15
votes
Scrum and interruptions (urgent bugs, requests)
Does Scrum take into account interruptions?
Scrum does not. The Scrum team does.
Scrum teams are self-organized and plan their own work. If part of that work consists of fixing urgent bugs from ...
- 15.5k
14
votes
Is a project manager responsible for completing a project on time?
All work is probabilistic. It has an extremely improbable best case result, an extremely improbable worst case result, and an extremely probable most likely result. That probabilistic distribution ...
- 37.2k
10
votes
Accepted
What are the benefits of queuing tasks as opposed to assigning them?
I will assume that the "push" approach is not only direct, but also immediate.
(Like when someone comes up to you and says "hey, Joe, can we roll this later today?").
The "...
- 267
9
votes
Accepted
Project Manager cancel or move daily stand-up without notice if he has conflicting meetings
I think the most useful advice can actually be found in the comment on your linked Question.
My manager was absolutely shocked to find out that we still had our stand up when he canceled it (a ...
- 14.8k
8
votes
If one supplier has delayed your project schedule should the other suppliers on the project be alerted to the new timeline?
I can think of only one reason why you would inform and alter the schedule of one supplier when another is late: dependency, in which case you would have integrated the schedules and everyone involved ...
- 37.2k
8
votes
Is a project manager responsible for completing a project on time?
Yes, a project manager is responsible for completing a project on time. However, "on time" is a date that will often move during the life of the project, and it is the agreed date that the ...
- 6,908
8
votes
Client doesn't agree to put milestone in project scheduling
Here's one source: https://project-management-knowledge.com/definitions/e/external-dependency/
Simply research "external dependencies in project scheduling." Your schedule will simply be ...
- 37.2k
8
votes
Must business people and developers always work together daily?
No, it doesn't mean "Compulsory daily meetings with non-technical people"
In the then prevailing Waterfall model of development, requirements were gathered, written-down and signed off in ...
- 11.1k
8
votes
Should a two-week Sprint include the weekends?
If your Sprints start on Mondays, how can you have a Sprint start on January 15, 2022? That day is a Saturday. Similarly, if your Sprints end on Fridays, how can you have a Sprint end on January 24, ...
- 19.9k
7
votes
Scrum and interruptions (urgent bugs, requests)
TL;DR
The Scrum framework certainly addresses capacity planning and scheduling, although it's not prescriptive about how the Scrum Team should manage the issues you describe. The implementation ...
- 50.7k
6
votes
Is a project manager responsible for completing a project on time?
A project manager has the overall responsibility for the project's success.
But what is project success, you may ask?
Many executives see project success as delivering software on time, on budget and ...
- 15.5k
6
votes
Scrum and interruptions (urgent bugs, requests)
Scrum does address such problems through Inspection & Adaptation.
If your team is wasting a % on repetitive work, it should come up at the end of the sprint as a source of waste. This source of ...
- 8,673
5
votes
If one supplier has delayed your project schedule should the other suppliers on the project be alerted to the new timeline?
"The many are smarter than the few" is a mantra I've taught to my agile teams for years. There is even a book, The Wisdom of the Crowd, founded on this very concept.
I would promote full ...
- 12.6k
5
votes
Is a project manager responsible for completing a project on time?
I agree with the other two answers, but I'd phrase it slightly differently.
The Project Manager's primary responsibility is to manage the expectations about the project's completion date. This can ...
- 8,738
5
votes
Client doesn't agree to put milestone in project scheduling
You're not communicating well with your client
...and possibly also using your schedule incorrectly.
You're asking about milestones as though they were a pure schedule artifact. However, every example ...
- 150
5
votes
Scrum and interruptions (urgent bugs, requests)
The first question is how frequent and impactful are these interruptions. The 2020 revision of the Scrum Guide refers to the Sprint as "the heartbeat of Scrum". If your team is highly ...
- 19.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Timeline for outsourced software development
You have no choice but to get the estimates and planning values--and risks thereof--from the vendors you are planning on using. Then you need to load those external commitments into your master ...
- 37.2k
4
votes
How to manage a developer with poor work ethics
I can share a dialog schema that I use to solve issues such as the one that you have.
The schema consists of four essential parts.
Prepare your arguments well.
Agree on the problem definition.
Work ...
- 211
4
votes
Can a story be put on hold within a Sprint?
This story is committed for the current sprint.
Teams should not commit to completion of Product Backlog Items for a Sprint. The team's Sprint Backlog is a forecast, based on the team's past ...
- 19.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Task estimation and probable risks
I'm a little bit worried about the way you phrased your question. From what I gather, you want some sort of formula or process to account for the risks, then use that formula to get the perfect ...
- 15.5k
4
votes
Is a project manager responsible for completing a project on time?
I can only speak for software projects. The team as a whole ought to be responsible for success and timely delivery. If you are dependent on a PM to get the project done on time then you surely have a ...
- 6,345
4
votes
Better ways to plan and discuss alternative development plans
Two points I want to comment on:
When I estimate timelines
Stop estimating work for other people. Unless you are the one doing the work, you're not the one who's supposed to estimate it. The ones ...
- 14.8k
4
votes
Accepted
What is the standard approach to planning work that might or might not be needed based on certain circumstances?
You know your best case estimate and your worst case estimate. To get an estimate for the most likely time it will take to complete the project, you look at each possible problem and factor in how ...
- 2,795
4
votes
What is the standard approach to planning work that might or might not be needed based on certain circumstances?
This is standard risk management.
First and most important never quote a number to management; express the estimate as an estimate with a confidence interval - it will take from 100 to 300 MD. (...
- 8,738
4
votes
Sprint Review Event
The November 2020 version of the Scrum Guide makes it very clear when the Sprint Review occurs:
The Sprint Review is the second to last event of the Sprint
This places the Sprint Review before the ...
- 19.9k
3
votes
Project management and scheduling with shifting priorities and project juggling
Traditional project tracking techniques are not going to work here. You're in a dynamic and shifting environment, which does not lend to traditional, "waterfall", style planning. Set the PMBoK to the ...
- 12.6k
3
votes
What are the benefits of queuing tasks as opposed to assigning them?
Pull approaches optimize for flow (how quickly tasks move from 'in progress' to 'done'), while push approaches optimize for 100% utilization (making sure everyone is doing something at all times).
...
- 14.8k
3
votes
Accepted
Scheduling for Calendar Time when availability is variable?
When possible, make it visible to the stakeholders why the release date is being pushed back.
If it's in order to fix their own products, then they should naturally be less frustrated. It's even ...
- 14.8k
3
votes
Scheduling for Calendar Time when availability is variable?
If you are using a tool to keep the tasks such a Jira, try to setup your project in a way that stakeholders understand the capacity and the type of activities that your team is working on.
Also, if ...
- 1,113
3
votes
Client doesn't agree to put milestone in project scheduling
Two things you haven't mentioned that will have a bearing on this: What kind of project? What is the purpose of the document you are sharing with the client?
The fact that you have mentioned advanced ...
- 6,345
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible