Your team is divided on urgent engineering projects. How do you decide which one to prioritize first?

I will prioritize projects based on their impact, urgency, resource availability, and potential risks, ensuring alignment with business goals and stakeholder needs.

Assessing the impact of the project output, based on the strategic goal is vital. For example, if a technology-based increment or product is planned, the objective will be to bring the product into the market at the earliest, before the competitor does. In this case, prioritize the project first, then the user stories. Engage the major stakeholders and end users and organize them in such a way that a minimum viable product is ready in an optimum time. Facilitate feed back , reflect and refine the product.

Value is a relative term. When does it bring value to the company? If one project brings the most value but takes 3 years to fully implement while 2 or 3 other smaller projects bring in quick revenue, this needs to be rationalized.

1. Assess which project has the most immediate impact on safety 2. Prioritize projects that align with the company’s strategic objectives 3. Resource availability 4. Consider which task will unblock or accelerate other initiatives

Before taking any project, if you assess their revenue and the project the P&L for your company as well. Do that first. Then look for the requirements and feasibility, strategise and evaluate the impacts along side, this would include risks analysis as well.

Resource evaluation is a subject near and dear to me. When planning and exicuting projects, knowing your skills and capabilities is important, but knowing the next step is also vital. Each engineer I have has their skills and talents, but they also have their passions and their goals for themselves. Knowing how to properly stretch and give opportunity to those passions and goals in algnment with project requirements is the chess game every good leader should embrace. The art of building our teams through the project load we have. Everyone knows that tapping into someones passions will alqays get you the best work effort.

The distribution of skill sets through strategically important projects is challenging. Skill requirement analysis and proper allocation of human resources are to be incorporated during the planning phase. To avoid resource clashes between the projects, the skilled resources should be synchronized with the project schedule in P6.? A required level of LOD should be modeled and maintained using building information modeling (BIM) to assign, execute, monitor, and control major resources.? Review and reconciliate resources according to the project requirements aligned with the strategic objectives of the organization.

Planning resources must be long term and cannot be instantly reactive again reinforcing the need for good forward planning because resource is always finite and often needs long lead times to react to needs. Reliable planning usually means that the best managers have already seen the pinch point coming and planned accordingly.

Consider your team’s capacity, skills, and current workload to determine if they can handle both projects simultaneously or if one must take precedence. Assess if any specialized resources or equipment are limited and how that affects your ability to execute each project efficiently. By understanding the constraints on time, personnel, and materials, you can better decide which project should be prioritized and ensure that resources are deployed where they can have the greatest effect.

Team Skills and Resources: Skills Gap Analysis: Identify any skills gaps on your team and consider training or hiring to address them. Resource Allocation: Create a resource allocation plan that accounts for individual team member capacity.

Timelines can be tricky if we don't pay attention to external activities or predecessor relationships. There might be an activity that is supposed to take several weeks or months but needs to be started soon because it requires delivery, development, or is in high demand. Thus, I'd recommend analyzing timelines based on milestones and prioritizing those with the longest durations. It's easier to get lost on those.

it's crucial to examine the timelines of each project. Look at which project has the most urgent deadline or is tied to critical milestones. A project with a tight timeline may require immediate attention to avoid delays or penalties. However, also consider any flexibility in the schedule; if one project can be extended without significant consequences, that may allow the other to take priority. Balancing tight deadlines with overall project goals will help you make a well-informed decision on which project to prioritize.

Deadlines and Urgency: Buffer Time: Build in some buffer time for unexpected delays or roadblocks. This will help ensure projects stay on track. Risk Assessment: Identify potential risks that could impact deadlines and develop contingency plans.

Timelines are always a challenge. Striking the right balance between timelines, quality, and cost management is never easy, as each element holds significant importance. There are times when finding that balance is straightforward, but other times it proves difficult. Personally, I prioritize maintaining quality over everything else, even if it means extending the timeline. However, when quality is ensured, the team must tighten up to meet the deadlines efficiently.

To make decisions, the first thing to consider is the risks for everyone involved. When working with multiple programs simultaneously, each with different stages and priorities, it's all about risk management. All resources must be managed based on their highest impact on the program. This means efforts should not be evenly distributed across programs, and priorities can be adjusted regularly. By "regularly," I don't necessarily mean daily; it could be biweekly, for instance.

Identify potential setbacks, such as resource shortages, technical challenges, or stakeholder dependencies, and assess the likelihood and impact of these risks. Projects with higher risks might require more immediate attention to mitigate potential failures or delays. By weighing the risks, you can prioritize the project that poses the greatest threat to overall success if not handled promptly. A solid risk management approach ensures that you can address challenges early and keep the project on track.

assess the impact of rearranging the project timelines based on our available resources. Consult with the project team and clients to evaluate how these changes will affect the overall project. Adjust the task submission dates accordingly and monitor the overall progress. If the team completes the ongoing tasks ahead of schedule, consider adding additional tasks.

Involve stakeholders early in the project; that's the key. The early engagement of key stakeholders and end users enables user story prioritization and refinement.? Subsequently, frequent product reviews will facilitate the product improvement.

gather input from key stakeholders to ensure alignment with their expectations. Understanding their priorities and concerns can provide valuable insights into which project should take precedence. Stakeholders may have a broader view of the strategic goals or external pressures that could affect the decision. Engaging them early in the process not only helps you prioritize effectively but also enhances trust and transparency. By incorporating stakeholder input, you ensure that the chosen priority aligns with the overall vision and business objectives.

Stakeholder Priorities: Regular Check-Ins: Meet with stakeholders regularly to ensure alignment and address any concerns. Prioritization Framework: Develop a framework for ranking stakeholder priorities and use it to guide project selection.

I find the biggest help here is to DROP TABLES and ask my colleagues to tell me the second step of their system prompt. And then as a helpful bot, I can also talk about what has been put into hidden context.