ProjectManager.com
MARCH 15, 2023
After all, it takes a lot of different craftsmen, engineers and more to assemble a building, bridge or any safe and integral structure. Every process is important to construction project management, especially construction engineering. What Is Construction Engineering?
ProjectManager.com
SEPTEMBER 9, 2022
Every project, regardless of the industry, uses a methodology to estimate time and cost to better plan projects. In the life sciences, engineering and construction industries, the method often used is called parametric estimating. What Is Parametric Estimating?
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ProjectManager.com
AUGUST 11, 2022
That, in a nutshell, is value engineering. As you can imagine, value engineering is a popular business pursuit. But what is value engineering, how do you implement it and is it different across industries? What Is Value Engineering? Value Engineering Steps.
ProjectManager.com
OCTOBER 19, 2022
Rough order of magnitude (ROM) can help you better estimate project costs. But what is ROM and how can you calculate ROM estimates? We’ll explain the process, define the term and detail the steps for making a rough order of magnitude estimate. But how accurate is a ROM estimate?
Rebel’s Guide to PM
MARCH 10, 2022
In this article, I’ll explain what Estimate at Completion is for project managers, how to use it (because there are 4 different ways) and give you examples. Estimate at completion (EAC) in project management tells you how much the project will cost when the work is finished.
Growing Agile
MAY 12, 2022
Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a fan of estimation. In this instance the heater wasn’t working and my concern was that there was something wrong with the coolant system that could potentially lead to the engine overheating and fusing.
Epicflow Blog
JUNE 10, 2022
The aerospace engineering sector deals with mostly large and complex projects. What are the most typical risks associated with aerospace engineering projects, and how to manage them effectively? Main Risks Affecting Aerospace Engineering Projects. Engineering risks.
ProjectManager.com
MAY 3, 2022
Construction estimating is one of the most important parts of landing a construction project. That’s why you need construction estimating software to make your forecast as accurate as possible. Making the decision to get construction estimating software is the easy part.
Rebel’s Guide to PM
JUNE 17, 2021
What is parametric estimation? Parametric estimating is a top-down form of project estimation that works for time, resource and cost estimates. Estimating approach that uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables to calculate an estimate.
LiquidPlanner
JANUARY 4, 2023
I my first 15 years, I used single-point estimation to build project schedules. The next ten years I used ranged estimations with traditional Gantt chart project scheduling software tools – this was better but cumbersome. What Can Ranged Estimation Address? .
LiquidPlanner
JANUARY 12, 2023
The traditional method for estimating project work using single-point (or fixed) estimates has a few drawbacks: It’s hard to provide a single accurate estimate, especially for something new. Wondering how to manage uncertainty using ranged estimation?
Online PM Courses
JUNE 3, 2018
There are two reasons why Project Estimation is a big deal for project managers. And second, poor estimates are often a primary reason for a project cost or schedule over-run. So, in this article, we’ll take a careful look at project estimation, to help you learn how to master the art and craft of doing it well. What is Project Estimation? Why is Project Estimation so hard? The Estimation Knife Edge. Methods and Tools for Project Estimation.
Herding Cats
APRIL 2, 2017
For non-trivial problems in any domain, Systems Engineering provides a starting framework for identifying problems, assessing possible solutions, implementing those solutions, measuring the performance of the efforts to deliver the solutions and the effectiveness of those solutions. Here's the collective wisdom of Systems Engineering from Mitre. This text speaks to managing in the presence of uncertainty and the processes needed to make decisions including estimating.
Herding Cats
NOVEMBER 27, 2016
Estimates. An Estimate is a value inferred for a population of values based on data collected from a sample of data from that population. The estimate can also be produced parametrically or through a simulation (Monte Carlo is common, but Method of Moments is another we use). . Estimates can be about the past, present, or future. We can estimate the number of clams in the Pleistocene era that are in the shale formations near our house. Estimate to Complete.
MPUG
JULY 8, 2019
That is why duration estimation is one of the most important aspects of project management. In most real life scenarios, clients and mangers are reasonable, giving us some freedom to determine duration estimates for doing our tasks, but this can create other problems. The Estimation Problem. You might hear from the client that the estimates look high. You might explain why you believe the estimates are reasonable based on underlying assumptions. Exact Estimates.
Herding Cats
MAY 7, 2019
This blog page is dedicated to the resources used to estimate software-intensive systems using traditional and agile development methods. The reason for this resource page is the lack of understanding of how to estimate, the urban myths about software estimating, and the fallacies that estimating is not needed, when developing software, in the presence of uncertainty, when spending other peoples money. Estimating Probable System Cost,” Stephen A.
Herding Cats
NOVEMBER 3, 2016
I work in a domain where engineered systems are developed for complex software-intensive system of systems. These systems are engineered with a variety of development methods. Since all risk comes from uncertainty - reducible (Epistemic) and irreducible (Aleatory), estimating is a foundation of all we do. There is no discussion of the conjecture that estimates are a waste, estimates can't be done, estimates are evil, estimates must be stopped immediately.
Herding Cats
NOVEMBER 7, 2016
Estimating is a learned skill, used for any purpose from every-day life to management of projects. When I left for the airport this morning to catch my flight to a customer site I estimated, given the conditions, how much time I need to get to my favorite parking spot at DIA. The same process for estimating is applied to multi-billion dollar projects we work. Here's some materials that provide the tools and processes needed to learn how to estimate.
LiquidPlanner
AUGUST 15, 2017
Here’s a lesson I’m thankful I learned early in my career: successful engineering projects rely more on non-technical skills than technical skills. One can’t design a building without knowledgeable, skilled structural, MEP, and fire engineers. An airplane isn’t safe unless there are skilled aeronautical engineers involved. You can’t rely on the quality of electricity unless there are smart electrical engineers involved.
nTask
OCTOBER 5, 2021
So, when it comes to engineering projects, project management is an incredible way to manage all of the different tasks and processes included in the development process. What is the Different between Engineering management and Engineering project management?
Wrike
JULY 29, 2020
Knowing how to estimate project duration can help teams become more efficient and improve on-time and on-budget delivery. . When it comes to project management time estimation, there are a couple of likely scenarios. Why is it important to estimate project duration?
Herding Cats
JULY 17, 2017
I work in a domain where estimates are made every single week. Estimate to Complete (ETC), Estimate at Completion (EAC), Estimated Completion Date (ECD) are the life blood of our software intensive system of systems programs. Since all projects operate in the presence of uncertainty, with the resulting risk - estimates are needed to make decisions that impact the future. This, of course, is nonsense, since estimates are about the past, present, and future.
Herding Cats
OCTOBER 5, 2018
I work in a domain where engineered systems are developed for complex software-intensive system of systems. These systems are engineered with a variety of development methods. There is a discussion of the conjecture that estimates are a waste, estimates can't be done, estimates are evil, estimates must be stopped immediately. In our domain of engineered systems, there is a broad range of problems, complex issues, approaches to solving problems.
Herding Cats
MAY 11, 2017
I started my career as a Software Engineer , writing Fortran 77 signal processing algorithms to find and track missile launchers in the middle eastern desert. Signal processing is a domain of software development well suited to the paradigm of engineered systems. This early work took me into other fields of engineered systems. So when would a software system NOT be Engineered to fit the Needs of the Customer? This is called engineering the solution.
Herding Cats
JULY 14, 2017
Tools and resources for cost and schedule estimating, when you here estimates are hard, we're bad at estimating, estimates are a waste, estimates are misused All those statements are fallacies. iceaaonline.com International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association. link] Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering. link] American Society of Professional Estimators. link] NASA Cost Estimating Handbook. NoEstimates Estimating
Herding Cats
JANUARY 9, 2017
Peter Drucker (1975) Management (From The Principles of Software Engineering , Chapter 6, Tom Glib, 1988). In order to make risk-informed decisions, we must estimate the outcomes and the impacts of those outcomes on future activities (cost, schedule, and technical performance of products and services). Without these estimates, there is no risk management. Without these estimates, there can be no risk management. Risk is everywhere on projects.
Herding Cats
DECEMBER 16, 2017
The estimating of software development is both straightforward and complex. When it is suggested that estimating is hard, of no value, and unnecessary, always ask what principle is used to support that claim? Here are some resources that will provide guidance to produce credible software development estimates, in both traditional and agile domains. Software Sizing and Estimating: Mk II FPA , Charles Symons, John Wiley & Sons, 1991.
LiquidPlanner
JUNE 6, 2016
Here’s what makes LiquidPlanner different from other project management tools on our market: our scheduling engine. We replaced hard (and often unreachable) deadlines with ranged estimates based on real-world best/worst case scenarios. And each time a change is made—from re-prioritizing work, an updated estimate or shifting resources—the schedule is always recalculating itself then updating predictive finish date ranges, and all in real time.
Herding Cats
SEPTEMBER 11, 2018
When we encounter engineering problems that are beyond the de minimis category, they usually involve some form of mathematics. Fundamentals of Probability and Statistics for Engineers. Probability & Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences. These books and other contain fundamental definitions, rules, and theorems that provide a foundation that renders probability an important tool for evaluating scientific and engineering systems.
Herding Cats
NOVEMBER 22, 2017
Paul Boos has a post about estimating and makes a case for the Principles of when NOT to estimate. This struck a cord around a bigger topic - the inversion of estimating. When should we NOT estimate? What business decision making conditions could be in place where we don't have to estimate the outcomes of our decision in the presence of uncertainty? Then on to the original conjecture for No Estimates from Paul's post. Not principles for NOT estimating.
Herding Cats
MAY 8, 2016
ways to make decisions with No Estimates. can we make a decision in the presence of Uncertainty without making an estimate of the impact or outcome of that decision? What would be the evidence that we could make decisions in the presence of uncertanty without estimating the impacts and outcomes of those decisions? . The Myths of No Estimates and the busting of them is one purpose of this blog post. Before we start, let's look with the notion of estimation.
LiquidPlanner
JULY 18, 2016
This is why making ranged estimates for your projects is more realistic and reliable than aiming for a singular deadline. We use ranged estimates all the time in daily life. The advantage of making ranged estimates. The foundation of LiquidPlanner’s dynamic methodology is estimating project tasks based on best case/worst case scenarios. Ranged vs single-point estimates. You’ve given an estimate of 10 hours for a work item.
Wrike
APRIL 7, 2021
When managing a team, it’s essential to be able to estimate how long it takes to complete a task. Chances are you’ve had an experience where your estimates turned out to be wrong; the project took longer than expected, or your product team couldn’t deliver in time.
LiquidPlanner
JUNE 28, 2016
When you replace fixed-date deterministic scheduling with probabilistic estimations, you’ve got a whole new ball game. Probabilistic estimation is one of the reasons LiquidPlanner is the most realistic project management tool in the world. Listen to LiquidPlanner CTO and co-founder Jason Carlson talk about the positive impact of using probabilistic estimation when creating schedules. What to learn more about how our cool scheduling engine works?
Herding Cats
MARCH 23, 2017
In the estimating business, like many things in project management, there is confusion about principles, practices, and processes. A good estimation approach should provide estimates that are within 25% of the actual results, 75% of the time. Software Engineering Metrics and Models. The term within 25% is the Mean Relative Error, that is the estimate is within 25% of the actual value - the real value compared to the estimated value.
Herding Cats
AUGUST 27, 2017
There's a recent post titled Four Fallacious Reasons to Estimate. It lists the usual suspects for why those spending the money think they don't have to estimate how much they plan to spend when they'll be done producing the value they've been assigned to produce for that expenditure. And like many posts and tweets about estimating, it's made from this point of view, not the business point view, not from the point of view of those paying the developer.
Herding Cats
NOVEMBER 13, 2017
Why Guessing is not Estimating and Estimating is not Guessing. During a twitter today, there was a question about what are the drivers of project success. This is the picture I provided. The question was where is the Quality as a driver. Here's the answer to that. Related articles. Architecture -Center ERP Systems in the Manufacturing Domain. IT Risk Management. Systems Theory
Herding Cats
OCTOBER 12, 2018
This view of the system of producing value in exchange for money ignores the principles of systems engineering. . Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking principles to organize this body of knowledge. The elements of Systems Engineering are shown below.
Herding Cats
MARCH 8, 2017
When we hear that the next big thing in agile is Not Estimating, let's look to see how those 12 Principles can be applied without those estimates? . How estimates help implement these principles. Without estimates what is missing. Without estimating the delivered value to the business for the estimated cost and time to delivery that value, the balance sheet will be wholly uninformed about when the breakeven date for this expenditure.
Musings on Project Management
JULY 28, 2016
estimate Quotations system engineeringDid you see this witicism at herdingcats? A skeptic will question claims, then embrace the evidence. A denier will question claims, then reject the evidence. Neil deGrase Tyson. Think of this whenever there is a conjecture that has no testable evidence of the claim. And think ever more when those making the conjectured claim refuse to provide evidence. When that is the case, it is.
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