Building Out a Project Plan With Google Sheets | Google Project Management Certificate

this video is a part of the google project management certificate providing you with job-ready skills to start or advance your career in project management get access to practice exercises quizzes discussion forums job search help and more on coursera and you can earn your official certificate visit grow.google project cert to enroll in full learning experience today welcome back so far you should have completed a project charter for sauce and spoons tablet rollout the project charter helps you organize vital project information create a framework for the work that needs to be done and communicate those details to the necessary people once the project charter is created and confirmed you'll use it to start the project planning stage in the upcoming activities we'll be progressing from the initiation phase of the project life cycle to the planning phase here you'll put your knowledge and skills to work on a project plan which is the central artifact a project manager builds during the planning phase most projects capture requirements in this artifact so the project plan you build for sauce and spoon will be a critical part of your project management portfolio it will demonstrate your ability to break a large project into a set of achievable smaller tasks before we get started let's review the project scenario sauce and spoon is a small but growing chain of restaurants with five locations they've hired peta as their first in-house project manager to launch the pilot of tabletop tablet menus at two of their locations throughout the course you'll observe peta as she works to complete this project in scope on time and within budget you'll create project management documents based on the scenario just as you would if you were the project manager as you work through these materials you may want to take notes about project details in order to complete some of the activities the project management documents you create will help you practice your skills by applying them to a real-world scenario these documents will also provide you with a portfolio to speak to during a future job interview in the next group of activities you'll analyze conversations emails and other forms of documentation to build out a project plan as you continue on you'll identify tasks and milestones within the sauce and spoon tablet rollout you'll also demonstrate effective communication techniques like asking the right questions and practicing empathy which will help you make accurate time estimates for each task in this video you'll learn to analyze project documentation including documents from previous projects to identify tasks for a new project this documentation includes project charters emails and old project plans which a business may have available when you join a new organization or switch to a new project then in the upcoming activity you'll begin building the project plan for sauce and spoons tablet rollout by adding project tasks to a spreadsheet that will serve as your project plan i recommend that you use the provided project plan template to start your document but you're also welcome to create your own spreadsheet or use your preferred project management software let's get started first we'll review the purpose and function of a project plan a project plan is useful for any project big or small since it helps you document the scope tasks milestones budget and overall activities in order to keep the project on track at the center of the project plan is the project schedule the schedule is your guide for making time estimates for project tasks determining milestones and monitoring the overall progress of the project one of your main jobs as a project manager is to identify all of the project tasks estimate how much time each task will take and track each task's progress so how do you go about adding tasks and milestones to the plan for the very first time the first thing i do is review the goals and deliverables in the project charter then i make a list of all the items that have tasks or milestones associated with them as a reminder milestones are important points within the schedule that indicate progress they usually signify the completion of a deliverable or phase of the project and project tasks refer to activities that need to be accomplished within a set period of time they're assigned to different members of the team according to each person's role and skills in order to reach a milestone you and your team must complete certain tasks for example one of the deliverables of the sauce and spoon project is promoting the new tablet menus with table signs and email blasts in this instance a milestone could be the completion of this deliverable which would include all of the tasks that are required for getting sign-offs on the final versions of the marketing materials and confirming the dates of the email blasts some of these tasks would include writing multiple drafts of the different marketing materials generating an email list and programming the emails to be sent on the correct dates for each deliverable ask yourself what steps do we need to take in order to achieve this the steps will become the individual tasks that need to be completed let's turn our attention to another deliverable for sauce and spoon the implementation of a post-dining survey to assess customer satisfaction what steps do you need to take in order to achieve this deliverable you might need to assign a team member to develop a survey you'll also need to determine how you'll deliver the survey and create a process for carrying it out these are just a couple of examples of the many tasks you'll need to complete in order to achieve the deliverable it's your job to help uncover the rest of the tasks how do you uncover more tasks in addition to the project charter there are other common forms of documentation that can help you identify tasks for example you might ask your stakeholders or colleagues to share emails or an older project plan for a similar project let's discuss how these might be useful as you build your list of tasks emails that relate to the project can provide lots of helpful information for you to pull tasks from since so much communication in the workplace happens over email ask to have relevant emails that contain discussions about the project's details forwarded to you these emails can help you uncover tasks and they can also help you identify team members to connect with further if you have additional questions it's also helpful to review an older project plan for a similar initiative to find out what kind of tasks were included for example if you are a project manager tasked with launching a new product you might ask a colleague with experience launching other products for the same company to share their project plan as an example or if your project includes some construction work you might ask colleagues about unrelated projects that also had construction components previous project plans can provide helpful inspiration as you create your own list of tasks they can also help you identify possible task durations subject matter experts and even suppliers that may be helpful to your project as you review project documentation take note of information that suggests other tasks your team will need to complete in order to execute on project deliverables during this process ask yourself questions like is there a large task being worked on by many people that could be broken into smaller tasks assigned to individuals are there signals that imply prior tasks need to be completed first for example a deliverable like install tablets might imply selecting a tablet vendor as a prior task great we've covered a lot in this video so let's review the project plan helps document the scope tasks milestones budget and overall activities in order to keep the project on track to add tasks to your plan search for useful information from existing project documentation such as the project charter email threads and old project plans from a similar project as you review project documentation take note of information that suggests additional tasks and milestones that your team will need to complete in order to meet project deliverables great in the next activity you'll review the supporting materials to start building the sauce and spoon project plan by now you should have analyzed existing project documentation to identify a list of tasks related to the sauce and spoon tablet pilot in this video i'll share a few tips for conducting online research which is a helpful strategy for gathering domain knowledge domain knowledge refers to knowledge of a specific industry topic or activity if you're unfamiliar with a new project's domain then analyzing supporting project documentation will help you broaden your knowledge there will be times throughout your career when you'll be new to an organization or industry you might be assigned to a project that's unlike anything you've ever managed before and that's okay new challenges can be a really exciting part of the job so how do you identify tasks and monitor progress for a project or industry that you're not familiar with another key to success when working on an unfamiliar project is knowing where to find useful information that can help you increase your domain knowledge here's an example let's say you've been hired to manage projects in the private banking industry in order to successfully manage these projects you'll need a basic understanding of how private banking works this includes things like how clients open accounts back office operations and how trade confirmations are verified and in the case of sauce and spoon you'll need a base level understanding of the restaurant industry some of which you've already come across during this course like knowing about guest averages and table turn times again you don't need to be an expert on your project but becoming more familiar with different industries and types of projects is a valuable skill that demonstrates your versatility having industry knowledge can also save you time on future projects within that industry since you won't have to ask as many questions or do as much research that said if you're new to an industry or organization no one will expect you to have all the answers right away one way to help build up your domain knowledge when you get started with project planning is through online research online research can help increase your knowledge of industry terms techniques processes and more all of which can be helpful as you embark on a new project this allows you to read up on how other organizations have managed similar projects it's also an opportunity to draw inspiration from their successes and to learn from their mistakes so what should you be aiming for as you do research for a given project let's go over a few tips that can help you get started first try searching online for news coverage of similar projects at other companies for example you might search for news articles that focus on restaurant groups who've added tablet ordering capabilities to their restaurant locations experiment with search terms like menu tablet news or restaurant tablet news to find relevant news articles as you read take notes on interesting findings did the company experience any surprising outcomes following their products launch did they come across any unanticipated roadblocks if so make note of these and decide if there are tasks that you should add to your project in order to achieve similar results or to avoid similar roadblocks identifying where similar successes or mistakes might play out in your own project can help you uncover tasks that you may have otherwise overlooked it's also helpful to search online for research on topics related to your project for example you might search for phrases like restaurant tablet research or digital menu ordering adding search tags like best practices or key takeaways can help streamline your search results then you can review the relevant research for information that might help inform your project planning you can also try researching similar projects in other industries this can be especially helpful when you're new to a project or industry for example even though your project may center around tablet usage in a restaurant setting you can also learn about the installation process from research and tablet usage in similar settings like retail stores or coffee shops the details will be different but similar projects in other industries can be a helpful source of ideas once you've done some initial online research review the list of tasks that you've identified so far and research the specifics of executing that work for example maybe one of the tasks on your list is choosing the tablet model that you'll ultimately install in the restaurants are there any smaller subtasks your team will need to complete to decide on a tablet model searching online can help to uncover any additional tasks you'll need to account for well done let's recap what we learned in this video online research can help you increase your domain knowledge of industry terms techniques processes and more when you conduct your online research keep the following tips in mind search for news articles about similar projects at other companies research similar projects in other industries and finally review your list of tasks and research the specifics of executing that work in this video you'll learn how to identify more tasks by analyzing key conversations related to the project the sauce and spoon project is fairly complex and will result in a project plan with many tasks populating your plan with a set of tasks can indicate to future employers that you're able to identify key areas of work based on documentation research conversations and more it can also demonstrate that you're able to synthesize these tasks into a single organized document which is a critical part of project management reviewing project documentation and researching your project online can help you identify tasks but that won't tell you everything you need to know discussions with other people working on the project from stakeholders to team members can help you uncover tasks that you're still missing or clarify the smaller subtasks let's start with tips for identifying tasks through group conversations with members of your project team one way to discover more tasks is to hold a group brainstorm session with team members who will likely work on those tasks for example peta might meet with the sauce and spoon project team to brainstorm potential challenges that the wait staff and guests might have with the tablets discussing these as a group can help identify ideas for tasks that may have been overlooked another way to discover tasks is to hold one-on-one conversations with team members about tasks they'll likely be responsible for completing for example you might have a discussion with a vendor who specializes in training restaurant employees to determine how to prepare for the training or you might reach out to a graphic designer to discuss creating new marketing materials your team outside vendors and company executives have specific expertise and job experience that gives them a deeper understanding of the work required to complete tasks or reach milestones through conversations with teammates you might learn that certain tasks are more complex than you assumed or that you're missing a key step of a given process in this case leverage the expertise of your teammates to discover what you don't know and to fill in gaps in your list of tasks in addition to connecting with teammates to uncover project tasks it may also be helpful to consult with other people in your organization who are experts on given tasks though these people may not be involved in your project they may be able to provide valuable expertise that can help you identify processes and fill in gaps once you've connected with members of your project team and other experts in your organization examine your list of tasks are there still areas where you need more information if so it may be helpful to have a conversation with your key stakeholders to fill in any gaps as we've discussed senior stakeholders are often busy with other aspects of their jobs so you should be strategic about who to ask for a conversation stakeholders who have high or medium level interest or influence in the project are most likely to provide the information you need some examples include stakeholders who are subject matter experts and those who are directly affected by the outcome of the project like your team's leadership you can refer back to your stakeholder analysis for help deciding who would be best to connect with once you've identified which stakeholders would be most helpful make sure you're prepared by gathering as much information as possible ahead of your conversation and outlining clear outstanding questions that you still need answers to during the conversation present your research and your current list of tasks and explain exactly how they can help you move forward this will give your stakeholder a clear picture of what you've accomplished so far and help them to identify gaps or missing tasks that are required to achieve your goal ample preparation helps ensure that you can get the information you need while respecting the limited time of your stakeholders keep in mind that conversations you have about project tasks will often contain more details and information than you need to create a thorough list but you may want to note some of this extra information since it may be useful later in the project each task on your list should be detailed enough that you'll be able to check in on progress and identify problems early on but not so detailed that you're endlessly revising your project plan and burdening your team with the need to update you constantly on their work the right level of detail to include in your task list will vary from project to project and team to team and striking the right balance is a skill you'll develop over the course of your career okay let's do a quick recap discussions with other people working on the project can help you uncover missing tasks or clarify smaller subtasks some ways to uncover tasks include brainstorming with team members assigned to similar or related tasks holding one-on-one conversations with team members about tasks consulting with other people in your organization who are experts on given tasks and having conversations with stakeholders the right level of detail to include in your task list will vary from project to project and team to team as a project manager a key part of your role is identifying the right level of detail and then synthesizing it into a clear concise list of tasks in the project plan in the upcoming activity you'll review the supporting materials to uncover more task details and add them to the sauce and spoon project plan so far you've identified and added tasks to your project plan you've gathered information from relevant project documentation online research and other people on the project team in this video i'll discuss how to order your task list and share several techniques for identifying milestones maybe you've already identified a few milestones on your own these techniques will be helpful to keep in mind when you're working through the activity after this video let's start with ordering your task list by now you should have a long list of project tasks to finalize the list review what you have so far check for any remaining larger tasks that could still be broken down into smaller subtasks and add those tasks to your list when you think you've listed all the necessary project tasks in your project plan the next step is to arrange the tasks in the order that they need to be completed determining the proper task order will help you assign start and end dates for each task when determining priority first consider the basic order of operations in other words what is the natural sequence of tasks are there any dependencies or prerequisites for example you can't train staff on how to use the tablets before they've been installed and tested to help you order tasks you can have a conversation with your team to uncover dependencies or prerequisites from each person who owns a task you might ask each person what needs to happen before they can start their work similarly you can search the internet for information with terms such as prerequisites for launching new hardware after you've thought through the order adjust the tasks in your project plan to reflect this order to do this simply rearrange the spreadsheet rows to set the order for your tasks for example the task of researching different models of menu tablets needs to happen before the task of signing a contract with a menu tablet supplier makes sense right you probably wouldn't want to sign a contract with the supplier before you'd researched every possible option once your tasks are in order you'll begin identifying milestones remember that milestones are important points within the project schedule that indicate progress milestones usually signify the completion of a deliverable or phase of the project to determine milestones within your list of tasks identify points in the project plan where you and your team can evaluate the work completed so far for example if there are multiple tasks related to menu tablet installation a milestone might be the first internal test run of the tablet's ordering capabilities these types of milestones may be the same as some of the deliverables you listed earlier another way to determine milestones is to identify important tasks that your stakeholders have a particular interest in to do this review your notes from previous conversations with stakeholders and identify tasks that stakeholders seemed eager to know more about or wanted to review when complete if your stakeholder has a high interest in a given task or point in the project label that task as a milestone for example one of the sauce and spoon stakeholders might be interested in knowing when a tablet supplier has been selected since that decision will impact the budget as you review your list you should also identify tasks that carry a high risk or signal the completion of a phase or major task these tasks are often considered milestones because they have a major impact on the project's overall progress for example the first successful test run of the menu tablet's ordering capabilities might be considered a milestone amazing job let's review once you've listed all of the necessary tasks in your project plan you'll need to rearrange the tasks in the order in which your team needs to complete them it's also important to consider the natural sequence of tasks as well as the dependencies or prerequisites for each task once your tasks are in order you'll need to identify milestones when determining milestones it's crucial to identify the points in the project plan where you can evaluate the work completed so far identify the tasks that stakeholders have a particular interest in and identify tasks that carry a high risk or signal the completion of a phase or major task okay ready to get back into your project plan head to the next activity to reorder your list of project tasks and identify your project milestones time estimation is a prediction of the total amount of time required to complete a task providing time estimates for each task gives you a better sense of the overall project timeline in relation to individual deadlines and milestones knowing the estimated duration of a task also lets you easily track its progress so you can recognize if the task is likely to go over the estimated time that way you'll be better able to project the timeline and quickly make any necessary adjustments as i mentioned earlier you won't necessarily be an expert on the projects you manage initially on top of reviewing project documentation and doing some research you'll also need the help of your team and other subject matter experts to fill in some of the details and provide input asking the right questions can help your experts get to the most accurate time estimates possible let's go over some strategies for getting accurate time estimates from your task experts first check their understanding of the task ask the expert to explain all the detailed steps involved in the task you won't include every detail in the project plan but by having the expert do this you're getting them to thoroughly think through the work involved before providing you with an estimate next ask for estimates of the sub steps and make note of them then add them all up and compare that total with the expert's estimate of the total time needed to complete the task another strategy is to discuss the assumptions the expert might be making when they give you an estimate for example what equipment do they assume they'll have what kind of supplies how many people do they assume are working on the task what are their assumptions about the skill and experience level of the people working alongside them on the task then ask the task expert to consider how likely it might be that all or some of these assumptions might not work out and how that might impact their estimate one important detail to clarify here is the difference between an effort estimate and a total duration estimate an effort estimate only takes into account the actual time it takes to complete a task a total duration estimate accounts for the effort estimation and any other factors like getting approvals prep work testing and so on for example imagine one of your tasks is designing and launching the checkout page for the tablet the effort estimation for designing the page might be eight hours which is the amount of time it takes to mock up and implement the design but the total duration of the task includes testing feedback and approvals needed to launch that means that the total time estimate for the checkout page is actually more than eight hours finally another strategy for getting accurate estimates is to compare the expert's estimates against the actual time spent on similar tasks in previous work ask the expert to think about a similar project they worked on and describe what was different and what was the same ask how long that project took and whether thinking about that project changes their estimate at all okay let's review what we just covered time estimation is a prediction of the total amount of time required to complete a task providing estimates for each task gives you a big picture sense of the project timeline in relation to individual deadlines and milestones and asking the right questions can help your experts get to the most accurate estimate possible try checking their understanding of the task or ask for estimates of the sub steps discuss assumptions and compare the expert's estimates against the actual time spent on similar tasks in previous work i've got one more technique for figuring out accurate time estimates it's called three point estimating three point estimating is used to help determine the most realistic time estimate for a task it uses optimistic and pessimistic calculations meaning calculations based on the best case and the worst case scenarios a side benefit to this strategy is that it takes into account potential risks that could impact not only the task estimation but other aspects of the project like budget and resources just as the name implies in three point estimating there are three parts of the estimate to examine here's how it works each task receives three time estimates optimistic most likely and pessimistic each estimate indicates the projected amount of time a task will take under that category and how likely any potential risks are to occur an optimistic estimate assumes the best case scenario issues will not occur and the task will be completed within the estimated time in other words it's how long you hope the task will take assuming everything goes as planned for example if all the supplies needed for a task come in early and everything works the way it's supposed to a most likely estimate assumes some issues might occur another way to think about a most likely estimate is that it is based on how long the task usually takes under normal circumstances like if the supplies arrive at the expected time and you only need to make some slight adjustments before everything eventually works the way it's supposed to and finally a pessimistic estimate assumes that issues will definitely occur this is where everything that could go wrong does go wrong for example if the supplies are late or the order is incorrect and nothing works the way it's supposed to when determining estimates using this technique you'll need to ask your task experts questions or conduct research that will help you understand best and worst case scenarios then add these notes to the plan for each task let's try out three point estimating with an example from the sauce and spoon project the task of training the staff to use the tablets you ask the person tasked with arranging the staff training to give you a time estimate in each category and to describe the conditions for each the task expert tells you that the conditions for an optimistic estimate would mean the vendor who is hired to do training is well qualified has all the materials they need and shows up on time to deliver the training all of the staff shows up on time and successfully completes the training within the scheduled amount of time all of the equipment works for the staff to practice on in this best case scenario your task expert estimates four hours two hours to conduct the training and one hour each for setup and post-training review on the originally scheduled date in a most likely scenario the task expert assumes that the vendor is qualified but might not have all the necessary materials so they'll need to modify something or someone on the restaurant staff will need to find some supplies or the vendor might be new and need extra time to prepare or take longer to deliver the training usually a couple of staff members can't attend or be on time so extra training time would need to be scheduled there could also be some minor glitches with the equipment and the training might need to be rescheduled for a different day later in the week the time estimate in this case is closer to six hours and the date is likely to get changed to two or three days later than originally planned under pessimistic conditions you could have a situation where the original training vendor quits and a new vendor has to be hired there could be several unexpected staff no shows or turnover right before the training or possibly the equipment doesn't get delivered on time or doesn't work so the training can't happen until the new equipment arrives in this case the actual training time is still around 6 hours but the date has to be rescheduled for up to a full week later than originally planned when conducting your own research or having conversations with task experts be mindful of the three points so that you can determine the outcomes of optimistic most likely and pessimistic timing if someone quotes you a time estimate don't just take their word for it without understanding the context they're estimating from think about it this way if someone is being optimistic they might estimate that a task will only take them two days to complete if you go with that estimate and it ends up taking a whole week your schedule is off but if someone is being pessimistic and quotes one month and the task only takes a week then you've got extra time in your schedule that could have gone toward other tasks or led to an earlier product release always accounting for a worst-case scenario might seem like a good thing but it's actually wasteful if you calculate most of your estimates this way so you want to examine the best and worst-case scenario timing and compare these with the most likely scenario from there you can build in a buffer that accounts for risks that are likely but still keeps the project progressing at an efficient rate being able to share these ratings with stakeholders is helpful because they indicate how likely it is that a task will be completed in the amount of time estimated estimating is not a perfect science so adding a confidence level rating for a task allows you to address any uncertainty in an upcoming activity you'll finish calculating your time estimate and add confidence level ratings to your tasks in the sauce and spoon project plan let's get started a confidence level rating ranges from high meaning you're very confident in your estimate to low meaning you're not very confident in your estimate knowing the confidence level of your estimate and adding notes about any risks or issues that might affect the estimate can help you identify whether you should ask the project team for their input they might be able to point out the estimates or tasks you should track more closely additionally if you notice that your confidence is low across a large percentage of task estimates you might want to communicate your uncertainty about the project timeline to stakeholders there are a few ways to determine a confidence level reading using the three-point technique we just discussed is one way of gaining confidence in your estimates if you can show that you've considered the best and worst case conditions for a task then your confidence level rating for that task's time estimate would be high since you have a thorough understanding of the task another way to determine a confidence rating is by pulling your team about the tasks they're assigned and coming to a consensus about your collective confidence to do this you could calculate their level of confidence as a percentage which means pulling everyone on their estimates and calculating the average confidence level you might find that they're 90 confident which would mean you have an overall high confidence rating or maybe they're only 60 confident which would mean you have a medium confidence rating or you could define categories for the team for example we've never done a project like this before we've done this once before we've done this a handful of times and we've done this a ton of times already each category correlates to your confidence level if they've never done the project before or have only done it once then the confidence rating for the time estimate might be low estimating is far from an exact science particularly in project management when there are so many unknowns implementing a system that accounts for those unknowns and ensures an accurate picture of the project timeline means everyone will be better off over the long term okay let's review what we've covered a confidence level rating indicates how confident you are in an estimates accuracy you can determine confidence ratings in a few ways including pulling your team on the tasks they're assigned to or by defining categories and remember estimating is far from an exact science particularly in project management when there are so many unknowns implementing a system that accounts for those unknowns and ensures an accurate picture of project costs means everyone will be better off over the long term now that you've added tasks time estimates and confidence ratings to your project plan let's prepare for upcoming negotiations concerning time estimates peta has to negotiate with team members about some of the tasks that have low confidence level ratings or that are estimated to take longer than she'd hoped you'll help by analyzing the supporting materials recording notes and identifying some effective negotiation techniques earlier you applied some negotiation skills to discussions about the project's scope negotiation skills can also help you get accurate time and effort estimates but the skills you use and the approach you take will be a little different in this case you're negotiating with a task expert not a stakeholder your goal is to try to determine an accurate time and effort estimate for a task instead of persuading them to agree with a certain outcome you're trying to arrive in an objectively accurate estimate together on any project you'll have to work with people who have a tendency to over or underestimate time costs or resources people don't do this intentionally usually they're just being optimistic or trying to please you by providing what they think you want to hear rather than what's realistic or sometimes they might be overly cautious and give you an extreme estimate in case something doesn't go according to plan in some situations using negotiation skills to get accurate time estimates might be critical to the success of the project there are lots of different negotiation techniques out there but let's focus on a few that are specific to negotiating a time estimate they are say no without saying no focus on interests not positions present mutually beneficial options and insist on objective criteria if a task expert gives you a time estimate that's different from what you hoped for there are a few techniques you can use to try and reach an estimate that works for both of you let's start with the first technique saying no without saying no the idea behind this technique is to get the other person to start working out an alternative solution with you here's how first think about the ways we usually tell someone no that won't work that's not going to happen i can't do that or there's no way statements like these can make the person you're communicating with feel defensive and shut down the conversation instead ask open-ended questions like how would you like me to proceed how can we solve this problem and what can i do to help questions like these invite the other person to collaborate with you this keeps the conversation focused on reaching a resolution that works for both of you let's explore the next technique focus on interests not positions here the goal is not to win instead try to identify the other person's interests their basic needs wants and motivations around completing a certain task you might be working with a task expert who cares deeply about completing the task with a high degree of quality but you're concerned that if you don't meet the deadline the quality of the work won't matter you can ask if there are any areas of quality they'd be willing to compromise on that would shorten the schedule estimate but still allow them to complete the task to an acceptable degree a third technique is to present mutually beneficial options we covered this a little already but here's how you can apply this concept when negotiating time estimates imagine both you and your task expert want to complete the task as quickly as possible but the expert's time estimate is still longer than you'd like asking some open-ended questions like the ones listed earlier can help you figure out if there's a solution that will satisfy both of your goals maybe there's information the expert is missing or a resource that you could commit to finding and supplying to make the estimate lower the last technique is to insist on using objective criteria to define a time estimate objective criteria is based on neutral information like market value research findings previously documented experience or laws and regulations when you use objective criteria you're basing the agreement on known or shared principles the key is to agree in advance about which objective criteria to consult and then to use the information to determine your estimates you might have an expert who insists on following their instincts when coming up with time estimates if you ask them in advance to provide clear objective data that supports their instincts you can get them to arrive at a more accurate estimate okay let's review what we've covered there are many scenarios where negotiation skills for a time estimate might be critical to the success of the project a few techniques that are specific to negotiating a time estimate are say no without saying no focus on interests not positions present mutually beneficial options and insist on objective criteria asking for time estimates or questioning why an aspect of the project is delayed can be a difficult conversation that's why practicing empathy is so important when negotiating and when communicating in general empathy is the ability to understand and feel what others are feeling it's when you make the effort to imagine yourself in the other person's position and experience things from their perspective approaching a conversation with empathy can make the discussion much easier you've learned about how to bring empathy into project management in general including being present listening and asking questions in this video we'll discuss how you can bring empathy to conversations about task estimates and timelines asking questions about how long a task will take can make some people feel insecure they might feel like you don't trust them that you think they're not competent that you believe you know more than they do about their own work and so on have you ever felt like someone didn't trust you or questioned your ability to complete your work even when you're just trying to get a clear understanding of a task you don't understand asking questions without empathy can leave team members with the sense that you're micromanaging them micromanaging is when a manager too closely observes controls or continuously reminds the people they're managing of the work they've been assigned this has a negative impact because it demonstrates the manager's lack of trust and confidence in the people they oversee there are several ways you can bring empathy to your conversations one way is to listen with curiosity ask questions to demonstrate your interest in what people have to say rather than making assumptions or suggestions start the conversation with a question for example you might ask the person how long a particular task took them on a previous project rather than suggesting a time frame to complete a similar task another way to show empathy is to periodically repeat what you think the other person said noticing you restate their message in your own words will encourage them to confirm their intent and will ensure you understand what they're communicating it might also help them view the issues you're discussing from a different perspective you can also demonstrate empathy by trying to connect with their experience let the person know that you understand that making estimations can be difficult for anyone yourself included you might share a time on a project when you struggled with making a time estimate for a task or misestimated it all together make it clear that you know they want to do the best job possible and you want to support them practicing empathy also means you're able to recognize your own judgments acknowledge to yourself if you're making internal judgments about the person you're communicating with like if you're having doubts about their work quality for example then find ways to view the situation more compassionately even if you don't speak your judgments aloud people are very good at reading body language and facial expressions and interpreting the tone of others try to put yourself in the other person's position and find out about any barriers they might be facing another strategy for practicing empathy is recognizing buffering a team member might add a buffer to their time estimate for a task without communicating why they added the buffer ask them up front if they've included a buffer to account for holidays sickness child care or emergencies this can demonstrate your empathy for their situation and can also help you get a more accurate estimate encourage them to open up about this extra buffer by assuring them that you want an honest answer even if it's not ideal and finally in order to effectively employ all of these strategies for practicing empathy in your conversations you need to be able to fully focus on what the other person is communicating this means avoiding distractions putting your phone on silent not looking at phone notifications or texting and closing your laptop are some ways to show the person that you're giving them your undivided attention and that what they're sharing is important to you let's do a quick review empathy is the ability to understand and feel what others are feeling some tips for bringing empathy to your conversations are listen with curiosity repeat what you think you heard connect with their experience recognize judgments recognize buffering and avoid distractions congratulations on finishing this video in the google project management 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Channel: Google Career Certificates

Views: 5,649

Keywords: Grow with Google, Career Change, Tech jobs, Google Career Certificate, Google Career Certificates, Job skills, Coursera, Certification, Google, professional certificates, professional certificate program, Project management, Project management 101, Project management fundamentals, Project manager, Program management, Agile, Agile project management, Scrum, time management, google sheets, google sheets tutorial for beginners, project plan, how to use google sheets

Id: GJyiNGP9jyk

Length: 47min 4sec (2824 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 21 2021