Joseph,
I find it intersting that you view planning as a form of negotiation.

Charlie

When you are next in Wiki look up the artists and rifles regiment

Now for me I would not even look at these guys let alone eyeball them

A glaswegian kiss may be your suprise response

By the way I have noticed that it is possible to provide a lengthy mail rather than a lot of little short ones one after the other.

The method of short mails inclines readers to believe the poster is conversing with themselves, thats almost as mad as eyeballing somebody.

In my rather extended period in Asia I have found that effective communications are best achieved when parties do not get into a pissing competition but seek harmony. There is little point winning a battle if you sacrifice your ability to win the war. A brief sourjourn into Dale Carnegie would help in this matter I feel.

Dear Sensei,

Off-topic : Bravo y OLE

ON-TOPIC: Earned value management A MUST ??

I do not want to loose your comment done in your post #14 regarding “EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT IS A MUST”.

I recalled a weak point when using this methodology. It was many years AGO while assessing engineering performance. Never used for construction performance.

Give some days to refresh some concepts and I would like to give you my opinion about the weak point of this methodology. Thinking in using EVM in my next Project.

Cheers,

Hi Guys,

Off-topic; I think Charlie’s TIMANO may be the Ptarmigan sometimes called the Arctic Grouse. This bird is white in Winter but changes colour to brown in Spring or Summer. It’s a species not confined to America, but appears throughout the Europe (including the UK which incidently does have four seasons) and parts of Asia including (I think) Japan.

On topic; one barrier to effective planning, poor communication; For example using a word which isn’t a word so that nobody has any idea what you’re talking about. Discussions get sidetracked while people try to run down just what the word is, what it means and its relevance to the plan or even the discussion itself.

Chris Oggham

The off-topic bit first:

Charles,

The US isn’t the only place in the world to have four seasons. Where I live, in the southern part of Australia, we have four seasons, but we use the term "Autumn" rather than "Fall." I believe the UK have similar seasons.

"Chameleon" (a lizard) is another term used to describe a creature with the ability to blend in with its environment - Australia has small lizards and some frogs which can change their colour to blend in with their surrounds. I think some octopi have similar capabilities.

Robert,

I’m a little biassed, as I’m studying Project Management, but I see planning as a (major) part of Project Management. Planning is certainly a complex process requiring high levels of experience to do well, and is worthy of being a field in its own right. Unfortunately, planning is often done appallingly - because too many who call themselves Project Managers do not understand its importance.

The PMI’s PMBoK defines nine "knowledge areas" of Project Management. In my (relatively inexperienced) view I see the areas of Time, Cost and Quality as being the core of the Planner’s domain, with perhaps Risk Management being covered too. The other areas (Scope, Communication, Procurement, HR and Integration) I see as the Project Manager’s responsibility. Planners may have some involvement in these areas, but the Project Manager is ultimately responsible for the project as a whole.

as I mentioned before we are discussung Project Management, Which is a compenent of Planning.

it’s a word invented by Charlie, which he alone knows...

How to overcome prejudice. One of the biggest problems facing the human race now or at any other time.

I blush at some of the stuff my parents come out with sometimes and I’m sure they do about some of the stuff their parents said in their times. The point is improvement on a generational timescale, which I do believe is happening but oh so slowly.

So, if you can’t change the world, how to change your own personal perspective? I’d suggest putting yourself into a cultural situation where you are not in control. I worked 3 years in China on a chinese government job, staffed by 80% chinese management. It was a great learning experience, even if it was impossibly frustrating at times. Still easily the most interesting time I have ever had.

Onto planning,

I think the biggest barrier to planning, that the planner is in a position to do something about, is the size colour and exact shape of the planner’s own ego. In my experience planner who takes the "I control this project" approach will be largely ignored *unless* that planner can outperform each specialist at their own specialism, which I have never seen. This is the "who ar you to tell me how to do my job" attitude

In defining methods and schedules, the buy-in by the executor is key. Without this your plan is no more than your personal idea about how to execute the project. be sure that anyone on who this plan is imposed will go out of their way to find another way to execute, just to avoid being a sheep. OK, maybe not ALL but you get my point.

In my view the trick is 2 fold.

As Oliver States, a structured approach to the formation of the plan or you’ll get lost in it. Really structured. To an anal degree. Structure can, if executed correctly, actually give you flexibility. Different approaches to this is what I get from mentors that I have had. Project style will influence this greatly.

A collaborative approach with the executors. This can be tough. Executors (contractors etc) are usually atuned to doing the work rather than pouring over the minutae of methods and a common perception is that the schedule is a set of shackels best avoided. Another arguement you will hear is "making the plan is the planner’s job" as a way to isolate you. this sends you off into an ivory tower where you produce the plan and then get told "who are you to tell me how to do my job" when you pass it down. Not easy, but worth the effort to subvert this and get full input from the executors.

/my 2p

There are several barriers to effective planning. In my mind the single biggest barrier is not having a clear goal in mind. Another Barrier is not knowing what resources are available and not knowing how to divide up work this comes from knowing your planning team members.

the only barriers to planning is the individual, you either have an aptitude for it or you dont, Which is why we all do different jobs, if well all did the same job nothing would get done, personally I have learnt everything for myself with some reading of books but mostly listening to other people and learning from experience of doing the job, i believe there is nothing like being thrown in at the deep end, you either sink or swim, (wheres the life guard im drowning!!)

regards

brad

Charlie,

You mentioned IGNORANCE in basic planning. Agree with you BUT this type of ignorance is easy to overcome after one or two years of experience with the appropriate master and reading the appropriate books. Finding the right master at the right time was very important for me as a Junior planner.

There is another type of ignorance which I define the basic knowledge to proper interact with other team members. To acquire this knowledge is a matter of more time, I should say minimum 3 years in order to understand the work process of all disciplines working in a project.
Until today, when I am planning a work that I have not seem before, It takes me time to do some research in order to properly communicate with the specialist.

As a woman who thinks different from a man, It was really difficult to understand the electrical & instrumentation work. But civil, mechanical, piping, procurement, contracting SOW was easy.

Cheers,

Carmen