Managing projects with a hard end date or “You want this done when?”

In many cases you are given a hard deadline to complete a project.  It could be for any reason; strategic, budget or simply a directive to get it done ASAP.  As a Project Manager, this can put you in a difficult situation.  In an effort to make the project happen you have to keep cool and stick to the basics.  It may seem that the standard toolset of Schedule, Constraint management and Risk management go out the window.  In fact these are still your best tools manage your tight timeline.

  

“Don't Panic"

Although it appears that you’ve been given an impossible directive, there’s not enough time and the risk is too great or whatever other concern, “Don’t Panic”. 

In most cases, management understands what they have requested and the overall risk is known and accepted.  Management will be there to support you, resources will be dedicated and budget concerns will be accommodated.  Resource managers will be pushed just as hard as the PM’s to make sure the project is successful.

Even in the cases where it appears you’re not getting the full support, you still have to come to grips with it and not panic.  Understand that you, your team, their managers and everyone is under the same pressure.  Use the pressure as part of pushing the team forward.

“Blitzkrieg”

In these projects, doing tasks in parallel is critical. Everything becomes compressed; requirements, development, environment builds, even testing can all be parallel at one point or another. You will have to look at each major stream and see what can be done in parallel.

If you have 25% of the requirements done then start DEV on it, have QA begin to build test cases or general planning/strategy work.  Have infrastructure begin building the environments.  The goal here is to have as much happening at the same time as possible. 

 “This, is the size of the bread box”

The one thing you do need to do is, keep control of scope.  Any change in scope; additional testing, gold plating, new requirements need to be tightly contained.  This is the one part that you have to be absolutely vigilant on as it will make it harder and harder to keep that tight timeline.

In the cases where the scope must be increased, communicate it.  Clearly define what the impact is to the timeline, effort etc.  See if the project can absorb the impact, what can be squeezed to accommodate the new work?  If you do have to push out the end date, you will have the clear reason why.

 “Iceberg, what iceberg?”

While you’re doing everything at the same time and keeping scope in check.  You still need to be vigilant with risks.  This is where a risk log will help you out.  It doesn’t have to be anything grand a spreadsheet or simple list will keep focus on any event that may impact your end date.  

Identify risks related to; delayed key deliverables, external dependencies or any other challenges that can impact your end date.  Review these risks during your daily calls and make sure the team keeps them top of mind.  Make sure your management knows what the risks are so they can support the project by removing any roadblocks.

Projects with hard end dates are always challenging and can be stressful.  They are also some of the best projects as the sense of accomplishment with finishing the project under tight timelines is rewarding.  By keeping cool, approaching the project with enthusiasm while maintaining control it will get done, on time.