The Art of Scheduling

Ever wonder why projects go over schedule? A common excuse is that there were "unforeseen circumstances" and "complications". The real reason is because project schedules are often doomed from the get-go. Here’s a typical example:

Last year, a Subprogram Manager (The Mayor) came up with a mandate to reduce costs through a special Cost-Reduction Project (CRP) with an unrealistic target completion date. If it succeeded, he would be sure to impress Program Management and likely get a promotion. If it failed, the “Cost-Reduction Project” would become a “Cost-Addition Project” because of all the downstream problems that result from it not being completed in time.

When the Mayor assigned the project to my team, the IPT Lead (Duckface) had an opportunity to be the voice of reason, to knick this in the butt before it spirals out of control. “No problem!” he said. Of course, when Duckface asked me (the guy doing the work) how long it would take, I told him the truth:

- Me: “Six months, at best. More likely, seven.”

- Him: “Really? Ugh…How about four? Maybe you could work overtime”

(Knowing that it still wouldn’t get done even if I did work overtime, I had to figure out a clever way to tell him that overtime wouldn’t work)

- Me: “I don’t think so. I think over-working employees can actually reduce efficiency. Plus, I plan on taking a big vacation next month.”

- Him: “Oh, c’mon…You’re young, you can work an extra 10-20 hours a week for the next four months, right?”

- Me: “I’m sorry, but I’m trying to tell you as best I can, that I really don’t think it will get done in 4 months.”

(Translation: You’re headed for disaster. Grow a pair and tell your boss that there’s no way we can meet this crazy schedule)

- Him: “And I’m trying to tell you as best I can, that you need to consider how much overtime you put in before you ask me to approve any vacation plans.”

And he walked away.

So let's review: I warn Duckface that he shouldn't place all his bets on me getting it done or he will likely fail. He tries to "motivate" me by threatening to deny my vacation, then proceeds to place all his bets on me getting it done. Now that’s effective project management. Funny thing is, I don’t even have any vacation plans.

Because I am threatened with punishment for trying to tell the truth, I throw rocks.