{"id":1330,"date":"2019-10-25T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/inswwdev.azurewebsites.net\/au\/insights\/uncategorized\/making-an-ass-out-of-you-and-me\/"},"modified":"2019-10-25T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T01:00:00","slug":"making-an-ass-out-of-you-and-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/insights\/geek-speak\/modern-workplace\/making-an-ass-out-of-you-and-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Making an ass out of you and me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026winning through healthy management of assumptions!<\/h3>\n

Cheeky? Yes, but I thought I\u2019d see what I could get away with! So, what are assumptions and how can they impact our project outcomes?<\/p>\n

Firstly, what is an assumption? The Oxford dictionary defines an assumption as: \u201cA thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof\u201d. Even the Project Management Institute\u2019s definition aligns with this statement; assumptions are \u201cfactors that, for planning purposes, are considered to be true, real, or certain without proof or demonstration\u201d (Project Management Institute (PMI), 2008, p148). We need assumptions to progress and move the project forward. Assumptions are, in the beginning, considered true, however they may not end up that way. So, what happens?<\/p>\n

I am pretty sure you\u2019ve all experienced that what you thought was a commonly held belief, was not shared amongst the project team. The assumption was incorrect, and you realise your project isn\u2019t as healthy as you thought. Assumptions are risky business and need to be watched with a keen eye.<\/p>\n

At Insentra, we host kick-off meetings with our customers and partners and walk through all the important facets of the project, including the assumptions. Discussing the assumptions is critical to establishing if they are true. It enables discussion and provides all parties with the understanding of what is required to progress. Communication is the key to managing any project successfully, with tracking and managing assumptions no different. Tracking is required throughout the entire lifecycle of a project and this involves managing existing assumptions and recording new ones as they arise.<\/p>\n

On a side note, we are so accustomed to assumptions that we barely recognise many that we take for granted every day. For example, we speak or understand the common language used by the group and assume that our colleagues are available and willing to listen. We assume we\u2019re all on the same page and following the same set of rules in a largely unconscious way. I guess my point, \u201cfinally\u201d I hear you say, is that we live and work in a world full of assumptions every day. How do we minimise the threat that assumptions have on our projects? Well I am so glad you asked\u2026 read on, dear friends, read on!<\/p>\n

Managing Assumptions<\/p>\n

Our assumptions are mostly quietly held beliefs, not often articulated in the concourse of daily life. For instance, I take for granted that everyone in the office speaks English so I don\u2019t start a sentence with \u201cdo you speak English and are you willing to listen and understand what I am saying?\u201d Goodness, I\u2019d be laughed out of the office! It seems, as with everything Project Management, communication is the key. We need to talk and talk and talk until we close the project. Keeping things hidden or our assumption quiet can really cause problems down the track. At Insentra, we seek to understand the critical elements of our projects. Our project team, which usually consists of our partners and customers, is a close-knit group. We work collaboratively to capture all the project risks, issues<\/p>\n

and assumptions. I find sharing this journey with the team so rewarding. I get the feeling they find it that way too, as they say, we\u2019re all in this together.<\/p>\n

When we manage assumptions through communication, we need consider the following;<\/p>\n