better—sometimes unrealistically so. And there’s a general lack
of understanding of what contingency is supposed to represent.
And finally, there’s the perception by some that contingency is
really a slush fund for mistakes, as it’s typically modeled as
something tacked onto the project bottom line.
Help has arrived, however, and I’d strongly urge you to use
it. There are software products that use statistics to help you
calculate contingency to accommodate risk, uncertainty, and
unknowns in a relatively painless manner. Although there are
some slight differences, most work the same way. You provide
ranges of possible outcomes for individual elements of work.
The tool then simulates the execution of the project as many as
one thousand times. The outputs associate a range of project
outcomes correlated to various levels of confidence (confidence
in your ability to meet or beat that particular outcome).
Project Manager’s Checklist for Chapter 6
❏ The project plan is much more than just the schedule. It
comprises many documents.❏ Project planning is not a one-time event. You’ll probably
prepare several iterations of the project plan in increasing
levels of detail, as the project is being initiated and
launched. In addition, you’ll be continually revising it
throughout the project.❏ Remember! There are two meanings for the term scope:
project scoperefers to the objectives of the project and
scope of workrefers to the activities to be performed.❏ Expressing estimates in terms of ranges of outcomes,
rather than precise numbers, will help others understand
the uncertain nature of projects.❏ If the length of the work elements on your schedule is
about the same as your team meeting frequency, you’ll
optimize project control. It’s reasonable to make both
about 4% of the overall project length.112 Project Management