You’re struggling to set realistic deadlines. What’s the first step you should take?

- Clearly define your project scope. - Identify different work activities in your project and document them. - Create a network diagram to ensure clarity of dependencies and priorities - Document external and internal dependencies for each work items - Estimate timelines for each tasks - Document risks, mitigation plan, risk impact, project dependencies and assumptions - Add buffer and contingencies - Identify type and number of team members required for the project. - Identify skills and work experience needed to ensure appropriate hiring, training and development activities are undertaken if needed - Identify reporting structure, parameters to be reported and frequency of reporting to all stakeholders.

By breaking the project into smaller, more manageable tasks, we can gain a clearer picture of the overall workload. This helps identify potential complexities and dependencies between tasks. When we have a granular view of the project, estimating the time required for each task becomes more precise. This allows for a more accurate overall deadline. It helps to uncover potential risks associated with specific tasks. This awareness allows to factor in buffer time for these risks, preventing delays Work Breakdown Structure is a hierarchical approach decomposes the project into progressively smaller deliverables. It's a good choice for complex projects with many dependencies

The first step in setting realistic deadlines is to divide your project into smaller, more manageable tasks. This helps to understand the scope and complexity of each component, allowing for more precise time estimation. Instead of setting a project completion date, break it down into phases like design, development, testing, and deployment. These phases can be further broken down into smaller tasks. Estimate time for each phase and task using similar past projects or consulting with experienced team members. This method provides a clearer road map and helps to avoid the risk of underestimating the time required for complex tasks.

A WBS organizes the project into a hierarchical structure, from high-level deliverables to lower-level tasks. This helps visualize dependencies and identify potential bottlenecks. A well-defined WBS facilitates clear communication with the team regarding tasks, dependencies, and deadlines The WBS serves as a roadmap for monitoring project progress. You can track completion of tasks and identify areas where deadlines might need adjustment With this granular view, estimating the time for each task becomes more precise, leading to a more accurate overall deadline.

The 8/80 rule, also known as the 10-day rule, is primarily used in project management, specifically when creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). It's a guideline for the size of individual work packages within the WBS, and while it doesn't directly set deadlines, it can indirectly contribute to achieving them through better project planning: Tasks become more manageable chunks, making it easier to assign, track, and monitor progress. Imagine a large, vague task like "build user interface" versus smaller, well-defined tasks like "design login screen," "implement user registration," etc.,