Planning Buffer

00:02 Hey, everyone, welcome back.

00:04 One final thing to note on the topic of planning a timeline.

00:08 A good project manager won't forget Murphy's Law.

00:12 Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

00:16 Of course, because we are serious people.

00:19 We must mention that this law is nonsense.

00:22 Nonetheless, the project manager knows they cannot control everything and they must structure their project in a way where unpreventable events will cause the least amount of damage.

00:33 Good project managers will have a plan B, and in this case, B stands for Buffer.

00:40 Any plan may have realistic estimations, but realistically, things don't always go to plan. This is why, when estimating a timeline, a successful project manager will add an additional time buffer that will hopefully cover unexpected events that may cause a delay.

00:57 Buffets can be added to individual tasks, group tasks, or the entire project. How big of a buffer should a project manager add, though? Good question. Unfortunately, there is no formula or rule of thumb.

01:14 The reason is that the size of the buffer is strictly dependent on the type of task or project. Would you put the same buffer on Jimmy's journey to the office as you would? The construction works for our Lamborarri showroom.

01:29 Probably not.

01:30 But don't worry, we are professionals, so we won't leave this at that.

01:34 We will now give you a few useful guidelines to help you when sizing your buffers.

01:40 First, a project manager must judge the level of uncertainty surrounding a task. Simply put, the higher the level of uncertainty, the longer the buffer they need.

01:51 For example, say you're heading a project, a new task H.R.

01:56 With estimating how long recruitment will take as you don't have the expertise in this field. However, you've never worked with this HR team before, so the level of uncertainty is quite high.

02:09 It's an unknown variable as to how good they are at recruiting showroom salespeople.

02:14 Therefore, you would add a bigger buffer to their estimate than an estimate from an HR team you have worked with and know to be accurate with their estimations.

02:25 On that note, it is worth mentioning that when a project manager relies on someone else's expertise, they must still be aware of their estimation methods and validate them.

02:36 Accountability rears its head at every stage.

02:42 Then there's the criticality of the task.

02:46 If there's a task that will damage the project, if it's delayed or is heavily linked with other tasks, then a longer buffer would be sensible.

02:55 You wouldn't be able to continue with your showroom if the walls haven't been built.

02:59 So the criticality of this task will be higher than the task of installing interactive displays, as there will be fewer tasks dependent on the displays. One of the best ways to judge criticality is with a critical path chart, which we will look at in detail a little bit later.

03:18 Now, lastly, the owner of the task is a factor.

03:22 The head of recruitment, who you have worked with for years and has a great track record, will need a shorter buffer with her tasks as opposed to the recently graduated software engineer you just hired.

03:33 It's not to say that they're bad at their job, but there is a higher degree of uncertainty. Now, except for the few factors we presented. We will give you two important questions you as a project manager will need to ask yourself during planning.

03:50 The first question is where to concentrate the buffer.

03:55 After each activity or after the last project activity before the project is due. Our recommendation is not to go to the extremes.

04:05 Avoid having big buffers after each and every activity as it often impacts the efficiency and momentum of work.

04:13 On the other hand, if you put all the buffers together and at the very end, it's very likely that the sponsor will push to decrease it, pursuing a sooner end date.

04:25 Now the other question is how to present the buffers.

04:29 It is an important factor and must be done tactfully.

04:33 Even presenting your buffers as buffers can be dangerous and your project team may see it as added time and it could lower the productivity.

04:43 A good method is to present it as a validation period or time for safety checks.

04:49 This way you can keep everyone productive while covering any delays.

04:56 Of course. Another important way of preventing delays is by sequencing your tasks in the most effective way.

05:04 Nothing can slow a project down like twiddling your thumbs, having to wait for tasks to finish before another can start.

05:12 In our next lesson, we will go through sequencing tasks and the best methods to do this effectively.

05:18 Great stuff.