Scheduling the Work
Wisdom Borrowed from Project Management
Though the jobs for an independent might be small, you can clearly benefit from project management concepts designed for large corporations. As your own resource, how well you control your work and bring it to closure are critical
I once overheard a client (the main contractor for a project) explain over the phone to his client, "There's fast, there's good, there's cheap. Pick two; you can't have all three." I was struck by the symmetry and candor of this statement, and later I saw its direct application in the project management triangle.
"Fast" refers to the timeline of the job. "Good" refers, of course, to quality; and "Cheap" refers to resources. Of course, we all want to excel in all three areas. If you are in high demand, however, the most realistic goal you can strive for may be an acceptable level of all three.
Gantt Chart
One very useful tool to manage projects is the Gantt chart. It is a chart showing tasks down the left-hand side and the project schedule along the top, as shown in Figure nn. To create and use a Gantt chart:
- Begin by listing and restructuring all of the tasks the project includes. Make sure the list meets with your satisfaction (did I remember everything? Are the steps in the right order? Is each step discrete?) before you continue.
- Add a column to estimate how long you think each step will take. If you are using subcontractors or employees, you may want to add a column for who is doing the step.
- Using the time estimate and your own knowledge of constraints (vacations, printers' lead time, a step that must be finished before another is started, etc.), draw a bar or line as for a bar graph, for the first step. Start it at the month/week that the project will start, and continue it for as long as you think it needs to go. Consider both number of hours/days and elapsed time. Use a pencil!
- Do this for each step. If you like, you can try to build in slack. You may also find that it is easier to work backwards from the delivery date rather than forwards from an arbitrary start date.
In creating the chart you'll see where you have slack time for you to perhaps spread the steps out or get other work done; and where you'll be in a crunch so that you may need to acquire other resources.
There are many other project management tools (work breakdown structure, critical path, resource scheduling) that can give you more power over large, complex projects.
Establishing Priorities
Keep a clear sense of what projects must be given priority over others, and know why: because you are using resources that may soon not be available? because this one is bigger, more visible, closer to your desired career path, pays better? If necessary, especially when you find yourself approaching panic, take a moment and make a priority list.
Combining all your work into one big Gantt chart (see above) can be very helpful. When you do, develop realistic numbers for low, medium, and high (or at least low and high) hours to complete each task. Make sure you have that amount of time available: plan your work, then work your plan. Keep yourself honest by developing your own measure for the maximum number of projects you can handle at once.
While some anticipated busy times can dissipate temporarily for one reason or another, just the sheer management time of multiple projects does not go away. Can you keep everyone informed of status, prod lagging team members, and do the work for three projects at once? Five? Seven
In one way, the size of projects doesn't matter as much because reporting status, communicating among team members, and working out problems can take the same amount of time for a small project as for a large project. Once you've discovered your level, don't exceed it!
Client Scheduling Bottlenecks
No matter how well you plan and coordinate your projects, the client can throw in a monkey wrench that defeats all your efforts. A few common behaviors:
- The wait-and-hurry-up syndrome. This is often called the hurry up and wait syndrome, but my experience is that it occurs much more often in the other direction. You require some information from the client to do your work, have been promised that you'll get it by a certain date, and build your schedule around it. The client delays, then gives it to you all at once with the expectation that you will keep to the original delivery date. Unless you really can deliver by that date, set the client straight immediately on this point, and make a mark in your black book noting this client behavior. Next time you can perhaps have some work to do during the waiting period-if not billable work, you can catch up on marketing and accounting chores.
- Dissipated data and decision making. You may find yourself having to reconcile information from disparate sources. This is a mainstay of technical communication; what gets frustrating is when you find yourself waiting for clients to agree on related internal decisions so that you can move ahead. An emphatic status report to the right executive can get the ball rolling; or the project may stall indefinitely.