|
By Salim Lakhani
Go through your requirements list one more time and set a value on each item. Use "high," "medium" or "low" for value. Consider short- and long-term value for each item.
Step 3: Map your Requirements. Number each item on your requirement list and map the numbers on a complexity/value Chart. The Y-axis represents the “value” of the requirement and the X-axis is its “difficulty of implementation.”
You can now visualize the “low hanging fruit” in the top right quadrant. These are all the items that are easy to implement and have a high value.
Step 4: Phase it out. Phase I generally consists of all the “low-hanging-fruit,” items that are of high importance and easy to do as well as those that are perhaps difficult to do, but of high importance. Items that are easy to do but may be of low value should come in a later phase.
Be aware that some items in Phase I might depend on items in Phase II or Phase II. Those will be dealt with in the detailed project plan. Review all the items in Phase I and give it a wishful completion date.
Phase II generally consists of items that are not as important as those in Phase I, but still hold some importance and can be completed with relative ease. Review the items to and give this phase a wishful completion date.
Phase III. There items are hard to do and of low value. We generally never get to them.
Step 5: Setup a Timeline. This is a simple process of setting up a high-level project plan with names of responsible groups. It's not a detailed project plan yet. Use this as a communication tool rather than a project management tool. When the project is approved, off and running, you can add details to this plan and use it as a project management tool if you like.
In the process of completing these steps, you have now defined the scope of the project, documented the requirements, ranked requirements by priority, assessed the feasibility of each requirement technically and organizationally, phased out the development plan, and you have created a high-level timeline for the project.
You are now on the right path to a successful completion for your project.
|