Properly setting expectations with customers is key to success. So, it is important in understanding the difference between Effort versus Duration.
Effort is the amount of hours it will take to complete the work.
Duration is the length of time from start to finish based on resource availability.
In some instances, Effort & Duration are the same. When I play golf on Saturday and finish 4 hours later -- effort and duration are the same. This is because I'm fully focused 100% without interruption.
However, in most cases, effort and duration are different. For example, when my wife asks me to fix something around the house, it might take only 10 hours but will take a few weekends due to my golf schedule. So, my effort is 10 hours and duration is 15 days. In this case, I'm not 100% focused on the project due to other schedule conflicts that take away time to work on this project.
This is very common in professional services. To calculate duration, divide total estimated effort by available resource hours per week (or per day or per month -- whichever works best for your situation). Then the resource start date plus duration determines delivery date. Ultimately, the customer is asking for a reliable delivery date, so clearly communicate these values when sharing your commitment date.
So when setting customer expectations, first to estimate the effort, then estimate how much work your resources can apply per week, then when the work can start. These values determine your estimated finish date to report to your customer.
That's my 8020 Framework. What's yours?
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