Calculating Turnarounds Time Management and Estimation

Learning Goals After completing the activities in this slideshow lecture you should be able to… Identify and breakdown a sequence of events necessary to complete a task Assign time values for each task Compile all times necessary to estimate turnaround time Organize and effectively communicate your estimated turnaround time

What is a Turnaround Time? What is a Turnaround Time? A turnaround time is the time necessary to complete all tasks in a given operation. Everything you have to do in life can be broken down into segments that need to be completed in order to finish an overall task. For example, in order to get to work today I had to… Wake up, shower, get dressed, pack my lunch, feed my cat, warm up my car, drive to work, park, enter the building, etc… All of these steps were necessary for me to be where I am right now.

Creating a Timeline Creating a Timeline When do you need to or want to complete your project by? The very first question you should ask yourself is when do I need or want to be done? Working backwards from the DEADLINE will allow you to more accurately estimate the time is takes to complete a task. ??? July 16th, 2012 START DATE I MUST deliver 1 million postcards to Des Moines, IA by July 16th

Creating a Timeline Creating a Timeline Once you have a DEADLINE, you can make a chronological list of all the steps necessary to complete your job. Let’s try this together: TASK: We must print and deliver 1 million postcards by July 16th, 2012. What steps are necessary to complete this task?

Creating a Timeline STEPS NECESSARY TO PRINT AND DELIVER 1 MILLION POSTCARDS 1. Design postcards 2. Get cost estimates to print postcards 3. Approve cost estimate and return purchase order to the printer 4. Send final files to the printer 5. Prep files in prepress 6. Make and deliver proofs 7. Return approved proofs 8. Schedule press/printing time 9. Make printing plates 10. Setup the printing press 11. Print postcards 12. Trim postcards 13. Package postcards in boxes 14. Shipping of boxes Once we have made a list of all steps necessary to complete this postcard job we can start assigning times for each area and map them on a timeline.

Creating a Timeline Assigning Times Before we can accurately map the steps of our process on a timeline we must decide how long each operation will take. STEPS NECESSARY TO PRINT AND DELIVER 1 MILLION POSTCARDS 1. Design postcards (5 days) 2. Get cost estimates to print postcards (3 days) 3. Approve cost estimate and return purchase order to the printer (1 day) 4. Send final files to the printer (1/4 day) 5. Prep files in prepress (1 day) 6. Make and deliver proofs (2 days) 7. Return approved proofs (2 days) 8. Schedule press/printing time (1 day) 9. Make printing plates (1/4 day) 10. Setup the printing press (1/2 day) 11. Print postcards (3 days) 12. Trim postcards (1/2 day) 13. Package postcards in boxes (1/2 day) 14. Shipping of boxes (5 days) I have arbitrarily assigned times to these tasks for our exercise, but you should contact the person completing the task for a more accurate estimation of the time.

Creating a Timeline Mapping Out Your Timeline It is now time to map your tasks on a timeline. Start from the deadline and work your way backward Remember that if a task only takes ¼ of a day to complete you can perform multiple tasks in one day unless the adjacent step takes an entire day to complete. ??? July 16th, 2012 START DATE I MUST deliver 1 million postcards to Des Moines, IA by July 16th

Creating a Timeline Mapping Out Your Timeline ??? 6/22 – 6/26 6/27 – 7/29 6/30 7/1 – 7/2 7/3 – 7/4 7/5 7/6 7/7 – 6/9 7/10 7/11 - 7/15 July 16th, 2012 START DATE 12. & 13. Trim postcards and package in boxes 1. Design postcards 6. Make and deliver proofs 9. & 10. Make plates and setup press 14. Shipping time in transit 2. Get estimates 5. Prepress 7. Return proof 8. Scheduling 11. Print Delivery Date This timeline assumes that all workers involved in the production of this task work 7 days a week which is highly unlikely in the ‘real world’.

Establishing a Start Date Now that our timeline is complete we can deduce that the absolute last day we can start our project in order to complete it before the July 16th deadline is June 22nd. June 22nd 6/22 – 6/26 6/27 – 7/29 6/30 7/3 – 7/4 7/5 7/6 7/7 – 6/9 7/10 7/11 - 7/15 July 16th, 2012 7/1 – 7/2 START DATE 12. & 13. Trim postcards and package in boxes 1. Design postcards 6. Make and deliver proofs 9. & 10. Make plates and setup press 14. Shipping time in transit 2. Get estimates 5. Prepress 7. Return proof 8. Scheduling 11. Print Delivery Date This timeline assumes that all workers involved in the production of this task work 7 days a week which is highly unlikely in the ‘real world’.

What’s Next?

What’s Next? Complete the associated homework and quiz posted on Canvas. The homework is a terminology quiz. Your quiz grade requires a project submission. Please see Canvas for more information.