Time needed for a project
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von dp am 18.April 97 um 22:03:08:
zu: Perlen aus dem Strom der Nachrichten im direct_L von Daniel am 22.Dezember 96 um 02:00:59:
Subject: Request Justification for killing my boss (HUGE rant)
To: Multiple recipients of list DIRECT-L
Before I tear my bosses head off, I would seriously like to make sure of
the facts. I was given a multimedia "corporate presentation" style
project to do. It consisted of about 25 screens. The company was shown
the Auburn University CD, a project which took about a year to complete,
as an example of what we could do (I was only in on the tail end of the
AUCD, but have easily surpassed that ability level). Here is the
material I was given to work with:
1) original powerpoint presentations done by an accountant most likely
2)approx. 20 images (about half of what we needed from them) on disk
Here is what I was asked to do:
1) find/scan/create/cajole from the company the rest of the required
images
2) create a "great" interface
3) generate all other graphics needed for the project (must be
excellent)
4) create a lot of movement/ interactivity
5) maintain ability to navigate by buttons or by auto play
6) create exceptional, exciting piece
7) etc., etc., etc.
O.K., not a problem so far. Here is the problem. My boss told this
company we could turn the project around in 7 DAYS!!! (I consider myself
reasonably fast, but c'mon here!)
I spent MANY overtime hours (I'm salaried, so these are free hours, and
yes, I have plenty of paying freelance work I could have been doing)
including nearly all night last night, trying to get this out, but it
just isn't possible. I don't even have all of the company photos from
them. So I walk in to work this morning to a totally pissed of boss,
upset b/c he wanted it done already (I'm wasting to much time on it).
I will end up finishing this project in about a total of 8 - 9 full days
(still within the timeframe required by the company), which includes
weekend work. Additional, a had the help of my multimedia partner for 4
of the days. Now for the question,
I'm I actually to slow on this, or is my boss actually insane. I am
really going to jump down his throat on this (slave labor and hopeless
deadlines are getting popular at my company) and I would like some exact
facts before I do. How long should jobs like this take.
P.S. I have multiple large websites which I am creating and/or managing
as well as my multimedia work.
Thanks for anyone who can give me some time based facts. A
Design and Conquer
Steve
http://www.viper.net/~whitaker
Steve,
What you've described is a classic example of bad management. By that I
mean your boss has no understanding of your job, your job skills or your
work load. He also apparently has no real management skills.
Whether you're fast or slow is irrelivent. What you can do, what your work
load is and what is on your schedule is what is important. If your boss was
an actual manager he, or she, would know the values for all of these and
then make an informed decision about assigning you new work. Another
obviously overlooked management tactic would have been to discuss the
project with you before committing to it.
Dwelling on why this person is a bad manager won't fix the problem. The
problem has two parts. The first and most immediate is that you're going to
get dumped on for any difficulty with this show: delivery date, quality,
customer satisfaction. I'm also guessing that if the customer loves the
show, you'll never know. To counteract this you need to develop a
production plan.
Get information on project management. That's what you do, manage projects.
Develop timelines for each project. Set milestones, develop strategies. In
doing this you're objective is not to set traps so that you can lay blame
on someone else but to develop a team approach a production. If your client
knows that you need some source material by a certain date then they also
know that the deadline will slip if they don't deliver. If milestones slip
but the delivery date can't then you, your boss and the client know that
something else has to give. In media production that usually means
overtime. It should also mean additionall cost.
Don't confuse this with a can't do attitude. Use project management
principles to show your boss that you know what you're doing, you know what
resources it will take to get the job done and that you're willing to do
the job. If your boss isn't completely brain dead, he will see this as an
opportunity for himself. This will actually make him look better to his
boss and the client. Handing a client a project outline and a timeline goes
a long way towards gaining the client's respect and justifying that huge
invoice.
The second part of the problem is that you're building an adversarial
relationship with your boss. I have no idea how large your organization is
but unless you can move to some other place in the organization away from
this bozo you only have two choices. Get friendly or get out.
Bad managers tend to reafirm their own misconceptions. Simply put, once
they issue a command they expect it to be carried out regardless of the
means necessary. They take any sort of failure personally. The fact that
you died trying doesn't solve their problem, the job is still late! Your
boss sees you as a commodity and not a resource. He squeezes, you squirt
out multimedia. He needs more, he squeezes again. Resources on the other
hand have limitations. Over-using resources has consequences, usually bad.
When your boss hands you a rediculous project, counter with a listing of
what's already on your calendar and then ask for his help in moving
priorities around. Organize this so that one of his pet projects gets
shoved into the dumper. You may also want to show alternatives like moving
a project to an outside source. This usually blows up the budget, and he
will understand that. The objective is to make him aware of your schedule,
show yourself as a resource and enlist him as part of the solution, not the
source of the problem.
If that doesn't start to solve the problem your next project should be a
best of... CD before you walk.
As for how long this project should have been budgeted for - why not use
past experience as a guide? Build a timeline for that last comparable
project and expense it out. Build a timeline for this project and compare
time and expenses.
Rob
Dazu:
D. Plänitz