Rework will Happen

Excellent article by Michael Greer for PM Hut:

How to Design a Project with Rework Opportunities Built In

The following process will guide you through the process of designing a project plan with plenty of rework built in.

1. Assemble all project documentation you’ve created so far, including the stakeholder-approved Project Scope Statement, WBS (work breakdown structure), technical specifications, proposals, and so on.
2. Assemble the core project team and as many stakeholders as possible.
   
3. Conduct a brainstorming session in which the core project team and stakeholders do the following:
   
   1. Examine each specific deliverable that must be created. (Refer to your WBS… )
   2. List the specific tasks that must be performed to cause that deliverable to evolve from rough idea to finished product. (Use yellow stickies, flip charts, white boards, mind mapping methodology and other tools of brainstorming you like.)
      
   3. Incorporate plenty of opportunities for stakeholders to review work products in small increments, as they are evolving. So, for example, if you are writing a report, don’t wait until you’re finished to share it with reviewers. Instead, share (and get feedback and make revisions to) an outline first and then a rough draft, before you spend your time finalizing and polishing the report. Specifically, insert as many “create, share, feedback, revise” cycles into your task list as possible. This will help prevent unplanned rework (and blown schedules from having stakeholders reject your deliverables!) by building opportunities for review and revision into your plan.
      
   4. Combine and organize the list of tasks/activities into broad collections of related tasks or phases.
      
   5. Create a network diagram (flow chart) showing the sequence and flow of all project tasks, activities, and phases. (See Sample Network Diagram, below.)
4. Polish and finalize the network diagram and task list.
   
5. Circulate the network diagram and task list to appropriate stakeholders/sponsor and get formal approval (i.e., sign-off). 

Never Build More Than You Want to Revise

The spirit of the diagram above is this: Never build more than you want to spend time revising. That is, don’t risk hours of work in the “wrong” direction. Get feedback early and make adjustments early, then repeat — a little at a time, in small increments.

Read the full article at: 

Rework-will-happen