PMcrunch

Parkinson’s Law – the concept that work expands to meet the time available – is a common human behavioral reality. To deal with it, we can always tighten up the timeframe or define the work and deliverables more explicitly, but it is not always so straightforward to deal with.

Tightening Up the Timeframe

If we decrease the time for a task, we run the risk of decreasing the quality (remember the Triple Constraint!). We really need to get agreement on what quality means for the deliverable, and ensure that we will get it by agreeing on the quality and reduced timeframe with the person executing.

Another way to deal with this is to observe behavior on the team based on certain deliverables. By being observant, you can recognize lax behavior, demonstrating that there is lots of float in the task duration. By listening to conversations, you can judge whether the conversation is highly focused on delivering, or if it is drifting into areas a little more off target, indicating that perhaps some “gold plating” is in the works.

It is also critical to be cognizant of various personality types involved with tasks. Some people simply work very well with deadlines and, as a Project Manager, it is usually fairly easy to create deadlines. However, many people – often creative researchers, developers, and “craftsman” types – are not great with deadlines. A good way to handle this on the team is to assign such people tasks which are not on the critical path, if possible. Or, if that is not possible, pair them up with someone who is a bit more deadline oriented and can create a pace for the task, and perhaps add some value by documenting, timekeeping, or other administrative activities.

Defining the Work and Deliverables More Carefully

Clarity in deliverable definition is important, but it is equally important to allow those executing on the task the latitude for some personal expression. This is a judgment call.

Back to the often creative researchers, developers, and “craftsman” types mentioned above, these are usually creative, intelligent, and free-thinking individuals that can produce outstanding things if left to their own devices. The key is to define the borders of their space very well, and in a way oriented to both the individual and the task output desired.

One of the keys to defining tasks well is to consider the strengths of team members in doing so. Efficiency is not always achieved by specialization of tasks, but rather by grouping tasks in such a way that the work package brings out the best in the individual.

Parkinson’s Law Requires Vigilance

Since the challenge is a combination of people awareness and task familiarity, handling the challenge requires hands-on involvement in both planning and monitoring. It requires a good combination of people skills and technical savvy.

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John Reiling, PMP

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