Rapid Initial Planning

Rapid Initial Planning (RIP) starts your projects on the right foot! Too many Information Technology projects start off on the wrong foot. Before the team even begins, they have a tight due date, inflexible scope, and not enough of the right resources. Then, despite Herculean efforts, the project comes in late, over budget, and with excessive defects!

Rapid Initial Planning logoRIP To Your Rescue!

If you face these problems, RIP is for you. Rapid Initial Planning (RIP) is a project consulting service for customers who use any of our Methodology services, including our MethodsBus Methods Enhancement services, Risk Management and Mitigation, or Quest for Better Estimates™. Those who use our unique RIP approach can accelerate and improve their planning process.

Here’s How It Works …

RIP is a project planning time compression method. The process completes project planning for medium to large projects in 2-5 days (depending on project size).

Rapid Initial Planning Prerequisites

Our unique project planning methods make project acceleration possible. In addition, we assure your success by making sure you meet the following prerequisites:

  • Participants: The RIP Session participants include all customer and Information Technology managers who control project scope, staffing and due date. In addition, the project leader and key team members should participate.
  • Project Size: RIP supports projects estimated to be between 1200 and 24,000 work hours of effort. We can plan larger projects, but the duration of the RIP increases (ask about our Super-RIP).
  • Timing: RIP  works best in the first 10% of the project’s duration. Already started your project? RIP can also be of great value as late as the Design phase.

Rapid Initial Planning

RIP Results

Rapid Initial Planning produces great project plans. It also improves the partnership between Information Technology and your customer, and increases your ability to follow the plan. With every RIP, we can produce these deliverables:

  • Project Estimates, using multiple different methods including Function Points, if applicable).
  • A Risk Assessment using our unique Risk Management processes.
  • The recommended Project Strategy, its Critical Success Factors, and fallback alternatives.
  • Project Staffing plan, including skills, roles and timing, for Information Technology and for your Customers.
  • Project Schedule, a high-level plan for the project, and a task-level plan for the next immediate phase.

Ask about our RIP for other project types, beyond Information Technology!

Special Offer!

Download the Adobe Acrobat version of our RIP overview. The overview shows the different types of RIP sessions, and how they support Rapid Application Development. See, Rapid Initial Planning Overview (670k)

PM Performance Coaches Increasing Personal, Project, and Portfolio Management Performance