactivityunderway.So,fast-trac kingshouldbecarefullyconsidered.  Whenisfast-trackingappropriate? Theprojecthastobecompletedwithintheshortesttimepossibletomeetrequir edbusinessneedsandobjectives. Theprojecthastobecompletedsoonerthanexpectedduetochangingcircumstanc es. Theprojectisbehindscheduleandtheremainingtaskshavetobestreamlinedto makeupforlosttime. Theprojectisintrouble,andfast-trackingisneededtominimizefurtherlosse sanddamage. Whenfacedwiththeneedtofast-trackaproject,thefirstthoughtmaybetoad dresources,orevenmorelikely,toputinmoreworkhours.Buttheseoptions arenotalwaysproductiveorviable. Theapplicationofadditionalstaffresources,whichmaynotevenbeapossibili ty,isoftennotasolution.Undersomeprojectcircumstances,nomatterhowma nyresourcesyouadd,certaintaskscanonlybecompletedbyafinitenumberof resources.Additionalresourcesmayonlycauseconfusion,andinfact,mayimpe de,ratherthatpromoteprogress. Overtimeisalsoatrickyproposition.Whileadditionalworkhoursmayshorten anotherwiselaggingschedule,excessiveovertimemaybackfireifstaffburn-out setsin.

 

Consideringtheseissues,fast-trackingmaybebestusedasastrategicweapon, whereyoufirstlooktotheprojectscheduleandthentheprojectitselftoensu rethatallefficienciesarebeingmet. TheFast-TrackProcess StepOne:UnderstandyourGoals&Capabilities Whydoyouneedtofast-track? Areyoulookingforprojectefficienciesortosolveproblems? Doyouhavetheskillsandresourcesneededtoproperlymanagethisprojectonce itisonthefast-track.  StepTwo:ExaminetheProjectSchedule Identifyharddependencies(thosetaskswhichhavea"finish-start"relationsh ipthatcannotbechanged). Identifysoftdependencies(thosetaskswhichcanpossiblybemodifiedtoremove dependencies) Identifyconcurrenttasks(taskshavingnodependenciesandcanoccursimultaneo usly).Thisisthekeytofasttracking.  StepThree:Re-worktheProjectTimeline Havingidentifiedconcurrenttasks,createaschedulethatallowsthesetasksto becompletedintheshortesttimepossible. Breakdownsoftdependenciesintotasksub-sets,removingdependenciestoshorte ntheprojecttimeline. Focusontheremainingharddependencies,assigningrotatingstaff,workingins hifts,toallowmoretimetobespentoneachtask,thusshorteningtheoverall timeline. StepFour:ExamineAlternatives Canadditionalresourcesbeadded,andtowhichprojecttaskscanthoseresource sbestbeapplied? Canadditionalworkhours(overtime)beauthorized,andhowshouldthoseadditio nalhoursbeapplied? Canthescopeoftheprojectbechangedtoshortentheprojectschedule? Candeliverablesfunctionalitybereducedtoshortentheprojectschedule? Cantheprojectbeoutsourcedinordertoshortentheprojectschedule?  StepFive:WeighAlternatives Asyouexamineandconsiderthesefast-trackalternatives,youneedtoweigheac halternativeagainst.... Time:Howmuchtimedoyouneedtosave? Gain:Whatbenefitswillberealizedfromfast-tracking? Costs:Whatcostswillbeincurredfromfast-tracking? Impact:Whatwilltheimpactbeonstaff,andonotherprojectsalreadyunderwa y?   Step6:SeekConsensus

 

Beforeyoufast-trackaproject,youshouldensurethatyouranalysisiscomplet e,andthatyouhavethebuy-inofthosewhowouldbeimpactedbythefast-track decision,includingstaffandend-users.Youmayneedtofast-trackwithoutto talagreement,butcooperationwillbegreatlyenhancedifallpointsofviewar econsidered.  Step7:MonitorProgressandTrackProblems Onceinfast-trackmode,effectiveissuestrackingandproblemmanagementbecome sessential.Bydefinition,afast-trackprojectwillbeproceedingatanaggre ssivepace,andtherewillbesignificantactivitygoingonatonce.Theluxury offinishingonetaskandthenmovingonthenextwillbegone,sotheability totrackmultipletasksandmanageissuesandproblemswillbecriticaltosucce ss. ConcludedNote: Inalllikelihood,everyprojectcustomerwantstheirprojectcompletedasquick lyaspossible.Inandofitself,thisisnotareasontofast-track.Dependin guponthetypeofproject,theexperienceoftheprojectteamandtheresultsd esired,fast-trackingmaynotbeanoption.Sometimesaprojectmustproceedal ongatimelinethatcannotbeshortened,despitethebestintentions.However, whenusedwithdiscretionandefficiency,fast-trackingcanbeaproductivemean sforrespondingtochangingbusinessneedsandprojectcircumstances. GAUTAMKOPPALA POMEAuthor