7.6 “Follow that plan”

Work schedules stretching over weeks or months are new to most students, who have little experience of estimating or measuring how long particular tasks may take.

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This bundle requires students to produce a time plan, to monitor their progress against it, and to amend it as necessary, noting the changes as they go.

The way it works is to make the production of a time plan the first project activity. This is then used on a regular basis in meetings to monitor progress. It is probable that modifications to the plan will become necessary as a result of project developments, or poor estimates; this provokes immediate reflection on how and why things need to be changed. At the end of the project, students are required to evaluate their performance on the project in respect of the project planning and time management skills.

This idea can be used in any project situation, individual or team-based, where the work can be split into separate tasks.

A side effect is assisting time management skills, and improved understanding of the estimating of time taken to complete a task.

It works better if students have experience of following, or are strongly encouraged to follow, a clear, phased approach to project development.

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So: find ways to ensure the time consumed by project tasks is estimated, measured, and commented upon.