Rule of Thirds
Reading other posts around the blogosphere and talking to fellow project managers, there seems to be a common, well-known theme. This theme is that IT projects “always” take longer than expected. While there are many causes for this problem, there are also many ways to prevent this. In future posts, we will tackle some of the more in-depth methods.
In this post, we are going to talk about one way to prepare a more accurate high-level project schedule. This method is called the “Rule of Thirds”. Basically, the Rule of Thirds states that for a given development effort, you can evenly divide the time needed to finish the work into three phases. These phases are:
- Analysis and Design
- Development
- Testing
Developers often lament that they were not provided with adequate design documentation which results with them having to guess what is needed. By following the Rule of Thirds, you will ensure that you designate enough time for the analysis and design phase of a project. This will give you the opportunity to conduct a thorough analysis. Some stakeholders may push back saying that the requirements are already known, but spending the appropriate amount of time in this phase will make the development phase easier as well as help to ensure that your project delivers a product your stakeholder will actually benefit from.
Also, those of you who work on projects can attest that testing often seems to be rushed so that delivery dates are met. This often results from not designating enough time for this necessary and worthwhile activity. By following the Rule of Thirds, you will make sure that you designate enough time to test the software and to ensure that the product will satisfy client requirements.
So, for your next project try to start the scheduling process by adhering to the Rule of Thirds. While this rule alone cannot prevent schedule overruns, it can help you to set realistic expectations in terms of schedule and provide you a good starting point for constructing your WBS.