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4.0 Cisco IPT

or uncooperative blockheads. It is a real challenge to make sure the project team gets
smart really quick and stays ambitious in spite of inadequate experience and training,
family problems, or conflicting priorities.

Rule 3: Thou Shalt Develop a Comprehensive, Viable Plan and Keep It Up-to-Date

A complete, appropriately detailed project plan is central to successful completion of
any project. The plan helps to guide the project. It is the document that communicates
the overall intentions, tasks, resource requirements, and schedule for the project.
Without a plan, it is almost impossible to lead a group to achieve a common goal.

Of course, creating a plan isn’t enough. Because you can’t see into the future any better
than a fortune teller with a broken crystal ball, the plan you develop and get approved
will probably change many times from project initiation to project closing. As you gain
more information about the realities of the project and as the stakeholders change their
minds about what they need done, your plan will have to be re-evaluated. Changes in
the plan must be communicated to everyone as they are made.

Rule 4: Thou Shalt Determine How Much Stuff You Really Need to Get Things
Done

No matter what your boss says, you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip. Without
adequate people, capital, and equipment to complete a project, there is no way you can
make it happen. You must get sufficient resources allocated to the project, or you must
renegotiate what is going to be done so that fewer resources are required (refer to Rule
1).

Rule 5: Thou Shalt Have a Realistic Schedule

Without a realistic schedule, you will never succeed - and you will run out of time before
you get to try again. You can get more people and buy more supplies, but you can’t
produce more time no matter what you do. There is no faster way to lose credibility as a
project manager than to change the schedule without a really good reason. Then again,
if Rules 1 and 8 are followed, you can get more time for yourself by getting a new
schedule approved.

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