Iteration is Best

We're on one side or another...iteration or long range planning. Which do you prefer?

I prefer iterations of no more than 4 weeks. I'm not the Almightly and no matter how much experience one has at managing projects, I cannot imagine and would not dare to presume that I can predict everything and understand every risk - no matter how fantastic the team is. Why not guarantee success through shorter iterations?

In order to create a heathy and manageable plan with a greater probability of success, consider breaking your project down into phases that can be completed quickly and then blast through them using lessons learned from the previous phase and current "right now" information. Once you try it a few times, get your systems in place and operations in check, I bet this style will become your preference.

Another consideration is that teams will remain on board and motivated because of the frequency of team planning meetings - more involvement in the planning, more often throughout the entire project. Like mini hits of project success - not just milestones.

More action and involvement during the trip makes the trip more interesting, and that makes it seem like a shorter trip! Ask my son, he loves our road trips.