Making It Happen: A Non-Technical Guide to Project Management

16.2. Grasping the Logic

Martha continued on. "When you are figuring out how to execute an assignment, you're not creating something new. You are simply revealing the underlying structure of the best way for things to go together. Let me give you an example, Will. The human race did not invent the elements on the periodic table. They were always around, waiting to be discovered." She turned and pointed her pipe stem at me. "It is the same with projects. Your job during the execution planning stage is to reveal the logic of the best approach. And that logic is what determines how long your project will take. A must be done before B, and B before C and D. If you want to do things otherwise and compromise the logic, your chances of achieving your desired outcome decrease dramatically."

"Can you give me an actual example of when the logic was ignored?"

She glared at me a little and puffed her pipe. "You can give me one from your detailed design process."

As soon as she said it, I knew she was right. Sheila had scheduled the work of laying out the new manufacturing and warehousing space independently of the design of the new inventory control system. It happened that both were supposed to be done in the eighth week. What Sheila forgot was that the inventory control system was going to identify specific inventory locations throughout the plant. So we were missing information about where and how big the various storage and holding spaces would be throughout the plant, and that delayed ...