diff --git a/hubbard_2025_project-management.md b/hubbard_2025_project-management.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7f372b2 --- /dev/null +++ b/hubbard_2025_project-management.md @@ -0,0 +1,560 @@ +--- +id: +aliases: [] +title: How to Measure Anything in Project Management +tags: [] +author: Douglas W. Hubbard & Dr. Alexander Budzier & Andreas Bang Leed +--- +# How to Measure Anything in Project Management + +## Foreword + +## Preface + +## Acknowledgments + +## About the Authors + +## Chapter 1 --- A World-scale Risk and a World-scale Opportunity + +### The Size of Projects + +### The Size of Project Problems + +### Efforts to Fix Projects: The Emergence of Project Management + +### A Path Forward: The Meta-Project + +### Notes + +## Chapter 2 --- A Measurement Primer for Project Management + +### The Concept of Measurement + +#### A Definition of Measurement + +#### Definition + +#### Measurement and Probabilities for Practical Decision-making + +#### Are Scales Really Measurements? + +### The Object of Measurement + +#### What Do You See When You See More of It? + +#### Why Do You Care? + +### The Methods of Measurement + +#### Statistical Significance: What's the Significance? + +#### Small Samples Tell You More Than You Think + +#### The Rule of Five + +### Other Sources of Measurement Aversion + +#### The Cost Objection + +#### Measurements Change What Is Being Measured + +#### Statistics Can Prove Anything + +#### Ethical Objections to Measurement + +### Notes + +## Chapter 3 --- How We Know What Works + +### Skepticism for Project Managers + +#### The Analysis Placebo + +#### The Problem of Feedback and Learning + +### How to Test Methods + +#### Controlled Experiments and Component Testing + +#### Evaluating Sources + +### The Performance of Quantitative Methods + +#### Experts Versus Algorithms + +#### The Exsupero Ursus Fallacy: Algorithm Aversion + +#### Potential Reasons for Exsupero Ursus + +### Improving the Human Expert + +#### Calibrating the Expert + +#### The Expert Consistency Component + +#### Collaboration on Estimates + +#### The Decomposition Component + +### A Summary of Research on Other Project Planning and Management Methods + +#### Reference Class Forecasting + +#### Various Project Management Methods + +#### The Performance of Monte Carlo Simulations + +### Notes + +## Chapter 4 --- The Project Decision Model: The Reason for Measurements + +### Two Types of Project Measurements + +#### Proto-purpose Discovery Measurements + +#### Decision-driven Measurements + +#### Unproductive Incentives vs. Measurements + +### Decisions Before: Thinking Slow + +#### Exploration vs. Exploitation + +#### Tracking the Outside World + +#### Choosing How to Run the Project + +### How Models Indicate What to Measure + +#### The Expected Value of Information: A Simple Introduction + +#### The Measurement Inversion: Measuring the Wrong Things + +#### The Value of Imperfect Measurements + +### An Aspirational Model + +#### The Rise of Digital Twins + +#### Digital Twins in Project Management + +#### A Practical Path Forward + +### Notes + +## Chapter 5 --- Project Uncertainty and Risk: A Primer + +### Basic Concepts and Definitions + +#### Uncertainty as a Probability Distribution + +#### Risk: A Special Case of Uncertainty + +#### Definitions for Uncertainty, Risk, and Their Measurements + +### The Problem with Current Methods + +#### Why Risk "Scores" Don't Work + +#### How the Risk Matrix Makes Scores Worse + +### A Quantitative Risk Model: Starting Very Simple + +#### The One-for-One Substitution + +#### Monte Carlo Mechanics: A Brief Introduction + +### Supporting Decisions + +#### A Return on Mitigation + +#### How Much Risk Do You Tolerate? + +#### Risk Versus Return: The Powerful Theory of Utility + +### Simple Tools for Measuring Uncertainty and Risk + +#### A First Estimate of a Discrete Probability + +#### A First Estimate of a Continuous Probability + +### Final Clarifications + +#### Case Examples for What Probability Means + +#### Uncertainty Versus Risk Versus Opportunity + +#### Epistemic Versus Aleatory Uncertainty + +#### Even More Ordinal Scales + +#### Risk as Governance or Compliance + +#### The Problem of "Black Swans" + +#### Some Items That Aren't Really Risks + +### More Improvements to Come + +### Notes + +## Chapter 6 --- Calibrated Subjective Probability Estimates + +### Introduction to Subjective Probability + +#### Two Extremes of Subjective Confidence + +### Calibration Exercise + +#### The Calibration Exercises + +#### Evaluating Performance and Typical Results + +### Improving Calibration + +#### The Equivalent Bet + +#### More Techniques + +#### More Advanced Calibration Topics to Come + +### The Effects of Calibration + +### Conceptual Obstacles to Calibration + +#### Conflating Uncertainty with Knowing Nothing + +#### Hypotheses That Contradict the Data + +#### Objections Based on the Philosophical Debate in Statistics + +### Notes + +## Chapter 7 --- Cost and Schedule Measurements + +### The Big Plan Versus Iteration: Meta-measurements of Common Estimation Methods + +### Top-down Estimations: Reference Class Forecasting + +### Bottom-up Forecasting with Monte Carlo + +#### A Deterministic View of Tasks + +#### Probability Distributions for Project Tasks + +#### Correlations + +#### Multiple Prerequisites and Stochastic Critical Paths + +#### Parade of Trades + +### Comparing Top-Down and Bottom-Up: Case Examples + +#### The Swedish Nuclear Waste Program + +#### High-speed Rail + +### How to Improve the Models + +#### The Granularity of the Monte Carlo Model + +#### Distributions and Biases + +#### Correlations + +#### Improving the RCF with Monte Carlo + +### Notes + +## Chapter 8 --- Betting on Benefits + +### Meta-Measurements of Benefits + +#### How Much Should Benefits Be to Justify a Project? + +#### Why This May Be Optimistic + +#### Why Measuring Benefits Is Rare + +### Fermi Decompositions for Benefits + +#### Introduction to Fermi + +#### Some Example Decompositions + +### Monetizing Benefits + +#### Forecasts of Monetary Impacts + +#### Preferences + +#### Quantifying Preferences + +#### The Use of Scores and Multiple Objectives + +#### An Example of Challenging Benefit Measurement: Biodiversity + +### Measuring What Matters in Projects + +#### A (Slightly) More Realistic Information Value Calculation + +#### The High Information Values for Projects + +#### Getting Started on Measuring What Matters + +### Considering Risk and Return + +#### A Risk Neutral Decision-maker for Projects + +#### Adding Utility Theory to Projects + +#### Some Alternatives Within Utility Math + +#### Are Executives Too Risk Averse for Projects? + +#### The (Apparent) Utility Paradox + +### A Framework and Its Consequences + +#### Findings from Quantitative Analysis of Past Projects + +#### How and When, Not Just Whether + +#### Benefits Are Not Just for Project Approval Decisions + +### Notes + +## Chapter 9 --- Measuring Progress + +### The Progress Problem + +#### Simple Progress, Simple Interventions + +### Earned Value Management + +#### EVM Basics + +#### The XRL Example + +#### Recovery vs. Performance + +#### Forecasting with EVM + +### Progress in Information Projects + +#### Waterfall + +#### Agile and Measurement in Other Software Development Methods + +#### Summarizing Software Metric Difficulties + +### Four Stories and Lessons + +#### Interfaces in a Global Bank Transformation + +#### An Energy Project Front End + +#### Construction Constraints + +#### Testing as Software Checkpoints + +#### Lessons + +### The Remaining Project Simulation + +#### Conditional Reference Class Forecasting (CRCF) + +#### The Bottom-Up Simulation for the Remaining Project + +#### Further Considerations for the RPA + +### Notes + +## Chapter 10 --- More Measurement Methods Made Easy + +### Intuition for the Habitually Scientific + +#### A Jelly Bean Example + +#### A Little Probability Theory + +#### Consequences of Probability Theory + +#### Myths Exposed by Probability Theory + +#### Significant Points About Statistical Significance + +#### Basic Sampling Methods + +#### The "Mathless" Table for Medians + +#### Estimating a Population Proportion + +### Project Cancellation Rates as a Function of Duration + +#### Measuring Population Size + +### Measuring Some Things by Knowing Other Things + +#### Controlled Experiments + +#### Regression + +#### More Advanced Methods of Regression and Classification + +### Estimating the Whole Distribution + +### Summarizing Methods + +#### Brainstorming a Measurement Approach + +#### Data Gathering Methods + +### A Review of Methods in This Chapter + +### Notes on Surveys + +### Notes + +## Chapter 11 --- The Meta-Project: Implementing Better Project Measurements + +### Start with the End in Mind: The Continuous Improvement Process + +#### Measure What Matters + +#### (Real) Skepticism and Meta-measurements + +#### Measuring and Forecasting the Outside World + +#### AI: The Most Important Project Ecosystem Measurement? + +#### More Thinking, Fewer Projects, Bigger Wins + +### Start Your Meta-Project + +#### Examples of Meta-Projects Deliverables: Continuous Improvement + +#### Develop an Initial Team + +#### Assess the Current State of the Project Portfolio + +#### Considerations for the Meta-Project Plan + +#### The Pilot Project + +#### Scaling to the Final Deliverable + +### Organizational Challenges + +#### Resistance to Change + +#### Addressing Organizational Objections to Measurement + +#### The Politics of Measurement + +### Notes + +## Chapter 12 --- A Call to Action for the Industry + +### Call to Action for Project Software Vendors + +#### Put Decisions at the Center + +#### Deal in Uncertainties + +#### Build the User-buyer-builder Federation + +#### Be the Vendor That Measures Its Performance + +#### Be Forward-Looking + +### Call to Action for the Standard-Setting Bodies + +### Call to Action for Consultants, Researchers, and Advisory Firms + +### Big Future Projects + +#### A Mars Mission + +#### Stopping Hurricanes + +#### The Meta-Project + +### Notes + +## Appendix 1 --- Analysis of Survey Responses on Project Management Practices + +### Introduction and Data Overview + +#### Success Metrics: Cost and Schedule Overrun Ratios + +### Overview of Project Management Practices Reported in the Survey + +#### Project Management Methodologies + +#### Cost and Schedule Estimation Methods + +#### Uncertainty and Risk Assessment Tools + +#### Certifications + +### Results + +#### Project Management Methodologies + +#### Cost and Schedule Estimation Methods + +#### Uncertainty and Risk Assessment Tools + +#### Certifications + +#### Interpreting the (Mostly) Statistically Insignificant Results + +## Appendix 2 --- Reference Class Data on Project Cost, Schedule, and Benefit Overruns + +### Relevance of the Data and Reference Class Forecasting + +### Using Historical Data to Improve Estimates -- An Example + +### Notes + +## Appendix 3 --- Selected Distributions + +### Uniform + +### Beta + +### Beta PERT + +### Triangular + +### Binary + +### Normal + +### Lognormal + +### Power Law + +### Truncated Power Law + +### Quantile-parameterized + +### Gamma Poisson + +### Stochastic Information Packet + +## Appendix 4 --- Chapter 6 Calibration Question Answers + +### Appendix Answers to Confidence Interval Questions + +### Answers to True/False Questions + +## Appendix 5 --- Measuring Biodiversity + +### The Benefits of Biodiversity + +### Variables to Measure for Biodiversity + +### Notes diff --git a/timestamped/2026-04-06_16-23-54.md b/timestamped/2026-04-06_16-23-54.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a9c0f87 --- /dev/null +++ b/timestamped/2026-04-06_16-23-54.md @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +--- +id: 2026-04-06T16:23:54-04:00 +aliases: [] +title: 2026-04-06 16:23:54 +tags: + - authorship/original + - destiny/permanent + - status/draft + - type/periodic/timestamped +dg-publish: true +date-created: 2026-04-06T16:23:54-04:00 +daily: "[[2026-04-06]]" +weekly: "[[2026-W15]]" +monthly: "[[2026-04]]" +quarterly: "[[2026-Q2]]" +yearly: "[[2026]]" +--- +# 2026-04-06 16:23:54 + +[tksheet](https://pypi.org/project/tksheet/) is a spreadsheet library for tkinter. + +It's likely a streamlined `takeoff-calcs.xlsx` clone +could be made easily with `tksheet`, +and experimental estimating patterns +like my graph editor `edger` +could be added as plugins. diff --git a/timestamped/2026-04-06_16-47-44.md b/timestamped/2026-04-06_16-47-44.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..78f8145 --- /dev/null +++ b/timestamped/2026-04-06_16-47-44.md @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +--- +id: 2026-04-06T16:47:44-04:00 +aliases: [] +title: 2026-04-06 16:47:44 +tags: + - authorship/original + - destiny/permanent + - status/draft + - type/periodic/timestamped +dg-publish: true +date-created: 2026-04-06T16:47:44-04:00 +daily: "[[2026-04-06]]" +weekly: "[[2026-W15]]" +monthly: "[[2026-04]]" +quarterly: "[[2026-Q2]]" +yearly: "[[2026]]" +--- +# 2026-04-06 16:47:44 + +## Nirvana Fallacy + +The [nirvana fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy) +also called the "perfect solution fallacy" +is the mistake made when a solution proposed to replace one existing +is judged against a hypothetical perfect solution +rather than the solution in current use. + +> [!quote] Harold Demsetz "Information and Efficiency: Another Viewpoint" (1969)[^1] +> The view that now pervades much public policy economics +> implicitly presents the relevant choice +> as between an ideal norm and an existing "imperfect" institutional arrangement. +> This _nirvana_ approach differs considerably +> from a _comparative institution_ approach +> in which the relevant choice is between alternative real institutional arrangements. + +[^1]: Harold Demsetz + "Information and Efficiency: Another Viewpoint" + _The Journal of Law and Economics_ + Volume 12, Number 1 + (April 1969) + [doi:10.1086/466657](https://doi.org/10.1086%2F466657) + +The "_[[the-failure-of-risk-management#_Exsupero Ursus_|exsupero ursus]]_ fallacy" +as coined by Douglas Hubbard in [[hubbard_2020_failure]][^2] +describes the same problem. + +[^2]: Or earlier? I can't recall.