What is uncertainty and why should you care? Well …
😱 How are your projects going?
Is everything proceeding smoothly, or are issues keeping you up at night with escalating worries? Both scenarios tie back to a common factor: uncertainty.
Uncertainty is about unknowns; more unknowns mean greater uncertainty.
For example, when your team’s project is similar to previous work, with only a few unknowns, the project has low uncertainty.
Conversely, if the project involves uncharted territory for the team, the organization, or the customers—particularly when they are unclear about their needs—the project has high uncertainty.
🎯 For project managers, assessing the level of uncertainty is a critical consideration when determining their approach.
📋 Projects with low uncertainty are well-suited to a predictive management process. This involves allocating time upfront to thoroughly plan the project, allowing the project manager and team to estimate tasks and develop a detailed schedule.
🌀 In contrast, high-uncertainty projects require a different strategy. The predictive approach would result in wasted effort since attempting to forecast precise tasks is futile.
✅ In such cases, an Agile approach is adopted. Agile employs a flexible method that supports making informed short-term decisions aligned with the project’s overarching goals.
How are your projects going? Perhaps a different approach will help you get a better night’s sleep.
Next Step For assistance navigating the unknowns, contact me at lks@lisasieverts.com to schedule a Discovery Call and ease your project stress.