“So, Time Spans can be anywhere between a few minutes and a month?” Audrey asked. We had been talking about how to identify the complexity of a task by how long it takes to complete.

“What if you had a task that takes longer than a month to complete?” I responded.

“What could take longer than a month?” Audrey’s curiosity was touched.

“Look at some of the outside projects that your Project Managers run. How long does it take for one of your longer projects?”

Audrey pulled a memo out of her in-basket. “Well, we just got this project last week and it won’t be completed until next June. And actually, with some of the delays we anticipate, this project will probably take eighteen months.”

“Can you give that assignment to one of your junior Project Managers?” I asked.

“No way. This will be a complicated project. We have no idea what material shortages or cost escalations will occur. To make this profitable, we have to have someone who is comfortable working way into the future.”

“Big job?”

“Big job.”

“How big is big? Use Time Span to describe it,” I directed.

Audrey stopped. “The Sun Tower Project has an eighteen month Time Span.” She stopped again. “So, when we pick a Project Manager, we want to pick someone who has run a job for eighteen months before. Only two of our Project Managers have that kind of experience.” -TF