Days versus Hours

A discussion happened this week that I think you may be familiar with. It started with the all-to familiar question: "... so, when can you have that finished?"

Often time it is a difficult question to answer. Our brains try to calculate all the possible sub-tasks, possible conflicting priorities, and what else have I got to do this week.

It is however, a question that project managers, our resources, and stakeholders grapple with constantly; and it is a struggle to help balance everyone's needs.

Each of our needs are different:

• Clients want it done immediately;
• Resources needs to understand the priority of the task and determine how best to complete it given all the other tasks at hand; and
• We are trying to ensure that the future is predictable.

As the discussion progressed – when can you have that finished? – the discussion turned to how long will it take to have that task finished.

And we entered the real critical question at hand — how long.

I've discovered that there is a difference between hours and days. And it came as a revelation. I say revelation, because, the tool that I use to plot out the projects tasks, milestones and delivery dates did not do this automatically. Microsoft® Project assumes there are 8 hours in a day.This is its default setting. I recall once in a discussion with a resource - he asked me: "Really, you think that I sit for 8 hours straight doing nothing but your task?" ... um, good point.

The difference between hours and days is the difference between effort and duration. How long a task is going to take requires the direct understanding of how much effort will the task require to complete the job.

If you were tasked with painting the outside of a cottage - how quickly could you get it done? It would depend on how big the cottage was, how many coats of paint were required, how fast you could get a side done, did you have another painter to help you, etc.

Within the interactive world, similar questions are required. And your resource, or possibly their manager can help in determining the amount of effort to complete the task - including if there are any advantages of engaging more than one resource to complete the task. Once an understanding of how much effort the task will require and possibly resource levels, can we now look to see what will be the duration.

I wandered around my office, and observed the manner that most people work, and its interesting. My resource was right. Not many people sit 'chained' to their desks for a complete day without moving. There are the obligatory bathroom breaks, getting lunch, mid-day coffee, stretching of the legs, getting clarification from another collegue, scheduled meetings, and likely a few smoke breaks too. I soon realized that the most that I could hope for from a day's productivity would likely be 5 hours a day.

Not the "8" that Project assumes.

The good news is that Project doesn't leave you hanging. While it is hidden when you first launch the program, you can add in a new column that will help you fine-tune your timelines. And the column is called WORK. To access it, right-click at the top over Duration and select add a column from the drop down menu that appears. A dialogue box will appear, and select Work from the Field Name drop-down. Now you have control over the hours for each of the tasks.

Note: If you find that when you change the hours - the days change to match and it begins to cause your timeline to extend in duration, be sure that each of your tasks are Fixed Work. You can find this by Right-clicking on the task row; select Task Information; go to the Advance Tab; and change the Task type to Fixed Work

As I adjusted my hours to match the amount of effort that was provided to me, and accounting for the assumption of 5 hours of purposeful work in a day, I was able to see that my initial calculation of how many days the task would take was short. I adjusted the duration to a more appropriate time, and confirmed the target with my team. The overall concensus was that the timeline was more realistic and the level of confidence to complete the work was strong.

Hours versus Days has enabled me to create a more accurate timeline and empowered the team to reach for an achievable goal and be productive.