The Deadline Dilemma: Unpacking the Reality of Arbitrary Timelines
Perhaps I’ve been doing this job so long that I’ve become a little cynical, but I have a theory. I suspect that 80% (or more) of deadlines that are given are completely arbitrary. They are either based on ‘finger in the air’ guesstimates of when something is needed, or (in some cases) they are just plucked out of thin air. What is particularly difficult is when the person setting the deadline has no real idea of what the work is or how long the work will take.
An Example: The Deadline That Creeps Up
In a previous role, a long time ago, I was working on what I believed to be a very time critical deliverable. Once it was complete a senior executive would be using it, and I was told that the deadline was non-negotiable. The project manager was very clear: the work has to be completed, there can be no slippage. Initially, it looked just about achievable, so I set off doing my work.
As is so often the case, the work turned out to be more complex than anyone had realized. I escalated, and explained things were likely to take longer than anyone had assumed, and was told that there’s no chance of extending the deadline. Since I was enjoying the work and the deadline seemed so important I was happy to put in some late nights. Towards the end, I worked some weekends too, and just about got it over the line in time. I was tired, but it felt good as I uploaded the final version and emailed the senior stakeholder.
However, that feel-good factor soon faded when I immediately got a response: an automated ‘out of office’ explaining that the stakeholder was on vacation for a week. Investigating further, I find that yes, this person is on vacation, and this had been planned for a long time (they hadn’t taken emergency leave at short notice).
The deliverable wouldn’t be utilized for a week. There was actually a week of ‘slack’ built into the plan, but nobody told me. I could have slept more and I needn’t have worked the weekend…
My Bad: Not Asking “What Is The Implication Of This…”
It would be easy to blame the project manager or senior stakeholder in this story, but I don’t. In fact, it taught me something really important about deadlines. When a deadline is tight, it’s important to ask questions to understand how ‘hard’ and constrained it is. Ultimately here, we’re testing the constraints. Questions include:
There are many other questions too, and the intention here is to understand what is a real, immovable constraint and what isn’t.
Being Clear on Estimates
Equally, alongside asking questions, it is important to drive analysis deadlines on analysis estimates, rather than accepting arbitrary deadlines. There is often uncertainty, and if it is necessary to have a detailed plan up front, then the schedule ought to be based on a practitioner’s assessment of how long the work will take. If a deadline is found to be arbitrary or malleable, then planning forward and explaining what is possible in a particular timeframe can be a useful approach. Whatever approach is taken, getting regular feedback, updating estimates and pivoting accordingly is important, as is managing expectations.
In summary: understanding what is a real constraint and what isn’t is crucial. This can be achieved by asking provocative but important questions.