Behind Closed Doors

Gather Data About Current Work

It’s common for unsanctioned, unfunded, and unneeded work to slip into what your group is doing. Until you know all the work your group is doing and how your group adds value to the organization, you can’t make good decisions about priority, what work to do, and what work not to do.Managing for Results [Dru64]

Understand what people are actually doing. Gather information from each person in your group. Understand all the work that they do: project work, ad hoc work, periodic work, ongoing work, and management work.

• Project work has a start and an end and meets specific organizational goals.

• Ad hoc work is work that appears to come from nowhere—a crisis, an unanticipated request, or other work that wasn’t ...