Chapter Dinner Meeting

Why Your Project Will Be Late (and What You Can Do About It)

By Payson Hall

We all know the basics of scheduling:

1)    Build a to-do list

2)    Determine the sequence of tasks

3)    Estimate tasks

4)    Commit arithmetic & calculate completion date

We also know from experience that this doesn’t work as well as we think it should.  

Most projects are hard pressed to meet their schedule goals, why?

It turns out that math has something to do with it.  In this surprising (but not shocking) presentation, Payson Hall will reveal the mathematical truth behind what our intuition tells us about traditional schedules and offer insights to improve estimates and schedules going forward.

Participants in this presentation will learn:

·      Why traditional schedules tend to be late

·      Why 3-point estimates can be less stressful than single-point estimates

·      How Monte Carlo simulations provide useful schedule insights

Payson Hall is a Past-President of PMI-SVC, a former U.S. Army Ranger, and consulting project manager who founded the Catalysis Group, Inc. consultancy in 1993.  Formally trained as a software engineer, Payson’s early career included software development and hardware/software system integration.  As his career progressed, his role shifted to include increasing project management responsibilities.  

Today, he coaches project managers, teaches project management skills, consults and performs project reviews in a variety of fields, including transportation, communication, software development, hardware development, education, financial services, social services, and healthcare.

Payson has consulted on a variety of projects in both the public and private sectors throughout North America and Europe during his 40-year professional career.  He has published over 100 project management articles, developed numerous project management and problem-solving classes, written a book on project sponsorship, and is sought after as a conference speaker who specializes in demystifying project management topics and communicating important ideas while entertaining audiences.

Location: Rancho Cordova City Hall

Date: February 23

Time: 6:00 - 9:00

Price

Members: $20 / Non-Members: $25