#SDCC – The project – Plan phase deliverables -Schedule

The 5 phases – Initiate Plan, Execute, Monitor and Control, Close Down

Preparation is only worth what you put into it and what you get out of it. Don’t over plan.

There really are 4, count them 4, deliverables from the Plan portion of the Project:

Scope, Time Estimate, Budget Estimate, and the Project plan.

You may have done this already but your Plan should have due dates next to the tasks. Some dates are ‘hard’ dates.  You can’t miss them.  Like SDCC is 7/12 to 7/15.  That’s a hard date. You can’t show up on 7/16.  Some dates are soft dates. You have some flexibility.  Get the entire airline tickets paid for by 4/1.   If you pay by 4/2 your trip isn’t ruined.

Since you know the convention dates, you can work backwards. This works for something like SDCC with a hard date.

If you’re like me, you Project Plan was already chronological. So you start from SDCC and move upward.

Task 11.1 Attend SDCC 7/12

Task10.1 Check into Hotel 7/11 6:30PM

Task 9.5 Arrive to SD 7/11 5PM

Task 9.4 Depart from local airport 7/11 11AM

Task 9.3 Arrive at local Airport 7/11 9AM

Task9.2 meeting with group to carpool to Airport 7/11 8:15AM

Task9.1 get up and shower and eat morning of travel 7/11 7AM

Because you knew the duration/time of these activities you can figure out when you need to get up in the morning and when to meet and when to get to the airport.

As I mentioned before – if you are creating your cosplay outfits – you have an estimate of the effort needed to complete the task. You already know when you need to have it completed by. Then you know when you need to start.

Not everything you can answer at this time.  The SDCC schedule part of your Project Plan can’t be filled in yet. You have 5 days of blanks for SDCC.  Not a problem.  Since the tasks of the project are iterative, you were going to revisit your estimates anyway.  When SDCC announces their schedule (about 2 weeks before it starts) you can add a task to review your Plan and add the tasks/panels/parties for those 5 days.

Easy peasy.

AH

Tommy Mac - From a friend

This is from a friend. We knew each other in college and we have been fortunate enough to still be in contact with each other.  While he doesn’t collect autographs frequently he does have a few.  When he told me this anecdote, I just had to ask if he’d mind sharing...

 Madison is not blessed with an abundance of dedicated woodworking supply stores but we have a few.  My favorite, the one that happened to be located close to my place of work, found it necessary to relocate and this was their grand re-opening weekend.  Normally, I’d have skipped the potential for big crowds but I got a mailing that Thomas MacDonald, a.k.a. Tommy Mac, was going to be there to meet and greet fans of his PBS television show, “Rough Cut”.  He builds nice stuff and even when I am not interested in what he is building, I often glean useful tips on how he’s building it.  So with a little urging from my wife, we headed over to the store.

Tommy was “holding court” in the middle of the store, sitting on a work bench and chatting with a circle of 15-20 people on whatever topic came to mind.  I listened to the conversation as I browsed the facility, stopping now and then to listen more closely or watch some demonstration.  Tommy’s from Boston (or should I say “Bah-stin”) and was clearly at ease with fans and the crowd.  He talked about what it’s like to do woodworking with a camera crew in your face (“I spent the first year convinced that they were filming the inside of my nostrils”), how they plan out shows, his education in woodworking, etc.

#SDCC – The project – Plan phase deliverables

The 5 phases – Initiate Plan, Execute, Monitor and Control, Close Down

Preparation is only worth what you put into it and what you get out of it. Don’t over plan.

There really are 4, count them 4, deliverables from the Plan portion of the Project:

Scope, Time Estimate, Budget Estimate, and the Project plan.

Scope is the most notorious of them. We all think we know what we are doing and think we know the scope. Then before we know it, we are doing things we hadn’t thought about.

You created your Charter; in there you said you were going to collect autographs. Every autograph? Collect the ones from the dealers on the floor?  Will be you buying autographs or only getting the free ones?  Will you try to collect the autographs at the hotels or just in the convention center?  Will you get photos or collectables signed? Will it be actors or just artists? What about the authors and directors?

As you answer these questions you define your scope. Ideally your scope statement is the law. If it’s out of scope you won’t be doing it. In reality, we all have scope creep but it’s better to define and decide the scope away from the action. You’ll have less drama as exceptions arise.

As you change your scope, you change your Estimates, both budget and time, which end up changing you plan. You want to avoid that if possible.

As you define you scope you will be defining some of your project plan tasks and getting an idea of the cost and time required. This is a good and natural, just don’t get side tracked into one of those activities more than you need.

Your scope is done. Now what does it take to make it happen?

SDCC really is just a few steps: Get tickets, go, and enjoy.  That is a ‘plan’ it will work. You will have panic attacks and more stress than you need and a few unfriendly arguments with your friends.  Been there and done it.

To avoid the heartburn, break those steps down to smaller parts.  Those tasks and subtasks become the plan. Nothing should be added that isn’t in scope.

 As you start defining the tasks, you can define the cost and the time needed to accomplish the task.

If you are getting down to the details of how any slices of cheese to buy so you won’t have leftovers, you have gone too far. Step away from the desk and watch some TV.

Doesn’t ‘Get tickets’ really mean: Attendee badges, airfare, hotel rooms?

Doesn’t ‘go’ mean to and from the show, what to do when there, where to eat, and when to get some sleep?

Doesn’t ‘Have Fun’ mean have fun?  How do you do that?  Which panels, which parties, what vendors do you want to see?

You can use fancy software, MS Project is pretty good. So is Excel, and so is paper and pencil.

I use Excel as its better than erasing and crossing out stuff. And my typing, even with typos, is easier to read than my handwriting.