Project Management

176 Project Management

methods for physical pro-

gressing.

Determining the best

application depends upon

the nature of the activity

being measured. Using

techniques such as physi-

cal progressing helps

ensure that you and your

team members under-

stand progress in the

same way. It also sends a

message that you’ll be

measuringprogress, not

just recordingit.

Analyzing Deliverable Performance (Functionality and
Quality)

Analyzing the deliverables of the project—in particular, whether
they will meet functionality and quality targets—can be difficult.

Weighted

Milestones

Normal Application

Used when a major activity

consists of a number of equal

or nearly equal tasks, each

requiring about the same

amount of effort to complete.

Choose arbitrary, incremental

checkpoints, then determine

the progress that should be

made by those points.

Used when phases exist

within a major activity. It’s not

necessary for milestones to

be equally spaced.

Type of

Measurement

Units Completed

How it Works

If there were five equal tasks,

finishing one equates to 20%

complete, finishing two

equates to 40% complete, and

so forth.

Incremental

Milestone

25% 50% 75% 100%

20% 50% 80% 100%

Spec’d Designed BuiltInstalled

Figure 9-7. Three methods for physical progressing

Physical progressingA way

of expressing accomplish-

ment in tangible, verifiable

terms. For example, one of your team

members may report being “50% com-

plete” on a major piece of work. How

can you tell? If you’re using physical pro-

gressing methods, the task performer is

expected to produce something (a deliv-

erable, if possible) that will substantiate

that he or she has reached the agreed-

upon level of accomplishment. By doing

this, you and the task performer can

more accurately judge whether 50% is a

fair evaluation of status.