How to Use the Requirements Creation Process to Improve Project Estimates
Estimation can be one of the most difficult parts of a project. Important questions must be asked in order to form the right figures and plans. How long will the project take? How many resources will it consume? Consultants may also ask the following question: What is the appropriate amount to bid on this project? These questions are not easy to answer at the outset when one generally has only a vague idea of what will be required throughout the project.
The good news is that there is a fairly simple way to improve project estimation and, consequently, the bidding process. Most people do not realize that the requirements creation process can lend insight into the length and scope of a project. Let me give you an example of how this method works and then explain how you can implement it within your own company.
Project Communications - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (3 of 3)
We have all been on projects where an understanding different stakeholder groups becomes a ‘touchy-feely’ process. You have a gut feel for their tolerance for change, commitment, ability to influence and what they view as important. Most of the time we are wrong but if we had some real data for these areas, then we could establish effective communications and begin to understand what challenges faced us during our project time line.
Project Communications - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (2 of 3)
In part 1 of this blog, we talked about not all communication events were pushed out to the project stakeholders. Let’s look at some different types of communications interventions that represent the information, ideas, topics and subject matter that flow to and from the stakeholders through formal communication channels.
Project Communications: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (1 of 3)

Mediocrity: Caring Enough to Give Your 2nd Best
The PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie. This short sentence pretty much sums up the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. It describes the expectations that we have of ourselves and our fellow practitioners in the global project management community. It articulates the ideals to which we aspire as well as the behaviors that are mandatory in our professional and volunteer roles. The purpose of the Code is to instill confidence in the project management profession and to help an individual become a better practitioner.
Point 12 - Deming in Project Management
Deming claimed that the sense of having helped other people is the most significant motivator and source of job satisfaction. It is one of the biggest enablers for pride of workmanship.
Point 10 - Deming in Project Management
No Slogans or Disingenuous Pep Talks
This point consists of two elements as I see it. (1) Walk the talk, and (2) hold systems accountable.
Walk the Talk
Slogans are phony. The word slogan has a connotation of something that is not real. It sounds like an advertisement, and not something you can really trust in. In a project management organization, it is much better to have published guidelines and a vision that defines your philosophy and practice. Train your project managers and teams on the methodology. Then, let them execute within that framework, and put a system in place so that the practitioners can revise the process and make it better.
Point 9 - Deming in Project Management
Break Down Departmental Barriers in Pursuit of a Common Goal
Many processes are cross-functional. The same is true of projects. {mosimage}This point is about dissolving the “us versus them” scenario that so often exists in one form or another within organizations. In most projects that I work on, there are individuals from departments such as operations, central services and other support functions, MIS, IT, Service Engineering, etc. The “us versus them” attitude comes about when project managers and project team members look at their own interests at the exclusion of others, and instead of working towards a common goal, work towards their own separate and distinct goals.