The document discusses the key phases in managing a fixed-cost project: pre-sale, planning, implementation, and finishing. In the pre-sale phase, it is important to understand customer needs, estimate the project scope and costs accurately including buffers, and identify risks. During planning, communication and acceptance criteria should be established. In implementation, risks are reviewed, small changes are managed, and regular reporting keeps the customer informed. The finishing phase involves acceptance testing, maintenance proposals, and knowledge sharing for future projects. Aspects of Scrum like sprints and daily standups can also help manage fixed-cost projects.

1. Fixed costs projects
Practical experience

2. Agenda
 Pre-sale
 Planning
 Implementation
 Finishing
 SCRUM
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3. On which phase a project
manager is starting a fixed-cost project?
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4. Pre sale
1. Pre-sale
 Needs
 Estimation
 Tips
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5. Understand needs
 Learn
 Ask
 Draw
 Concept
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6. Learning of customer needs
 The best way – face to face meeting
 Or video conference
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7. Ask as much as possible!
 Ask as much as possible
 Show examples
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8. Make and present mock-up’s
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9. Project concept
 Looking for existed solutions (Goal: cost reducing).
 Prepare a few options.
 Prototype
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10. Estimation
 Do not forget
 Gaps in specification
 Risks
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11. Estimation: Do not forget
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12. Warranty effort
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13. Buffer for small changes
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14. Effort for meeting and ongoing
issues
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15. Effort for documentation
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16. Pre sale effort
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17. Example
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18. Gaps in the specification
 Assumptions
 “Will be implemented like …”
 Implement as T&M part.
 Notice:
 Bug fixing is also part of T&M!
 Additional management for managing T&M part
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19. How to handle gaps in the
specification ?
 Example of assumptions:
 We assume that workflow module should contain about 10
screens with complexity like “email configuration screen”
 Integration with python will implemented using simple
interface: each python script should be presented like a
function with hardcoded input and output parameters.
Through admin part it is only possible change body of the
script but not the interface. In the price is included
integration of 2 scripts
 Will be implemented 2 reports with complexity like “Insured
persons report”
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20. Risks
 List of risks:
 Description
 Probability
 Influence
 Mitigation plan
 Trigger
 Migration plan
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21. Risk handling
 Share with the customer
 Include in price
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22. How to include risk in the price
 Calculated risk cost (Rc)
 Probability (P. From 0 to 1)
 Risk reserve (Rr)
 Rr=Rc*P
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23. Tips& tricks
 Team/duration
 People involving
 Fixed cost magic
 Commercial correction
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24. Project duration/team
 Split project on sub projects (as well sub-contracts)
 Build small teams
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25. People involving
 Involve on pre-sale stage people who will take a part in
the project implementation
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26. Magic multiplier
 Magic multiplied based on experience
 For example:
 Effort=Estimated effort(dev)*2,2
 0,3 – Estimation error
 0,4 – Testing
 0,3 – Management
 0,2 – Communications etc.
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27. Commercial correction
 Effort -> $
 Stomach feeling
 Consulting with sales department
 Is it possible with final amount to finish the project?
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28. Project planning
 2. Planning
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29. Communication plan
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30. Time buffer before milestones
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31. Reaction time of the customer
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32. Acceptance criteria
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33. Invoicing plan
 Lineal distribution
 Payment after milestone delivery
 Payment after project delivery
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34. On implementation
3. Implementation
 Risk review
 “Small changes”
 Change requests
 Reporting
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35. Risks
 Plan of risks analyzing
 Update involved people (customer, sales, supervisor etc)
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36. Small changes
 You have a buffer for them
 Efforts of small changes must be controlled
 Customer always needs much more
 Use batching strategy
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37. Change requests
 Definition of CR must be created and agreed
 Don’t show real spent effort for CR (common JIRA)
 Strategies:
 Include
 Postpone
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38. Including strategy
 The customer will be noticed concerning duration and
budget changes before implementation
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39. Important notice
 Effort spent for CR clarification will be included in final
estimation
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40. Postpone
 CR’s cold be collected and realized as a minor release
 It is bad idea to implement CR’s separately
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41. Important notice
 Estimated scope of work must be described in CR
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42. Notice
 Use the similar approaches as on pre-sale stage:
 Assumptions
 T&M
 Like example
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43. Reporting
 Should be introduced impact report
 You will be sure that the customer understands real
deadline of the project
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44. Project finishing
4. Finishing
 Acceptance
 Maintenance
 Experience sharing
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45. Acceptance
 Should be defined acceptance criteria
 The customer should have restricted time for acceptance
 Should be defined responsible persons from customer
side
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46. Maintenance
 Right time for a maintenance proposal
 Do you want additional benefit? Organize resources in the
most effective way!
 Propose a few options of reaction time and level of
responsibility
 Jira
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47. Save knowledge
 The risks will be reviewed (what happened/what not)
 Update internal knowledge base
 Will be defined and shared the best practices
 What components of the project could be reused in
another projects
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48. Bonus
 SCRUM+Fixed cost=own experience
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49. What works?
 Sprint
 Daily scrum
 Sprint planning
 Sprint review
 Retrospective
 Product Owner Should be introduced proxy PO
 ScrumMaster
 Product backlog
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50. What works?
 Sprint backlog
 Burn down
 Planning Poker
 Story points
 Definition of Done
 Velocity
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51. More information here…
We would be happy to
answer any of your
Questions?
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