Time Management

In this week's episode, Ricardo addresses the risks of the Diderot Effect. For many, this effect is directly related to consumption bias. However, it is perfectly applied also when we add something to our project, and that something triggers a series of new features causing control to be completely lost. This effect impacts budget, deadlines, and team, among many other factors.

In this episode, Ricardo talks about a article by Dorothy Tiffany, entitled 'Replanning the Performance Measurement Baseline', which addresses the differences between replanning or reprogramming a project that presents problems. The slides are available at http://rvarg.as/ej

In this episode, Ricardo explains the benefits of using the Line of Balance with Start-to-Finish relationships, especially on projects with repetitive tasks. This podcast is based on the latest article published on his site. Read the article at http://www.ricardo-vargas.com/articles/modelling-and-optimizing-schedules-with-line-of-balance-and-start-finish-relationship/

The use of the Line of Balance Scheduling Method has been increasing, especially on the construction industry companies of Brazil, Finland and Australia. The method addresses to the particularities of construction projects more effectively than the Critical Path Method does. In order to model the schedule, the paper demonstrates the “start-finish” relation and its contributions for the two approaches for the modelling: Network and Linear Scheduling Approach.

In this podcast, Ricardo talks about the danger of performing multiple tasks without understanding the implications. He explains that we must always consider the residual time between tasks and the real time (or Takt Time) of each task. The Takt Time concept, according to the www.businessdictionary.com, is an adjustable time unit used in lean production to synchronize the rate of production with the rate of demand.

In this podcast, Ricardo continues to talk about the Milestone Trend Analysis (MTA), a very good graphical tool used in executive reports. Today, he explains how to analyze the graphic you built last week, understanding the evolution trends of your project.

In this podcast, Ricardo talks about the Milestone Trend Analysis (MTA), a very good graphical tool used in executive reports. He shows how to make it step-by-step using pencil, paper and a ruler. Don’t forget to see the presentation related to this podcast.

How to measure how far you are to finish a task where creativity is relevant and inspiration can accelerate or decelerate the progress? In this podcast, Ricardo talks about how we can best measure the real physical progress of the project and explains the application of the concept of anchoring and the WBS decomposition.

In this second part of the podcast about Lines of Balance, Ricardo talks more about how this concept can be used in the project's planning and control phases. This time, Ricardo gives an example about the application of lines of balance in an election vote counting process. Do not forget to listen to the first part of this podcast.

In this podcast, Ricardo begins to explain what Line of Balance are and how can they be used. He gives an example of how to plan repetitive tasks in order to achieve optimal resources allocation and also know how the project's speed and progress evolve. Next week, he will bring an example related to elections.

In this podcast, Ricardo talks about the advantage of making three-point estimates. He gives tips on how we can obtain more effectively estimates from team members and how we can quickly get important information about the project.

In this last episode of the series of three podcasts about GTD - Getting Things Done, Ricardo talks about his process of reviewing and planning the week. Including on his tips, some software that may help you.

In this podcast, Ricardo presents the second episode of the series of three podcasts on Getting Things Done (GTD). He explains what we do with the ideas, appointments etc. that we collect daily. He gives tips on how to organize tasks into projects and contexts and explains each. Listen to the first episode: http://www.ricardo-vargas.com/podcasts/understanding-the-gtd-part-1-of-3/

In this podcast, Ricardo starts the series of 3 podcasts about the time management method called Getting Things Done, created by David Allen. In this first episode, Ricardo explains what is GTD and comments on how he uses it to organize and get all his work done.