The schedule kept for reporting: the signs, and how to get out
Some schedules are only updated the day before the steering committee. They serve to report, not to work. The signs are easy to recognize, and the way out goes through the people doing the work.
Kept for reporting
1 update a month, the day before the committee, by the project manager
Kept for the work
18 reports this week, by the team
A schedule kept for reporting exists mainly to be shown. It is right on committee day and wrong the rest of the month. The people doing the work do not look at it: they know it tells them nothing.
The signs
- the schedule is only updated once a month, the day before the committee;
- the project manager enters everyone's progress;
- tasks stay at 90% for a long time;
- finish dates never move, then all move at once.
Why it happens
It is not a lack of rigor. It is that the tool asks a lot and gives little back to those who fill it in. When entering data takes time and only serves others, people enter as little as possible, at the last minute.
How to get out
The way out is to reverse the logic: equip the work first. Everyone reports in two minutes what they did and what is left, on their own tasks. In our example, the team produces 18 reports in the week, instead of a monthly update made by one person.
Reporting then follows on its own: the committee reads a progress status that is current to the day, and the project manager spends their time on decisions, not on data entry.
Key points
- a schedule updated the day before the committee serves to report, not to work;
- data entry must first serve the person entering it;
- when the work is equipped, reporting follows.