Chapter 9. Negotiating Achievable Commitments[10]

In this chapter:

Making Project Commitments

Negotiating Commitments

Documenting Commitments

Modifying Commitments

Your Personal Commitment Ethic

Practice Activities

Note

Negotiating Achievable CommitmentsThis article was originally published in The Rational Edge, January 2002. It is reprinted here, with modifications, with permission from IBM.

I once observed a discussion between Steve, a senior manager, and Rob, a project manager, about a new project. “How long will this project take?” Steve asked. “Two years,” replied Rob. “No,” said Steve, “that’s too long. I need it in six months.” So what did Rob say? “Okay.” Now, what changed in those few seconds? Nothing! The project didn’t shrink by a factor of four. The development team didn’t get four times larger (although this ...

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