Measuring Progress

One of the hardest things to do in managing projects is to actually measure progress. When you are following a road map, you monitor the road signs and see whether they agree with your planned route. In well-defined jobs, such as construction projects, it is generally fairly easy to tell where you are. You can measure the height of a brick wall or see whether all the conduit is installed, and so on. That is, you can tell where you are when a part of the work is actually finished. When work is poorly defined, and it is only partially complete, however, you have to estimate where you are.

This is especially true of knowledge work—work done with one’s head, rather than one’s hands. If you are writing software code, designing something, or writing a book, it can be very hard to judge how far along you are and how much you have left to do.

Naturally, if you can’t tell where you are, you can’t exercise control. And note that use of the word estimate in measuring progress. What exactly is an estimate?

It’s a guess.

And so we are guessing about where we are.

Yes. We’ll know where we are when we get there. Until we actually arrive, we’re guessing.

Does this not sound like something from Alice in Wonderland?

Heavens.

What was that definition of control again? Let’s see—compare where you are . . .

How do you know where you are?

We’re guessing.

. . . against where you are supposed to be. . . .

How do you know where you’re supposed to be?

Oh, that’s much easier. The plan tells us.

But where did the plan come from?

It was an estimate, too.

Oh. So if one guess doesn’t agree with the other guess, we’re supposed to take corrective action to make the two of them agree, is that it?

That’s what this guy Jim Lewis says in his book.

Must be a book on witchcraft and magic.

Well, since it is impossible to know for sure where we are, then perhaps we should just give up on the whole thing and keep running projects by the seat of the pants. Right? Wrong.

The fact that measures of progress are not very accurate does not justify the conclusion that they shouldn’t be used. Remember, if you have no plan, you have no control, and if you don’t try to monitor and follow the plan, you definitely don’t have control. And if you have no control, there is no semblance of managing. You’re just flailing around.

The difficulty of measuring progress does not justify the conclusion that it shouldn’t be done. You cannot have control unless you measure progress.

What is important to note, however, is that some projects are capable of tighter control than others. Well-defined work, which can be accurately measured, can be controlled to tight tolerances. Work that is more nebulous (e.g., knowledge work) has to allow larger tolerances. Management must recognize this and accept it. Otherwise, you go crazy trying to achieve 3 percent tolerances. It’s like trying to push a noodle into a straight line or nail jelly to a wall.