As a project or program manager, your job is to ask questions. These questions appear in meetings, as a result of reports and data, from observations on people, processes, and technology.
But just asking questions is pretty a waste of time if you don't know what the answer is going to be. Or the choice of answers is goint to be.
This is the role of the PM, to know the possible outcomes of the work effort for the project. These possiblities are defined in the Integrated Master Schedule. The Work Packages in the IMS define the outcomes of the work effort, along with the Techncial Performance Measures for this work effort.
So when the PM asks:
We have this coming due deliverable in the next 3 weeks, can someone tell me the probability of completing on or before the planned date?
The possible answers need to be in the head of the PM, so there are no suprises when the answer comes back.
