There is always a point in the project, normally when we’re compiling the business case, when you will turn to me, look me in the eye and ask –

Recently this made me think of the 1981 television series “The Smurfs” when a common refrain while the Smurfs were on one of their many adventures was “how much further now Papa Smurf?” and his timeless reply was “not far now”.

Papa Smurf was wise enough to be careful about setting expectations.

In all seriousness though – how long will it take? – is a fair question.  A question for which I’m sure many managers have been given a poor answer.  If in reply to this question your project manager looks you in the eye and gives a quick fire answer of “3 months” or “6 months” I’d be tempted to run a mile!

I mean, how can they possibly know?  Are they somehow blessed with all the information they need to provide you with the right answer?  I know in these situations I am not.  I need to involve the vendor, project team members and client management team in developing and agreeing a realistic schedule.

Figure 1 below identifies risks I ask key project stakeholders to consider during a planning workshop.  Following the workshop I always perform further consultation with team members and resource managers to ensure the schedule is realistic and agreed.

Figure 1 – Impact of risk on project schedule

Top tips

• Shoot from the hip answers to “how long will this take” are generally optimistic.  Psychologically the person answering this question doesn’t want to give you an answer they think you don’t want to hear.
• Involve key players in developing the plan so you arrive at a schedule that is realistic and well understood.
• Project risks and your approach to how you go about mitigating them is a key determinant of how long your projects will take (and often whether they are a success or not!)
• If your Project Manager gives you a “shoot from the hip” answer, run a mile!

If you're a smurf fan here's the link to the official move site due for release soon, click here.