Predicting the Unpredictable

16. Avoid Student Syndrome

Student Syndrome occurs when the person with the task waits until the last possible moment to start. Some people spend their entire academic career waiting until the night before a project is due and then starting it, pulling an all-nighter, and getting some (hopefully adequate) grade. Student Syndrome isn’t for me, but I know lots of people who do this.

I use these techniques to avoid Student Syndrome:

• Ask each person to develop inch-pebbles so that person (and the project manager, if necessary) can track progress.
• Use Estimation Quality Factor to continuously predict the end of their current task (not just the end of the project).
• Ask “What have you completed today?” Just asking can help jiggle people into starting ...