Parkinson's Law in Project Management
Parkinson's Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.[1] It was formulated by British historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson in an essay for The Economist in 1955.[2]
Parkinson described how the bureaucracy of the British Civil Service grew unrelated to the amount of work. The growth depended on two factors: (1) The Law of Multiplication of Subordinates and (2) The Law of Multiplication of Work.
Parkinson formulated a mathematical formula to determine the increase in staff in any public administrative department.[1]
Parkinson's Law explains typical behaviour towards scheduling. In project schedule management, Parkinson's Law
- If no deadlines are set, the task is not completed before last minute - CPM helps managers to determine the critical path and helps schedule - however parkinson's law can mean some will start on late start and possible miss deadline
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Theory
Describe the tool, concept or theory and explain its purpose. The section should reflect the current state of the art on the topic
Purpose: to explain the behavioural aspect of scheduling
Description: Parkinson's Law is based on Parkinson's own experiences as a British army staff officer during World War II.[2] He uses the bureaucracy of the British Civil Service as an example of Parkinson's Law. Parkinson's Law is based on statistical analyses showing that the number of ships and men in the royal navy fell between 1914 and 1928, while the number of employees in administration rose. Parkinson concludes that the growth of bureaucracy is unrelated to the amount of work. The growth depends on two factors: (1) The Law of Multiplication of Subordinates and (2) The Law of Multiplication of Work. Parkinson formulated a mathematical formula to determine the increase in staff in any public administrative department.[1]
Application
Provide guidance on how to use the tool, concept or theory and when it is applicable
Use in project schedule management - to understand how people behave and how to ensure time is used efficiently - less time more effort instead of longer time less effort Use when estimating activity durations and develop schedule - determine the length of a task and set a tight deadline, ensuring that the time to the deadline is only the time it takes to complete it.
Limitations
Critically reflect on the tool/concept/theory and its application context. What can it do, what can it not do? Under what circumstances should it be used, and when not? How does it compare to the “status quo” of the standards – is it part of it, or does it extent them? Discuss your article in the context of key readings / resources provided in class. Substantiate your claims with literature
The law should be used when
Annotated bibliography
Provide key references (3-10), where a reader can find additional information on the subject. The article MUST make appropriate references to the and reference material provided in class – either incorporating it as a source, or critically discussing aspects that are missing from it but covered by this article. Summarize and outline the relevance of each reference to the topic (around 100 words per reference). The bibliography is not counted in the suggested 3000 word target length of the article.
https://www.economist.com/news/1955/11/19/parkinsons-law
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Parkinson, C. Northcote (November 19, 1955) "Parkinson’s Law", The Economist. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica "C. Northcote Parkinson", Britannica. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ↑ Project Management Institute, Inc. (September 22, 2017). "Chapter 6: Project Schedule Management". Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). pp. 173–230. ISBN 978-1-5231-1232-6.
