:AACE CERTIFICATION 2009-2010:

Hi All,
Here we are in Week#7, need more extra effort; think hard to bring back our commitment to our client from hell.
In this opportunity I want to share comment on the team situation and my suggestion personal opinion/or suggestion on how to bring us back on track. I interest in to write on this since reading feedback from client today commenting on our SPI trending become far away.
Before I start, I need to note here that I am not trying to teach anybody, this is just my exercise on “how to bring this situation back on track”.

Looking Transformer gauges (cited from week-6, transformer report, sent by Asril, Saturday Nov 14, 09)
SPI = 0.58 (behind schedule)
CPI = 1.33 (under budget)
TCPI = 1.28 (need more 28% productivity).

Having read on above “control gauges”, especially the CPI’s color which is turn in to “green”. For our situation the “green” on CPI doesn’t mean good condition (since green always sign for “still OK”).
Contrary with the SPI 0.58 shown we are in the hard situation. We are not delivering the progress what we suppose to deliver as per time frame, why?? The answer is in the CPI = 1.33. We are "under budget” is not because we performing well or make absolutely efficient method to complete the work, but simply because we are not expensing the man-hours which we have budgeted/commited for. In the other word we're not enough performing the work. It is also supporting by TCPI, says “we need more 28% effort” to achieve expectation.
In the bottom line, I believe all of us can interpret and understand this situation.

So the question, do we still on our commitment (we put signature on agreement)?? I am wondering “yes” answer from all of us.

I refer back to the individual progress report and actual hour spent to every project we committed to: paper, questions and mapping also control. Theses all projects have weight contribution to the CPI, SPI, TCPI gauges.
Seeing the majority are delivering as per commitment and some on us need “more more” extra work. But I don’t think this is just straight forward. Need some tactic on it. Here is my analyzing to every of our project.

Paper (to whom take an CCE)
Attached “view” from weekly report paper milestones. My opinion, it is a must to put extra work on this (128% productivity), but the tactic is can be anything. PM need to count the “earning” to date versus the plan (regarding good CPI/SPI). Where "milestone" should we be today/or next week? “Finalize the Introduction and report progress”? or Finalize the Abstract and report progress?. In my day today work managing project, I always ask my contractor to put in their report " a next week plan", then ask them stick on it.
I can understand weekly progress on paper will not consistenly linear, especially for people like me with minimum experience on writing paper. The progress will be like an exponential rather than linier graph. But how we can get good CPI/SPI while we cannot progress consistently/linear in paper, despite of we surely will finish the paper for CCE?


[Cited from: weekly report template, transformer AACE class]

CMIIW, as far I remember, when we set up budget for papers, we are assuming all participants will go for CCE/C. So the commitment budget is consist of man-hours of doing the papers times all participant (15 personnel).

So my suggestion for paper problem no.1, we need to progress consistently as per planned milestone above order to give reading of CPI/SPI OR, (put bit of tactic here) if we cannot perform consistently, so we need to compensate the paper with other project progress. (e.g. make question or mapping ahead plan). For problem no.2, you need honestly ask probably some of us make his/her mind not taking CCE, so if it is, we can reduce our cumm. budgeted paper plan [BUT, need very good reason for our client from hell]

Question
Same as paper, PM need to count the “earning” to date versus the plan; and told the team which chapter for EE and HU need to accomplish to date in order to catch SPI. We cannot hang on float anymore “cause we negative float” no more bullet in the pocket.
I personally found it is hard for me, especially for Engineering Economic (EE) questions, the higher the chapter, the difficult the problems. Humphrey (HU) is easier to finish ‘cause the answer mostly straight from the book. BUT, our problem regarding SPI, we cannot report HU separate from EE.
To report HU separately is easier rather than to wait progress in EE. If we can revise the template and report HU and EE separately, I think we can have better SPI. Especially who have better progress in HU rather than EE. So that is my suggestion to EE, beside need to put extra-extra effort; sleep late every day for EE ;-) (Add on 28% productivity).

Mapping
In my opinion Mapping is also a place for us to catch up for SPI, as per HU above. We can progress better on mapping, and then report the progress. PM still need to count the “earning” to date versus the plan; and told the team which process need to accomplish “more” to date, in order to catch SPI. Put extra 28% productivity by complete week-12 work ahead?

Control
Control is the best achiever. As long as “control” consistently reporting, they should be OK. Keep up the good work.

B/R, Farid