Assumptions and constraints. One of the biggest challenges for the project managers is to exactly understand what is the difference between constraints and assumptions and also all the risk involved on that. Let's try to explain.
First, assumptions. What is an assumption? An assumption is something that you believe it will happen.
You cannot prove exactly if it will happen or not. Let me give you an example. I have... I will have a big party tomorrow. And I'd like to know if I need to prepare a cover to protect my guests from the rain or not.
And then I create an assumption. Tomorrow... will not rain. I cannot control this.
I cannot control if it will rain or not tomorrow. But based on my studies, based on the weather forecast, I think that it's reasonable to decide not to do the cover. Every time that I create an assumption, I'm also creating...
A risk. And what is the risk in this example? The risk is if tomorrow rains, then I will have 1000 guests completely wet during my party.
This is the risk and the consequences of accepting this assumption. Like today, I have an assumption to record this videocast. The assumption is today we'll have power, energy to record.
So I believe, based on the history, that today, here, I will have enough energy to connect lights, mic, camera and everything. But I'm running a risk. If I face a blackout here, then this task will be damaged. In the other hand, let's think about the constraints, the restrictions that I have for my project. Restriction is inside my own word.
Usually the restriction is an answer to a risk and not a fact that will generate risk. Based again on that example, of the party of tomorrow. I will create a restriction. The place must be covered. When I say must be covered, it's a decision created and made by myself.
I decided this. And this usually is a response to a risk. This is usually something that is Protecting my project from a risk.
And if I create this, then I'm immediately eliminating that assumption that it will not rain tomorrow. Because if it rains or not, it doesn't matter for me, because I have the cover. Let's take another example from this record, this videocast.
If I create a restriction that I must record it today. This is an answer because tomorrow I'll be traveling. So I have a restriction that will limit all my options.
So restriction is inside, assumptions is outside. Let me explain how we do this. The first thing we need to do is to register. is to write and create a document. And usually we will include all the list of restrictions and also assumptions that I will have for this project.
And usually I register this in the scope state. So everybody will know all the assumptions that I'm supposing it will happen. and all the restrictions and the limits, the frontiers that I will have for this project. And how I turn this into a WBS, into a schedule, or I put it into a software or something like that. How do I do that?
First, I need to understand how I will do the restriction. Let's take back the example of the cover for my party tomorrow. First, if I decide that this will be transformed into a restriction, then the area must be covered. What I will do? I will create tasks, create work packages, contract a company to prepare the roof, install the roof, test the roof.
These tasks. will be a task or work packages will be part of my schedule. So this is the way how it works. I take from the assumptions, the assumptions will go to the risk management plan and the restrictions are answered that will go to my WBS, to my schedule, to my cash flow, to other areas to make sure that I have the integration and