Why does a project end up late? In my experience it comes down to the possibilities outlined below. In reality there is evidence of a touch of all of these on just about any project. Some projects weigh in heavier on some than others.
Many times through the life of a project we are forced to make a decision where we cut corners and add risk to quality or stand firm and say "It's just going to be later than we wanted". These decision are never easy and the pressures to take the fast route are usually pretty intense. When I am faced with a decision such as this it is important for me to step back and scope it from a time to production standpoint, not from a time to tapeout position.
Making a decision based on a near term milestone, such as tapeout can be very deceiving. If the decision to trim a step in the interest of meeting a tapeout adds significant risk to the ability of sampling first silicon, you are really deciding on the possibility of adding another spin in the time to production. This can easily add 2-3 months to the production schedule.
How do you handle these schedule vs. quality decisions and has has it worked or failed for you?
I find the role of documentation to be a critical step in the product design cycle. It should be integrated throughout the entire design process to guide the team from early concept trade-offs through silicon validation. It is not "extra work" but part of a crisp planning and execution path to keep the team aligned on expectations.
How do you view the role and benefits of documentation for your design projects? What types of documentation have helped your success?
The first step towards managing team member perceptions is to get them out in the open to where they can be seen. Thanks to one of my readers for making the cartoon at the left available to me. Obviously, the designer in this cartoon feels totally unsupported by management. Is this situation real or only a perception? The reality is that it doesn’t matter because perceptions are an individual’s reality. Ignore their realities and you have no chance of improving the dynamics of your team.
Finding the negative perceptions is not that difficult, you just need to be listening and paying attention to what’s going on around you. Team members will typically complain about others, talk about “them” and in many cases display a competitive nature with other members. Warning signs such as these must be managed to some level of resolution or your team will be riddled with pessimism about openly working with each other.
Many organizations choose to write off the negative perceptions within the team as a fact of doing business. From my perspective this is a choice to maintain the status quo on project execution. No amount of pressure on the team, financial incentives or sacrificial employee terminations will overcome well-ingrained negative perceptions. The negativity must be minimized and it is management’s duty to do so.
How does your organization relate to the cartoon above? Are you thinking that the design team is a bunch of slackers that must be whipped into a higher level of productivity? Or do you see yourself as part of the problem for not facilitating what is needed for the team’s success? If you have been unsuccessful in improving design productivity and predictability to your satisfaction, it may well be time for a radically different approach by looking at mitigating unchecked negativity.
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