Getting the task dependencies right

Life on the pharmaceutical BLA project is getting to another interesting stage. This is the one where a new (Biologic) drug is being tested and the results are used to prepare the submission to the FDA for permission to market it. We're now entering the final furlong and there is intense activity finalising all the documents that have to be included with the submission. There are hundreds of them, all of which have to be written, published, reviewed, QC'd, signed off and incorporated into the master document. Of course, for project management and the executives, the progress on the completion of these documents is really important if the filing deadline is to be met. And that's where the task dependency question comes in.

Over the months, as little upsets occurred and the float got nibbled away, the pressure on the regulatory submission group to compress their schedule grew. We're still on track but simple finish to start dependencies don't apply any more. There's increasing overlap of review and QC tasks - and the planners are very busy pushing the process along. The upshot is that task dependencies are not being rigorously maintained and the number of late tasks appears to be growing. All of which is testimony to the importance of doing the Network Building right to properly understand the dependencies between tasks.

When casting around for references to help with formalising lessons learned (once the dust settles), the DAU is again a rich source. This particular paper is aimed at Critical Chain planning but the importance of realistic Network Building and the Dependency Network is right up there. The paper describes an iterative process in straightforward terms - something that will help us to do it better next time.