For Project Success, Uncertainties Must be Managed"-- Realization Technologies

According to Realization Technologies whose multi-project management software is used by over 65 leading organizations the key to managing projects is to manage the uncertainties of projects.

SILICON VALLEY -- March 13, 2003 -- According to Realization Technologies (formerly Speed to Market), whose multi-project management software is used by over 65 leading organizations, such as Pharmacia, LSI Logic, the U.S. Marine Corps, Medtronic and others, the key to managing projects is to manage the uncertainties of projects.

Just because you create a good plan and follow it, your projects will not get done on time," advises Realization Technologies CEO Sanjeev Gupta. In reality, too many uncertainties hit you along the way. Requirements change, technology fails, vendors do not deliver, work materializes slower than expected, approvals do not come on time and priorities change. It is tempting to fight uncertainties, but it is futile. Making project management software useful requires understanding how uncertainties affect projects and crafting a solution to manage them."

According to Gupta, uncertainties affect projects adversely in three ways. Firstly, they cascade. Delays propagate but gains dont add up. Substantial time and capacity are lost as a result. Projects lose time because either all of the preceding activities have not finished or the needed resources are working elsewhere. Resources idle, waiting for work to arrive. Such idling is often not visible because people continue to fine-tune already-completed work.

Secondly, uncertainties cause multitasking, in which people shuffle between tasks, killing productivity and elongating projects. Parallel processing forces each task to take longer. Extra capacity is needed for continual task set-ups and set-downs. Concentration lapses and quality suffers when people cannot focus on one task at a time.

Lastly, natural human behavior makes the situation worse. Having experienced constant delays and being pulled in multiple directions, people quickly learn to hide safeties in their estimates. However, these safeties are invariably wasted because of procrastination and not reporting early finishes.

Gupta emphasizes that uncertainties, by definition, cannot be predicted. Even when measured after the fact, the results are meaningless because there is no way to detect when they will arise again. With detailed planning and tracking, uncertainties still occur and plans go obsolete even faster as detailed planning and tracking only adds to chaos and administrative burden.

Since there will unquestionably be uncertainties in any major multi-project program, they must be managed, Gupta argues. Realizations Safety Engine does that by inserting blocks of unscheduled time, called buffers, into the plan. These buffers absorb and lessen the shocks of uncertainties. As uncertainties create delays in execution, the buffer gets used. The Safety Engine then calculates how much of the unscheduled time is still available for future uncertainties and sets forward-looking priorities for everyone, including managers.

As a result of using this approach, Realizations customers are completing more than 80 percent of their projects on time, accomplishing more projects with more scope in each project and providing managers with increased control.

About Realization Technologies, Inc.

Realization Technologies, Inc. (formerly Speed to Market) provides project management software, specifically designed to manage uncertainties in projects. Its 65-plus customers around the world include leading organizations such as LSI Logic, Medtronic, NASA, Pharmacia, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy, who now deliver over 80 percent of their projects on time without compromising scope, budgets or lead times. Realization Technologies is headquartered at 2 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113. Website is www.realization.com.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Shailesh Sood            

REALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES    

408-271-1711

ssood@realization.com     

Tom Brigham

BRIGHAM SCULLY

818-716-9021

tbrigham@brighamscully.com