When a project falls behind, should we accelerate immediately or first understand why the delay occurred?

Construction Scheduling

SANJEET TERI

Community Champion

Consultant| Timely Nexus Project LLP Greater NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh, India

A delay may be caused by lack of resources, late approvals, design changes, procurement issues, productivity problems, or activities outside the team's control. Adding resources or overtime may not solve the underlying problem and can sometimes increase cost without recovering the schedule.

Before deciding on acceleration, we should understand the cause, impact, critical path, available options, and cost of recovery.

When a project is delayed, should the first priority be to understand the root cause and develop the right recovery strategy or should we accelerate immediately to protect the completion date?

Posted: Sep 1, 2026 8:25 AM

Aaron Porter

Community Champion

IT Director| Blade HQ Payson, UT, United States

What do project and organizational leaders value?

I can't speak for project managers in all industries or companies, but in my experience there are circumstances where you can both accelerate and investigate, especially if the cause is in the past. You can prefer one over the other, but if you aren't fully blocked and your investigation into root cause leads to further delays you may be pressured to get the project moving, again, before you have all the answers. Yes, this can lead to further problems. It often becomes a question of tradeoffs and the risks/opportunities that have the decision-makers' attention.

Posted: Sep 1, 2026 10:04 AM

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When a project falls behind, should we accelerate immediately or first understand why the delay occurred?

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