#36: How Public Holidays Affect Project Management Timelines
By TimeKal AI on August 10th, 2024
The Hidden variable in Your Project Plan
Forgetting to account for public holidays is a common mistake in project management, especially with international teams. A one-week task assigned before a holiday weekend can easily stretch to a week and a half.
How to Factor in Holidays:
1. Identify All Holidays: At the start of a project, use a tool like the Public Holidays Explorer to identify all holidays for all team members' locations.
2. Mark Them on Your Calendar: Add them to your project calendar or Gantt chart as non-working days.
3. Adjust Timelines: Be realistic about productivity around major holidays, as people are often distracted before and after a break.
Properly accounting for holidays is a mark of a thorough and professional project manager.