Time is often the most important metric in projects that deliver support to decision makers.

The key dimensions for any project are: Time, Quality, Cost, Scope. Associated factors are the Risk of delivery and the Business Benefits achieved.

Information becomes much less useful to a decision maker as Time passes – and Something is better than Nothing.

The information that is presented needs to be accurate – so the Scope that is selected to meet the deadline has to Work (be of a minimum Quality).

A secret of IT, Data Science and Data Analytic projects is knowing how to define the Scope so that Something That Works can be delivered in the Time-frame.

The Product that is ultimately being delivered is usually that “Repeatability across many IT platforms can be achieved regularly, or on demand”. Therefore some options for an initial deliverable include:

• An “end-to-end process that proves the inter-platform system linkages with the most simple but useful piece of data”. Complexity can then be added iteratively in layers along the end-to-end chain after that.

• A “fail fast” approach on a key aspect that could be implemented in a number of ways. This helps to identify the strategies that will work early, and provides an inventory/”kit bag” of “components that work” and can be linked together as the project progresses. Figure out the hard stuff early and simplify Scope/Design to make them (and the Project) achievable in the Timeframe.

This is not just “Minimum Viable Product (MVP)”, it is a relentless focus on sorting out what will work and how to put it together (end-to-end) for a result That Works, On Time.

If this is the type of delivery culture you want for your project, drop us a line.