Control of Assumptions

00:02 As well as the expectations, projects also involve plenty of assumptions.

00:07 An assumption is when something is believed to be true when there's no definite proof.

00:12 While the planning process aims to clarify all areas of the project, we must assume that there are areas that we cannot be 100% certain of.

00:21 For example, we cannot be 100% sure that all team members will be as productive as they usually are but we have to assume they will.

00:30 Of course, a project manager will be more certain of their assumption if they have worked with a team before but it is still an assumption.

00:40 The more past data a project manager has, the safer their assumptions will be.

00:44 Imagine Lamborarri needs to hire a certain number of mechanics to deal with any problems the show cars may have.

00:51 You as the project manager could look at previous data where a similarly trained mechanic from a previous showroom project was able to properly care for five cars.

01:02 You plan to have 20 cars in your showroom.

01:05 Therefore, you can assume you will need to hire four mechanics.

01:09 While there is still a level of uncertainty, it is a lot less than if you had no previous data.

01:15 Of course, estimations can be made by other team members and experts in those areas in which case, your job as project manager is to review and understand the calculations and assumptions made.

01:27 You need to know how much uncertainty has been addressed, how much buffer is needed and how much of the work is exposed to events that can impact it in a negative way.

01:37 These events are of course risks, the topic of our next lesson and that is where we'll see you.