WSA QASIG TOC in 5 minutes

1. WSA QASIGTOC in 5 minutes November 8, 2006 Jay Bakst Technologies Services Group

2. Contingency vs. Buffer Parkinsons Law:Work expands to fill the time allowed Goldratt’s Principle:A project will accumulate delays, it will not accumulate gains Moral: implicit task buffers lead to unexpected delays

3. Use of Buffer “Expecting early finishes to balance out late finishes is only a figment of the scheduler’s imagination” Carol Ptak, Theory H.O.W. • If task schedule more than median time: • More than half finished early • Each early task wastes project buffer • If median used: • Half tasks will be late • If optimal time used: • Most tasks will be late • Move use of buffer later in project

4. Results: • Explicit identification and use of Buffers lead to reduced buffer time and reduced project time Moral: Proper use of buffers gives you more time to do useful testing