[ExI] Groups

[Lee Corbin]

Gary writes

> Lee wrote:  
> 
> > The difficulty is in figuring out what those subtasks actually are. 

Nay, 'twas Bryan wrote that.
 
> My [Gary Miller's] Response:
> 
> I wrote two or more years either here or on AGI that projects that are large
> in scope with this many pieces/parts get lost without project plans.
> 
> I asked how many people working on AGI or Singularity related project held
> themselves to project plans or had project plans available for viewing, and
> I was thrashed soundly!

Keith wrote that he wasn't surprised.  I guess we shouldn't be.

> Any business attempting a project of any size has to have a project plan to
> maintain focus and win support from the business who controls the money.
> 
> They don't always make their milestones or cost projections and the projects
> plans change often as new information is learned.

How many people look forward to the relatively boring, often routine,
and completely unglamorous role of project planner?  Isn't it a lot more
fun just to conjecture away, or write emails like this one, or fight to
procure a more interesting or heroic-looking role once a project
does start to take shape?   All hail the organizers, detail planners, and
those who get balls rolling.

> But the project plan is a tool to help them keep focus on what the critical
> path is, determine what the subtasks are and estimate the overall time frame
> and budget for the project.
> 
> And the project plan is extremely useful for decomposing the main tasks into
> the smaller subtasks that can delegated to volunteers, interns, employees
> with less than total understanding of the overall project architecture.

You are so right. Thanks for spelling it out.

Lee

> Sometimes matching key subtasks to people with specific experience/talents
> is crucial.
> 
> I am sure that the people in ExI and AGI have a broad range of talents that
> could be drawn upon.   Those are your resources but before you can harness
> those resources you must understand the talents of your resources in order
> to match them to appropriate subtasks.  You also have to then approach each
> one asking them if they would be willing to work on a subtask and how many
> hours they would be able and willing to donate to the completion of that
> subtask...