CEO Train Wreck
By David Perkins
The project was a two year (9000 hour) research effort to develop and evaluate a prototype control system for unmanned aircraft using artificial intelligence technology. The first year of the project was to develop the prototype and the associated simulation environment. The second year was to perform experiments and refine the functionality based upon the results of the experiments and to develop the briefings and reports.
Under the direct supervision of the CEO, the project launched into design and implementation. The project team would loose days trying to get an audience with the CEO. Towards the end of the first year, the CEO became busy with company issues allowing the resident project rescuer to assume control of the project. At the conclusion of the first year 50% of the hours had been consumed to produce 25% of the needed functionality.
How do you get such a pile of derailed cars back upright on the tracks? The following three planning documents allowed the team to understand a shared vision and have a believable plan to accomplish that vision:
1. Prepare a vision briefing – A 10 slide over view briefing that identifies the key philosophical concepts and the specific activities that we are going to investigate using a day in the life scenario. This briefing is our management summary and our marketing presentation.
2. Prepare a Budget Plan – A simple task allocation plan illustrates the key concept that hours always have a basis that describes the form of the activity and the anticipated scope of the deliverable. Notice in particular the quantifiable attributes of 8 pages, 40 requirements, and 15 use cases.
|
WBS/Task |
Hours |
Description |
Basis Of Estimate |
|
2.1 |
900 |
Knowledge Adaptation |
|
|
2.1.1 |
60 |
Domain Ontology |
Develop a system deployment diagram with glossary (8 pages - informal delivery) |
|
2.1.2 |
80 |
Requirement Generation |
Write textual requirements that identify functional behavior necessary for accomplishment of the scenario. (40 requirements - not deliverable) |
|
2.1.3 |
80 |
Use case Development |
Identify Use cases found in the scenario (estimated 15) Document with Rose diagrams and textual information. |
3. Prepare a project plan – a twelve page document that describes the objectives, tasks, and major milestones. The vision provides the outline for the objectives, and the budget plan (minus the hours) provides the task descriptions. The major milestones section provides the mechanism for stakeholders to inquire about progress.
The project completed as an unprecedented success because of the dedicated hard efforts of the project team guided by a common vision and a doable plan.