Theory of constraints:
Step 1: Identify the system constraint : Identify the critical chain.
Step 2: Decide how to exploit the system constraints : By agressive scheduling and adding project buffer at the end of the project.
Step 3: Subordinate everything else to the above decision: Add feeding buffer to protect critical chain.
Step 4: Elevate the constraint: Buffer management and relay race approach.
Step 5: If constraint is broken, then go back to step1 ,Don’t let the inertia become the constraint.
Performance measurement criteria for project:
On- time completion.
Project budget.
Project Specifications (scope)
Some phenomenos that leads to wastage of time, resource capabilities and may lead to project failure:
1. Murphy’s Law: "Anything that can go wrong will." OR "Problems multiply as the deadline approaches."
2. Parkinson’s Law: Work expands to fill the available time. Even if task is completed before time, gained time is generally utilized in polishing the task.
3. Student Syndrome: People starts to work in full fledge only when deadline is near. This leads to wasting any buffers built into individual task duration estimates
4. Bad Multi Tasking: Bad multitasking can delay of successor task. Multitasking also leads to context switching which in turn requires set up and set down time. This reduces the effective productive time.
5. De-synchronization Losses: Delays accumulate- Gains do not!
All these along with other factors leads to project failure.
These are some of the universal truth's in context of project management. We will see how to develop solution to overcome these problems in next article.
