Fixed Time & Scope

You’re WRONG, Jeff!

You’re WRONG, Jeff!

I saw this post from Jeff Gothelf.

https://medium.com/@jboogie/fixed-time-fixed-scope-projects-always-end-in-1-of-3-ways-none-of-them-good-9fa66e7d129e 

In which he says that Fixed Time & Scope projects end in one of 3-ways:

  1. We move the deadline

  2. We reduce scope

  3. We implement “crunch mode”, everybody puts in 80-hour weeks till the deadline, burns out, quits and goes to work somewhere else.

I want to respond to Jeff’s thoughts…

First, option #3 is was coined by Ed Yourdon as a Death March. I personally like the imagery that inspires.

Second, I agree 100% with his 3-alternatives. They seem almost as absolute as gravity in software projects.

But he goes on in the article to make the point that Product Management is primarily responsible for these problems.