Week Three discussion questions
1. Project scheduling follows one of Parkinson’s laws: “Everything takes as long as it takes.” The topic for discussion is what are the elements and functions we must consider when developing the project schedule? In your experience what tools and techniques have you seen used effectively?
As a contributor to inaccurate duration estimates is a situation known as Parkinson’s law. He further described “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. This means that if we estimated an activity will take two weeks, it’ll end up taking two weeks even if it could have been finished in one. Tools and techniques that project managers can take to overcome Parkinson’s Law. Determine priorities, give more time to top priorities, use reliable estimating techniques, take frequent measurements on performance, and maintain visibility of those measurements.

Ralph Kliem and Irwin Ludain, Tools and tips for Today’s Project Manager

2. What is your experience with sensitivity ("what if") analysis? While many organizations do not perform a formal analysis, most try at least to identify critical factors, and how the project will be affected if these change from the estimate. Share your experience with the class.

When doing a sensitivity analysis, what factors that could be variables, and which could be constants?

According to the PMBOK 4TH edition, a sensitivity analysis helps to determine which risk have the potential impact on the project. It examines the intent to which the uncertainty of each project element affects the objective being examined when all other uncertain elements are held at their baseline values. With that said, a good model to follow in the “What-ifs” takes into account the all requirements, relevant elements, resources, and constraints, and ALLOWS the consequences of different alternatives to