Wish List

 

With the holidays behind us, let me ask you one question: Did Santa bring you everything you jotted down on your wish list? Personally, even though I was very nice all year, I didn't get everything I dreamed of. Nor did I expect it! After all, that's why it's called a wish list. Unfortunately, too many project managers put pen to paper, write down their wish list, and then title it Project Plan.

How many times have you heard statements like the following:

We've missed the first two milestones, but we're planning to catch up by working extra hard.

I know the schedule is overly optimistic, but with a little bit of luck, we might just be able to deliver on time.

We're running a little behind schedule, but we've just deployed a new system to help our developers code faster, and I'm sure it'll help us accelerate the schedule.

There's a huge difference between wishful thinking and optimism. Which one did you apply to your project plan?

Parkinson's Law

Parkinson's Law states that work expands to fill the time available. Every software feature has a two-day, two-week and two-month version. When the developer is given two months to complete the feature, he/she will deliver in two months. Give that same developer two weeks, and he/she will (usually) deliver in two weeks.

That being said, you need to understand that the two-week version will not have all …

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