SessionTwo011

C11. Managing Project Risk Using the "Hudson Bay Start" Technique
BobKing, SteveSmith

Description
"...Then they sent the expedition team a short distance in their canoes to camp overnight. This was a test. "The first camp was merely a "pull out," commonly called for many years a "Hudson's Bay Start," very necessary so that before finally launching into the unknown one could see that nothing has been forgotten, or that if one had taken too much, being so near to the base, the mistake could be easily corrected." Sir Samuel Benfield Steele, July 8, 1874...." from an article by Eileen Strider, StickyMinds, June 31, 2000

A Hudson Bay Start simulates very important and risky aspects of an endeavor to ensure that that aspect has a hope of being done successfully when the time comes to do it for real.

In this session, we will plan a software project and start it using the Hudson Bay Start. We will discover the differences between what was planned and what actually happened. We will explore the omissions and connect them to other planning ommissions we have seen. We will share other useful methods, like the Hudson Bay Start, for testing plans early in the project when problems are most easily remedied.

Learning Objectives

- Experience a Hudson Bay Start
- Discover typical planning omissions
- Share experiences about other methods that can detect problems with plans

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Updated: Saturday, July 6, 2002