team productivity and quality - understanding the ... · team productivity and quality -...

Team Productivity and Quality -Understanding the Quintuple Constraint

Jesse Freesewww.fissure.com

for SimProject®

© Fissure Minneapolis, MN 952-882-0800 www.Fissure.com

5 Variables Presentation 9-16

www.fissure.com952-882-0800

Agenda

The Five Key Project Management Variables

The Relationship Between the Five Key Variables- What does it look like?



- What does it look like?

Using the Relationship on Projects

2

Three Key Project ManagementVariables

-The Triple Constraint



Scope

TimeCost

3

Are they Constraints or arethey Variables?



Scope

TimeCost

• What will it take to make this project happen?or What will win the contract?

• How much money and/or schedule does thecustomer or sponsor have?

• What is the competitor’s estimate? or At what

• What will it take to make this project happen?or What will win the contract?

• How much money and/or schedule does thecustomer or sponsor have?

• What is the competitor’s estimate? or At what

Top Down Constraint Estimation



• What is the competitor’s estimate? or At whatestimate will the sponsor look at other options?

• What will management tolerate?• What will the market allow?

• What is the competitor’s estimate? or At whatestimate will the sponsor look at other options?

• What will management tolerate?• What will the market allow?

5

Two More Key ProjectManagement Variables

-The Quintuple Constraint



Scope

Quality

Productivityof your team

6

If you want to improveproductivity, what area few things you mightfocus on?



What is the relationshipbetween the variables? Ifyou change one, what is theimpact on the others?



As a team identify what the relationship looks like for the following:

Effort Schedule

Team Exercise



Size Size

Schedule

Quality

Schedule

Effort

9

Size is constant Size is constant

Let’s look at onemajor driver of theserelationships.



relationships.

10

Brook’s Law



Ramp Up Time and Limited Divisibility



Frederick Brooks -The Mythical Man-Month

• IBM 360 System Development

• Lots of data

• About projects that require communication



• About projects that require communication

Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1975, 1995

13

Understanding Brook’s LawThe Relationship Between # of People and Productivity

Number of peopleon the project:

Number of 2-way communicationchannels on the project:

1

3



3

6

10

What is thetrend here?

14

Five Key Project Variables -Relationship

Quality

Cost Time Cost Time

Quality

BudgetCut



Quality& People

Scope

All five variables are balanced.

Scope

Quality& People

Scope and time areadjusted to reflect and stayin balance with the reducedcost.

15

Constraint andEstimate Analysis

Team estimate

Parametric estimate

Difference in cost and time is your “Estimation RISK”



Cost

Time

Parametric estimate

Expert estimate

Top down constraint

16

Trade-off Summary

Minimum ScheduleLengthen ScheduleShorten Schedule*

Build Up FastBuild Up Slow

MinimumLongerShorter

ShorterLonger

MaximumDownUp

UpDown

MinimumUpDown

DownUp

Schedule Effort/Cost Quality

Effect

This looksimportant

Pattern



Reduce FunctionalityAdd Functionality

Improve Productivity#Productivity Falls

* The schedule cannot be shorter than the minimum schedule. Only if westart the planning process with a schedule longer than the minimum canwe consider shortening it.

# Improving productivity generally takes place on a longer time scale thanproject duration, except large projects that run on for years.

ShorterLonger

ShorterLonger

DownUp

DownUp

UpDown

UpDown

17

Conclusion

• There are five key project variables –hopefully they are not ALL constraints

• The more people you have working together,the lower their individual productivity (andquality)



quality)

• If the five key variables are not in balance,something has to give

18

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