13 July 2018 Newsletter

Dear Planning Planet Member,

Please find below this weeks newsletter.

We hope that you find it adds value to your day... 

PP Project Controls Gatherings...

Athens, Greece [1] - 13 Jul 2018 - 19:00

Atyrau, Kazakhstan [2] - 21 Jul 2018 - 17:00

Manchester, UK [3] - 28 Jul 2018 - 16:00

Motherwell, Scotland [4] - 4 Aug 2018 - 14:00

Portland / Vancouver Washington, USA [5] - 18 Aug 2018 - 16:00

Stavanger, Norway [6] - 23 Aug 2018 - 08:00

Derby, UK [7] - 5 Sep 2018 - 18:00                    

Despite widely-accepted project control systems utilities & ways of doing things being used to watch (for changes, unusual things, etc.) the project performance, it was seen/obvious that a large number of projects do not complete on time & within budget (For every $1 billion invested in the United States, $122 million was wasted due to missing project performance.   

It’s very important to successfully identify the good Projects control systems... Read the full blog [8].  

THE DCMA 14-POINT SCHEDULE ASSESSMENT is a project management guideline based on 14 metrics for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the project schedule.

As a handbook originally developed for the purposes of the defense industry, today it is widely used to evaluate the health of project schedules by identifying and analyzing areas that are critical and can potentially create issues that obstruct the project.

Read more [9]

While it is obviously a last resort, there are times when it’s necessary to gracefully kill a project vs. allow it to continue its terrifying one way journey towards oblivion. However, well before that becomes a possibility, project managers need to pull out the jaws of life, grab a defibrillator, and administer some CPR — because if the project management gods are on their side, they’ll be able to breathe life back into a dying project. Here are five steps that could pave the way to resurrection and recovery... Read the full blog. [11]

1. Filter which activity affects the Milestone
2. Filter which activity is on the Critical Path
3. Compare the Impacted Schedule with the Baseline
4. See the effect of one Delay Event or the combined effect of several Delay Events

In this data-rich environment, the value of old-fashioned, visual inspection is enhanced, and not diminished. Visual inspection gives us the opportunity to corroborate what the data is telling us.

It also provides us with a tactile understanding of how our projects are progressing... Read the full blog. [14]

Working smarter (not harder) could mean the difference between a so-so project and a successful one–this article will explore five tips for working smarter, not necessarily harder. The phrase, “work smarter, not harder” seems like an obvious piece of work advice. Who wouldn’t want to use their brains to deliver increased success along with more free time, it sounds so simple. But what does working smarter actually mean? Read the full blog. [15]

In the current Oil and Gas (O&G) economic climate, the multi-national Oil giants are holding back development of new facilities, and those being sanctioned as viable need to be managed effectively and efficiently. These viable projects require a ‘Best in class’ schedule increasing their chances of success.

The GAO’s Schedule Assessment Guide was developed by the US Government to address the numerous projects that were over-running in both schedule and cost, projects that were funded by public money... Read the full blog. [17]

All good expert witnesses that practice in the English and Welsh courts should know that the Civil procedure (CPR) rules apply to their work. In addition to the Civil procedure, experts should know about the case law on the duties of experts as this gives guidance on what the courts expect and the possible sanctions that may arise if they do not meet their obligation to their instructing client and the court. 

Despite these being essentials for any competent witness it is apparent that some of those holding themselves out as experts know nothing of the law, rules, regulations and good practice that they should comply with... Read the full article. [18]

How do you evaluate the accuracy of your cost forecasts?

Not long ago, a powerful EVM metric called TCPI (To Complete Performance Index) was introduced as a forecasting metrics. TCPI used primarily to determine if an independent estimate at completion (EAC) is reasonable.

Watch this video [19]to learn how you can use the TCPI metric to assess the feasibility of your cost forecasts.

San Diego, California - JANUARY 20 – 23, 2019

For 2019 the Construction CPM Conference returns to San Diego

We have booked six meeting rooms over three full days.

Two keynotes – Seventy-Seven breakouts – Five networking events – One conference

Early Early Bird Rate Ends 15JUL18.  Our Best Rates for Speakers & Exhibitors is open to all – until 16JUL18.  REGISTER NOW [20] for $825.

In relation to the ongoing issue of "the gap between actual progress and actual payment for that progress" this analysis is quite interesting. 

Figure 2 (page 14) of the link below provides a global comparison of all industries payment times across countries compared to the baseline due date for payment.

As can be seen, in Australia payments are on average overdue by 26.4 days, compared to the next worst performer, Mexico, with an average overdue period of 18.6 days. The best performing country, Japan, paid its invoices on average 6.5 days before the due date.

Read the full report here. [21]

 How do you forecast the cost at completion of your projects?  What cost forecasting methods do you use?

There are various methods to cost forecasting: Risk based methods, regression based methods, and performance based methods. Check out this video [23] to learn the “performance-based cost forecasting methods” using Earned Value Management.

Management consultants, by the nature of their business, live in a world where winning the work means survival of their firm, and improvements to their salary. Some will do whatever it takes to win the work. Others genuinely care about the service they provide. The two are not always mutually exclusive.

After analyzing over seven hundred audit reports, the answers to the two questions were clear. Work was being won by other firms because they were able to price their services very low. However, in order to do so, they were reducing scope to the bare minimum required. Read the full paper. [24]

After being on the road these last two weeks presenting at project planning conferences and talking to hundreds of project practitioners, I have come to a simple realization...we have accepted and implemented some poor planning habits in our industry that prevent us from producing accurate and achievable plans, faster.

Read the full blog. [25]

Building a filter where all the conditions are either ‘And’ or ‘Or’ between each row is pretty straight forward. However, if you want to mix them up a little it’s not so obvious how you should do that in Oracle Primavera P6 Professional. This article will show you how.

Read the full article. [26]