Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
The Timebox
Doug is the author of the landmark book, Extreme Project Management®: Using Leadership, Principles and Tools to Deliver Value in the Face of Volatility. He works with clients who undertake projects in very demanding environments: those settings that feature high speed, high change, high unpredictability and high stress. Doug has lived in the trenches—from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Beijing, China—with over 275 project teams with budgets that ranged from $25,000 to over $25 million. He is one of the founders of the Agile Leadership Network, an organization dedicated to connecting, developing and supporting great project leaders. He is known for his hard-hitting and humorous keynote speeches that address vital issues facing today’s project-based organizations. You can visit Doug at www.dougdecarlo.com.
A timebox is a short, fixed period of time during which team members attempt to meet a specific goal. The goal can be to complete a set of technical or functional requirements, meet a delivery target (e.g., beta test systems in place for 150 users), produce a working prototype, etc. As such, the timebox addresses Business Question 3: Can we do what it takes?
Can We Do What It Takes?
Timeboxing is based on real-life experiences rather than on guesswork about what we think it will take to accomplish something. That “something” can be the feasibility of meeting one or more of the following:
- Budget requirements
- Schedule
- Technical requirements
- Quality requirements
- Scope requirements
- Requisite skills (quantity or quality)
- Customer satisfaction
- Team satisfaction
Because the timebox consists of doing real work in a focused, goal-oriented way, decision makers are able to make decisions on the future course of the project regarding any of the variables listed above, and do so based on facts rather than on speculation. In this, sense the timebox is a tool for taking the uncertainty out of the uncertainty. Moreover, in contrast to the traditional project management mindset where planning drives results, the opposite is true for extreme project management where timeboxed results drive planning.
The Timeboxing Process
Timeboxes are …
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