Project management
Status reports, minutes, risks and dependencies: where AI saves time in project work and why it does not replace an estimate.
What this is about
| Task | Value |
|---|---|
| Assembling a status report from ticket system and notes | very high |
| Producing minutes and extracting actions | high |
| Collecting risks from minutes and reports | high |
| Checking requirements for contradictions | medium |
| Finding dependencies between work packages | medium |
| Estimating effort | low without your own history |
Introduction
- 01
Start with the status report
It is weekly, follows a fixed structure and draws on sources that already exist.
- 02
Fix the structure
A report with a fixed structure can be checked. A freely written one cannot.
- 03
Name the sources
Every statement in the report with its origin: which ticket, which minutes, which date.
- 04
Minutes only afterwards
They need a settled legal basis and the agreement of those present.
- Do not take figures from the model; figures come from the system.
- Names in minutes only with a clear rule about how people are referred to.
- Always confirm actions from minutes before creating them.
- Have a named person own the report at the end.
Estimating with your own history
A defensible estimate needs three things: comparable completed items, the actual effort for them, and an honest statement of spread.
- At least 30 comparable completed work packages, otherwise the spread cannot be estimated.
- Always give a range, not a point value. A median plus an 80th percentile is usable; a mean alone is not.
- Handling times are right-skewed. Planning on the mean plans above the typical case and below the bad one.
- Hold the estimate against the actual course and track the deviation. Without that feedback the estimate never improves.
Transcribing meetings
| Point | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Information | Everyone present before the start, not after |
| Legal basis | Legitimate interest or a works agreement; consent in employment is vulnerable |
| Co-determination | Routinely engaged, since the facility is capable of conduct monitoring |
| Retention | Recording far shorter than the minutes; set both separately |
| Objection | A way to take part without being recorded must exist |
See Speech recognition and GDPR and AI.
Metrics
| Quantity | Baseline |
|---|---|
| Time per status report | collect over six weeks |
| Share of reports going out without rework | continuously |
| Time from meeting to circulated minutes | before and after |
| Share of actions correctly created from minutes | sample |
Choosing a task in project management
FREE ACCOUNT
Selection sheet and templates: project management
A sheet that picks the first task out of the ones project management actually has, with two tested templates and the review steps for them.
Worksheet3 items