Quantifying the work process to quantitatively grasp the project
~How to build a WBS: Part 2: Schedule and budget~

Hello, this is Kamii, head of the creative department.

This is the third installment of the "Professional Manager School" series.
Last time, we talked about building a WBS, which is the basis of project management and allows for a structured understanding of the overall picture when planning and starting a project.

As I mentioned in the first installment of this series , a project is

Temporary work carried out to create a unique product, service, or outcome

It is defined as:
Any non-routine task that accomplishes a goal within a set schedule is called a "project," but cost management is essential to ensure commercial success.

The topic for the third session is " Building a WBS Part 2: Creating a schedule and budget ."
I would like to talk about estimating and scheduling, which are necessary for project management.

1. Create a quote

To understand the overall picture of a project, it is necessary to clarify three elements : requirements, budget, and schedule .
It can be said that the preparation required for planning the "budget" and "schedule" is the WBS (Work Breakdown Structure).

The following steps will guide you through planning the project's requirements, budget, and schedule.

① Based on the required specifications and WBS, create a personnel plan (organize the difficulty and quantity)
② Create an estimate based on the above resource plan (budget planning)
③ Create a schedule based on the above resource plan (schedule planning)
④ Adjust the response policy, estimate, and schedule to meet the required specifications

First, let me explain the process of creating a quote.

(1) Organize the difficulty of each process and the required skill set

For each process in the WBS, we organize the skill sets required of personnel according to the difficulty of the work.
The skill set here should be understood in terms of ① corresponding technical level, ② hourly unit price, ③ production volume per unit time. In addition, for personnel planning in project planning, a standard model is set that is ranked by the degree of difficulty that can be handled, without relying on individuals.

[Example of difficulty ranking (design process)]

• S rank: A skill level that can handle the specific requirements of a project
• A rank: Able to create a grand design and control the quality of the design
• B rank: Capable of creating screen designs based on a grand design
• C rank: Able to mass-produce based on a template and prepare image materials
  

(2) Organize the quantity of deliverables for each process based on the design policy.

As explained in the first article of this series, "The Waterfall Model," a project is constructed with the output (deliverable) of each phase serving as the input (prerequisite) for the next phase.
To calculate the amount of work for each process, we check the production quantity for each process .

When it comes to renovating medium to large-scale websites with several hundred pages, which Monosus often handles, it is necessary to not only give each client a unique identity, but also to reduce costs and schedules by standardizing the planning, design, and production.
In order to calculate the amount of work, it is necessary to understand the total quantity as well as clarify the work procedures and scope of work based on the design policy for standardization.

We create a page list, break down the process into "design consideration procedures," "design consideration and creation procedures," and "coding creation procedures," and organize the production quantities for each process.

Figure: A list of pages ranked by difficulty of production (example)

(3) Estimate the cost based on the skill set of the personnel and the production volume.

Calculate the labor hours required when the production quantity calculated in (2) is handled by personnel with the skill sets calculated in (1).
The cost for each process is calculated by multiplying the "unit price of personnel" by "manpower hours."

In addition, we set calculation standards for management costs, such as the cost of managing the progress of coding production, at 10 to 20% of the cost of the production process.

In this way, making estimates based on cost estimation is very important when considering cost planning.
By quantifying the "required specifications (difficulty level) of each process = personnel cost" and "production quantity," it becomes possible to quantitatively grasp and respond to changes in specifications or production quantity even if they occur.

Figure: Quotation (example)

2. Create a schedule

We create a schedule based on the estimated work hours.
We will create this using the waterfall model, keeping in mind the following points:

• Make sure that the chronological order of "output of previous process = input of next process" in the waterfall model is maintained.
• Set up a process for client review and approval.

The waterfall model is the most basic development process model that arranges each stage of a project in chronological order. For more information, please refer to the first article in this series .

Figure: Schedule (example)

3. Adjustment of schedule and estimate

Estimates based on accumulating work hours and schedules created according to the waterfall model from the start of a project often do not fit within the expected budget or delivery date.
Adjustments will then be made to estimates and schedules to meet budget and delivery deadline requirements .

(1) I want to shorten the project period

We will consider making adjustments by adding additional personnel.
This is a method of shortening the response time by increasing the number of staff involved in processes such as screen design and coding for standardized sub-pages.

[Example: When the production man-hours are 30 man-days for coding production]
1) When performed by one coder

• Confirmation of production specifications: 1 business day (1 person-day)
• Coding production: 29 business days (29 person-days)

→ 30 business days (approximately one and a half months required for construction), 30 man-days (45,000 yen x 30 = 1,350,000 yen)

② When working with three coders When working with multiple members, communication is required to share information, such as enforcing code writing rules and notifying members when making changes to shared files.
Therefore, tripling the number of staff does not necessarily mean that production time can be reduced by a third.

• Confirmation of production specifications: 1 business day (1 person-day x 3 people = 3 person-days)
• Coding Production

1 person-day = 8 hours → 29 person-days = 232 hours of production time is required. If you hold 15-minute meetings (total of 0.5 hours) at the start and end of work each day, 1 person-day = 7.5 hours of production time (8 hours - 0.5 hours)
→ 232 hours ÷ 7.5 = 31 man-days → 31 man-days with 3 people, so 11 business days are required for production → 12 business days ( reduced to about 2.5 weeks )
34 man-days (45,000 yen x 34 = 1,530,000 yen, a cost increase of approximately 13% )

In the example above, the production period can be shortened by 40%, from 30 business days to 12 business days, but the cost increases by approximately 13%.

(2) I want to cut my budget

Adjustments will be made by changing design principles and reducing quantities .
We will consider whether it is possible to reduce costs by lowering the level of difficulty of the required specifications so that they can be handled by personnel with lower unit prices.
We will also consider whether it is possible to reduce costs by reducing the quantity produced, such as by downsizing the scope of production.

4. Understanding project requirements with QCD in mind

When making estimates and planning schedules, it is necessary to quantify the " required specifications for each process (difficulty level) = personnel cost" and "production quantity ."
The perspective to keep in mind when quantifying this is " QCD ".
This is an acronym for " Quality ," " Cost ," and " Delivery ," and these are three important evaluation axes for quantifying and understanding project requirements.

Generally, these are introduced in terms of "Quality," "Cost," and "Delivery," but the perspective varies depending on the stage of the project.
In creating the estimate and schedule that I have discussed today, we quantified each process from the following perspectives:

Quality: Required specifications (difficulty)
Cost: Unit price of personnel according to skill set / production quantity per unit time Delivery: Construction period

"QCD" is an important perspective when quantitatively understanding the human resources required to carry out a project.
I will go into more detail on this in the fourth installment of the "Project Manager Seminar."

In the third session, we talked about creating schedules and estimates based on the WBS in preparation for project implementation.
In the next issue, we will discuss QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery), a perspective necessary for quantitatively understanding the various elements that make up a project .
See you in October.