make the project on the topic = Decision Control Structure
( 15 pages)
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Abstract
The ability to make informed, timely, and effective decisions is a key competency of the project manager. This paper outlines a decision making technique designed to integrate objective fact-based analysis with subjective human-centric input, in order to produce outcomes that potentially satisfy both the practical and emotional project related needs of stakeholders. The technique involves open discussion within a structured framework that enables participants to: 1) define the question, 2) perfect the question, and 3) answer the question. Findings are then quantified and reconciled with intuition based factors to arrive at a result that is both more accurate and supported by the group. Use of the approach described enables response to a wide range of questions having varied degrees of complexity, while providing an opportunity for the project manager to increase leadership skills through the practice of effective facilitation and problem solving.
Introduction
As project managers, every day each of us is required to make decisions—both large and small. In many ways, the choices we make and the actions we take as a result of our more important decisions can have a profound impact on the well beings and future prospects of ourselves, our customers, and our teams. In short, such choices can shape the very quality of the careers and even the lives of all those who rely on us. Given the potential critical nature of these decisions, it might therefore be expected that great care would normally be taken when identifying the best path forward: sufficient time would be spent researching and weighing a wide variety of alternatives—and a consistent and proven decision strategy would be applied to identify the best of all available options. Only in this way might it be possible to minimize risk and increase the likelihood of success.
Yet, whether through lack of time, knowledge, or interest, few among us resort to such rigor and due diligence when making key decisions. Instead, we may become overwhelmed with the enormity of the challenge before us and follow the path of least resistance. We may choose to focus on some data points and ignore others, or avoid soliciting the opinions of others, rationalizing that adding more information will not necessarily improve the quality of the outcome—even though we may recognize the danger inherent in making choices without benefit of facts or external input. Conversely, we may marshal all available facts and opinion to arrive at a conclusion that still leaves us with a gnawing doubt concerning whether the “human element” has been sufficiently considered. Finally, we may simply do what “feels right” in the hope that our intuition will somehow synthesize both objective fact and subjective feeling into an end result that will satisfy both intellect and emotion.
While each approach described above does try to address one or more critical needs related to the process of decision making (e.g., the need for efficiency, effectiveness, manageability, accuracy, acceptability, intuitiveness), the deficits inherent in each approach almost guarantee that the answer arrived at will be unacceptably flawed. Thus, what is needed is a framework for decision making that not only seeks to meet the critical needs outlined above, but can be applied to a wide range of questions having varied degrees of complexity. Such a framework would also incorporate relevant human experience and input. Following is a technique I use when tackling important questions. The technique is illustrated in a case study designed to demonstrate key concepts and assumptions. It involves a real world situation that any of us might face: that of deciding whether to relocate for purposes of employment. The example is personalized to enable fuller discussion of subjective issues, but the technique described might also be applied to typical workplace challenges, including:
Deciding whether to bet on a new technology with improved features but unproven track record, or remain with an established technology with fewer features but a proven track record
Evaluating a candidate for a position on the project team
Determining the correctness of a response to a cost or schedule overrun, a quality issue, or an instance of scope creep
Examining the merit of a proposed change in methodology