Diving for Hidden Treasures

Does your organization use estimation to value and rank projects in the project portfolio? Except for the shortest projects, estimation is often wrong. With incorrect estimates, the projects don't return the value you expected when you wanted. How can you finish projects in time to realize their potential value?

Instead of estimation, consider using the cost of delay to evaluate and rank projects. Cost of Delay accounts for the many ways projects get stuck. You've probably seen some typical Costs of Delay:

• Multitasking

• Other projects missing their expected release dates

• Work queuing behind experts

• Excessive attention to code cleanliness

• Management indecision

Once you know about the Cost of Delay, you can decide what to do about it. You can stop multitasking. You can eliminate the need for experts. You can reduce the number of projects and features in progress. You can use the cost of delay to rank projects and work in your organization. Learn to use the Cost of Delay to make better decisions for your project, program, or project portfolio.