Everything thing is an emergency! 1

[DataHugger]

My boss keeps butting my projects with other projects deemed an emergency. Then after I worked on this emergency project and it is nearing completion. He asks me about a project that has been on hold since his "emergency" started. This annoys me to no end.
Am I going to slow? I mean I know he hired me right out of school to save money(instead of hiring a more experience proffesional). You'd think he realize that while I have the skill I am just not as good as someone who has 3 or more years on me and it is going to take time doing things. Hell it would take time to do things even if I had the 3 or more years under my belt.

It is a small company and I have a variety of responsiblities to perform and I can only do so much in a day.

I have recently asked him to prioritize the projects that he has given me as to what I should work on and when.

I have also started giving him metrics on project lengths.

I need some advice on how to give metrics(I am horrible and often undercut myself on time) and any other ways I can tell him I can do this, but it is going to take time.

Thanks

 

[dyarwood]

I go by the rule of work out how long it is going to take you, add a few days then double it. I do this as often other things (emergencies) come up which will impact on the project but the excuse "I was fighting a virus" would not really wash with a customer. Also this makes sure there is time to sort out any unexpected problems.

 

[DoubleD]

The general rule for project estimation is to figure the number of hours it will take you, then double or triple it.
Start with triple until you've got some experience under your belt. You can chalk up the extra time to learning, then ultimately your estimation times will come down and your skills will increase simultaneously.

I had a boss doing the same things to me. Here's what I did and it worked well for me.

Boss: "We have this project I need you to help with right away!"
Me: "Ok, I can work on that, but it will impact projects X and Y. Is this important enought to suspend those?"

I kept a running project list on my whiteboard, along with estimated completion dates. After receiving my boss's response to the above question, I would update my whiteboard in his presence. Now, to CYA, I kept a spreadsheet on my PC and documented Running Projects, Estimated Completion Dates, and Changes by the boss. Just in case anybody messed with my whiteboard.

I never needed to use the spreadsheet, as the whiteboard made it tangible to the boss what I was working on and how his "emergencies" were impacting other key projects.

Pain is stress leaving the body.

DoubleD

 

[willir]

DataHugger

If you being torn between assigned duties and ad hoc emergencies, you need to be diligent in tracking your time, and documenting who and why your work was reassigned.

You can do this via a spreadsheet, or even better with a simple database.

By "tracking your time", I mean track your time on your assigned project + track time spent on the ad hoc emergencies.

This way, you can show your boss that you worked xx hours on Project X, and yy hours fighting fires, and zz hours on regualr maintenance issues.

...Moving on
Metrics. The above is a type of metrics. Time spent on task, number of calls / jobs completed (including the ad hoc stuff), and anything else related to your job such as server up time. You should also look at quantifying money saved, productivity boosts, etc.

Tracking all this stuff is a pain, but it really pays off later when you need to justify why a project is late, accomplishments for the quarter, etc.

Lastly, providing deliverables and ETA's - tough issue that relies on experience. You will get better as you understand what is involved with a job, and what as your skill set improves.

This is also when you have to learn to be assertive. Little things like...
- This date if I am allowed to focus on the job, otherwise this date.
- You need project XX done by this date? Okay, which of the these other projects should I put on the "back burner". Or Does this mean that project YY is no longer a priority?

And as dyarwood states, be conservative in your estimation. Much easier to make your boss happy by completing a task ahead of schedule than giving him/her false promises that affect your credability.

 

[Onyxpurr]

I agree with the above.

I currently have a database in which I keep all my project information (date requested, who requested, description, ETA, Date completed, status, updates, category such as programming, help desk, documentation, reports, analysis, etc.)

Then I have one-on-ones with my boss and I bring in a list of all my projects prioritized and go over the ones I'm working on and what I'll be working on next.

In addition, if a project has been delayed, I let the customer know. And as of late, my boss has been cc'ing my entire list to all my customers so they can understand where they're projects are in relation to all of the projects.

If I have a conflict, I let the customers and my boss know and if they don't like the way I prioritize the projects, the customers and my boss can work it out.

I also give my boss a completed project list every once in awhile so she can see how much I've accomplished. It helps me too because I have a calculation of ETA to date completed that shows hows me what the difference is btween what I estimated and what I actually did.

 

[robbieguy2003]

DataHugger, i know what it's like. I've worked for small companies in the past.

One minute your supporting customers, next minute building systems, next minute repairing problems and you've got to squeaze development inbetween somewhere.

When a project comes in tell give your boss an expanded time (double the maximum time you think to complete it).

This means if you spend half your time messing around with other things you should complete the project.

You're probrably not a slow worker. Its maybe the constant interuption that throws your concentration on projects which will cause you problems.

HTH

Rob

Servers live with the rule - What goes up must come down

 

[DoubleD]

robbieguy2003,
Although I agree with your evaluation, I disagree with your solution. Unless you make it very clear to your boss why your timeline is so long, some bosses will just assume you're slow. Yes, give expanded timelines, but ensure you explain why the timeline is not much shorter.
ie: With my current workload and priorities, I can have that done in 2 months. If you want this to be priority, I can have it done in three weeks, but that will impact projects X and Y.
A manager cannot and should be expected to know how your spend every minute of your workday. If you don't communicate, problems will arise.

Pain is stress leaving the body.

DoubleD

 

[Dollie]

Star for you DoubleD.

A manager cannot and should not be expected to know how you spend every minute of your workday. If you don't communicate, problems will arise.

Can we get this engraved and hung on at least one wall in every office?

 

[DoubleD]

Thanks Dollie. And thanks for correcting my statement as well. I omitted the NOT that you corrected.

Pain is stress leaving the body.

DoubleD

 

[DataHugger]

Thank you for all you suggestions. I am putting into practice the database of project today. I am hoping in a few weeks this will bear fruit.

If you want I will update everyone then.

Thank you for all your suggestions.

-DataHugger