James Baker Cameron Brown David VanAsselberg Information Systems 8825 Dr. Martha Myers December 7, 2005

Examples Definition Focus on negotiations:  Schedule and budget  Team conditions Death march as a way of life Agenda

Characteristics: Schedule has been reduced by half Staff has been reduced by half Budget has been reduced by half Scope has Increased by 50% Death March Projects

Why organizations attempt them Politics, politics, politics Naïve promises by marketing or senior mgmt Intense competition caused by globalization of markets, new technology Unexpected and/or unplanned government regulations or other crises

Types of Death March Projects

Focus: Negotiations Develop rational estimates  Accuracy for planning  Credibility for negotiating Identify possible trade-offs  Applies triage principles  80/20 rule

Focus: Negotiations Negotiating Games Double and Add Some Reverse Doubling Low Bid Spanish Inquisition

Focus: Negotiations Negotiating strategies  Avoid the instant estimate  Avoid concrete estimates – provide ranges and confidence intervals Prepare for failure  Be willing to quit  Make challenging demands  Be honest with team

Focus: Negotiations Hiring & Staffing Issues  Virtuoso team  Previous mission-impossible team  Well-informed mere mortals  Taking who you’ve got Avoid taking on dead wood! Negotiate the right to assemble the correct team

Focus: Negotiations Loyalty, Commitment & Motivation Money, benefits and comfort are hygiene issues – they matter if they’re missing. Other options:  Extended vacation  Paid sabbatical  Perks – cool technology toys, paid data access, etc Negotiate the right to offer unique incentives

Focus: Negotiations Issues with Overtime Overtime is a temporary solution Overtime presents diminishing returns on a daily, weekly and project-long basis Overtime has a natural, physical limit Negotiate the ability to control overtime sensibly

Net Productivity VS. Hours Worked

Death March as a Way of Life More and more projects can be considered a death march Some organizations are knowingly accepting lower quality in exchange for greater output Some organizations are unknowingly adopting bad practices because of previous successful death marches

Questions?