![Worship the Plan](\"http:\/\/judykat.com\/ken-judy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/09\/worshiptheplan.png\" "Worship the Plan")
<\/p>\nThis is what unrealistic planning does to execution.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here’s the scenario:<\/strong><\/p>\n Management adopts a project plan with unachievable goals given the time, features and resources.<\/p>\n The team begins in ignorance of “the plan”. Initial progress represents a sustainable pace.<\/p>\n Visible progress doesn’t match “the plan”. Management pressures the team. Short term, the red line gets steeper. <\/p>\n At this point, management revises the plan adjusting the start but retaining aggressive assumptions. “Now we know what we’re doing!”<\/p>\n Problem is, the productivity gain is not sustainable. The team is working extra hours and skipping necessary work to declare things done.<\/p>\n Problem is,<\/em> the productivity gain is not real<\/em>. Under stress the team works to increase the measure of value instead of value itself. <\/p>\n So productivity stalls. The team catches up on sleep, settles into the slog, and confronts thorny problems created by messy, incomplete and untested code.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the team produces less than had it maintained a sustainable pace.<\/p>\n Assuming the people and codebase aren’t hopeless, I added a period before the end where the team returns to sustainable pace. These are the tragic days when management gives up and before they cancel. <\/p>\n Another scenario – similar chart:<\/strong><\/p>\n Management adopts a business plan with unachievable goals.<\/p>\n The product owner becomes risk averse or fool hearty, ignoring real opportunities that won’t hit impossible numbers.<\/p>\n The product drifts or lurches in bizarre directions and declines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is what unrealistic planning does to execution. Here’s the scenario: Management adopts a project plan with unachievable goals given the time, features and resources. The team begins in ignorance of “the plan”. Initial progress represents a sustainable pace. Visible … Continue reading