Mastering Complexity

13

Making Assumptions

To obtain a workflow, we need to choose how to order the DSM spreadsheet elements. Marks below the DSM spreadsheet diagonal correspond to the task diagram showing where a task gets what it needs from an earlier task. Marks above the DSM spreadsheet diagonal correspond to where a task must use an assumption because the task that produces the information it depends on cannot be done until later. Marks below the diagonal could form a critical path for a project schedule if all our assumptions prove to be correct. But, this schedule might need to be modified by adding reviews should some assumptions prove wrong.

Each reordering of rows and their corresponding columns in DSM spreadsheets corresponds to a different approach. ...