Summary of Scott Berkun's Making Things Happen

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 We tend to be late. We believe that being on time isn’t about targeting a specific moment but instead is about being within a range of moments. Many projects come in late because we tend to estimate based on weak assumptions, predict outcomes based on the best possible circumstances, and simultaneously avoid placing confidence in schedules we see or create.

#2 The first purpose of a schedule is to make commitments about when things will be done. The schedule serves as a contract between every person involved, confirming what each person is going to deliver over a particular period of time.

#3 The third purpose of schedules is to provide a tool to track progress and break work into manageable chunks. With this in mind, it’s time to explore software methodologies.

#4 There are many different systems for how to plan and manage the development of software. They are often called methodologies, which means a body of practices aimed at achieving a certain kind of result.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822518100

IRB Media

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Insights on Scott Berkun's Making Things Happen

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

We tend to be late. We believe that being on time isn’t about targeting a specific moment but instead is about being within a range of moments. Many projects come in late because we tend to estimate based on weak assumptions, predict outcomes based on the best possible circumstances, and simultaneously avoid placing confidence in schedules we see or create.

#2

The first purpose of a schedule is to make commitments about when things will be done. The schedule serves as a contract between every person involved, confirming what each person is going to deliver over a particular period of time.

#3

The third purpose of schedules is to provide a tool to track progress and break work into manageable chunks. With this in mind, it’s time to explore software methodologies.

#4

There are many different systems for how to plan and manage the development of software. They are often called methodologies, which means a body of practices aimed at achieving a certain kind of result.

#5

The use of a particular methodology is never the sole reason for a project making or missing its dates. Instead, there are factors that impact all projects, and project managers must understand them before any scheduling work is done.

#6

The rule of thirds is a basic rule for all schedules. It estimates how much time should be spent on design, implementation, and testing. For every day you expect to write production code, a day should be spent planning and designing the work, and a day should be spent testing and refining that work.

#7

The rule of thirds is useful in that it forces the zero-sum nature of projects to surface. When schedules slip, it's because there were hidden or ignored costs that were never accounted for.

#8

The rule of thirds applies to any kind of work, whether it is done on a piecemeal basis like many teams, or in large increments like projects. In either case, you should consider the simple case of no project, and extrapolate from there.

#9

The rule of thirds is a software development methodology that calls for dividing large projects into smaller pieces, with each piece having its own design, implementation, and testing time. The more change and project volatility that is expected, the shorter each milestone should be.

#10

The future is always volatile, and agile methods assume this. They rely on processes that are easy to change. Most software development projects follow this approach, and they divide the work into phases that have allocated time for design, implementation, and quality assurance.

#11

The last few paragraphs of the section cover how to apply a high-level scheduling methodology. Chapter 14 and Chapter 15 will cover how to manage a project through the entire schedule, but they will focus on management and leadership perspectives.

#12

The schedule is often blamed for everything that goes wrong on a project. However, if a team starts a project aware of the likely reasons schedules fall apart and takes some action to minimize those risks, the schedule can become a more useful and accurate tool in the development process.

#13

A schedule is created during initial planning, and hundreds of decisions that may impact the schedule have yet to be made. It is difficult to predict how long a project will take early on, and project managers should be aware of this.

#14

A schedule is a prediction of what will happen. It is not a gift from the future. It must be used in conjunction with many different aspects of software development to achieve good judgment.

#15

The work breakdown structure is the line item in the master schedule for a project. Good work estimates have a high probability of being accurate, and bad work estimates have a low probability. It is the judgment of team leaders that defines the bar for a given project.

#16

It can be difficult to schedule things because few people enjoy estimating complex things they will be held accountable for. programmers are no exception. By saying that something can be done in a certain amount of time, they risk being very wrong.

#17

Good estimates only come from good designs and requirements. If the specs are bad, and a programmer is asked to create a number based on a incomprehensible whiteboard scribbling, everyone should know exactly what they’re getting: a fuzzy scribble of an estimate.

#18

Estimates should be based on previous performance. The more quality specifications there are, the better the estimates will be. There are known techniques for making better estimates, such as PERT.

#19

There are many factors that can affect a project’s schedule, and project managers need to be aware of them. The trap that can be created is that despite how perfect the estimates are for work items, the real schedule risks are the things not written down.

#20

The most depressing thing about the previous list is that even if you get most of it right, it's still