Here is a hint.
There can be multiple reasons why deadlines for individual proposal tasks are constantly missed, but the most likely is that you have underestimated time allocated for some tasks and overestimated for others.
If you are told you have 20% of somebody’s time for three weeks:
- How do you work out how much they can achieve in that time?
- How do you know which part of the three weeks they are going to spend on your project?
- Can you be sure that your 20% allocation won’t be squeezed to 10%?
A good way to rein in task slippages is to start by estimating the time you will need for each proposal task based on realistic productivity.
Listed below are examples of benchmarks some organisations use for basic proposal tasks:
- Write new material – 4 pages per day
- Revise text or edit for content – 8-10 pages per day
- Proofreading – 20-25 pages per day
- Create/revise simple graphic – 2 hours
- Create/revise medium complex graphic – 4 hours
- Create/revise complex graphic – 6 hours
You can develop your own metrics based on the expertise in your organisation.
But, essentially, you need to set check-in points and monitor progress. Then you can confirm or adjust your estimates, and make provision for additional resources before you reach (and miss) another deadline.
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