Refine Your Estimation Practices With Top-Down Allocations

Don’t let bad estimates ruin good work.
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Major Business Pain Points

  • As a portfolio manager, you’re expected to size projects for approval and intake before they have sufficient definition.
  • The consequences of initial sizing are felt throughout the project lifecycle.
Refine Your Estimation Practices With Top-Down Allocations-Pain Points

Recommendations

Key Points

  • Your organization lacks strong organizational memory upon which assumptions and estimates can be made.
  • Definition is at a minimum not validated, untested, and is likely incomplete. It has the potential to be dangerously misleading.

Approach

Refine Your Estimation Practices With Top-Down Allocations-Recommendations
  • Build project history and make more educated estimates – Projects usually start with a “ROM” or t-shirt size estimate, but if your estimates are consistently off, then it’s time to shift the scale.
  • Plan ahead – Projects face risks; similar projects face similar risks. Provide sponsors with estimates that account for as many risks as possible, so that if something goes wrong you have a plan to make it right.
  • Store and strengthen organizational memory – Each project is rich with lessons that can inform your next project to make it more effective and efficient, and ultimately help to avoid committing the same failures over and over again. Develop a process to catalogue project history and all of the failures and successes associated with those projects.
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Methodology and Tools

Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should improve your estimation practices, review the methodology, and understand the ways we can support you in completing this project. 

  • Refine Your Estimation Practices With Top-Down Allocations – Executive Brief
  • Refine Your Estimation Practices With Top-Down Allocations – Phases 1-3

1. Build organizational memory to inform early estimates

Analyze your project history to identify and fill gaps in your estimation practices.

  • Refine Your Estimation Practices With Top-Down Allocations – Phase 1: Build Organizational Memory to Inform Early Estimations
  • PMO Organizational Memory Tool
  • T-Shirt Sizing Health Check Lite
  • Project Estimation Playbook

2. Develop and refine a reliable estimate with top-down allocations

Allocate time across project phases to validate and refine estimates and estimate assumptions.

  • Refine Your Estimation Practices With Top-Down Allocations – Phase 2: Develop and Refine a Reliable Estimate With Top-Down Allocations
  • Planning-Level Estimate Calculator

3. Implement a new estimation process

Implement a lessons learned process to provide transparency to your sponsors and confidence to your teams.

  • Refine Your Estimation Practices With Top-Down Allocations – Phase 3: Implement a New Estimation Process
  • Project Lessons Learned Template

    All resources on this page are provided to Cyber Leadership Hub members under license from third parties including Info-Tech Research Group Inc, a global leader in providing IT research and advice.