Contingency Planning · Buffers · Component
The protection
What stops the buffer being planned away — because a visible buffer is a permanent invitation.
The deliverable
What it is
A buffer stated openly will be identified as slack by someone senior and reallocated. This is the standard failure of honest planning.
The protection is that it has a named owner, an agreed purpose and a record of what happened the last time it was removed.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The rule
What the buffer may be used for.
3 attributes: Permitted use · Excluded use · Agreed with
LearnThe challenge
What happens when someone wants it back.
3 attributes: Requested by · Trade-off stated · Outcome
LearnThe evidence
What happened last time it was removed.
3 attributes: Instance · What happened · Overrun
Learn
Removing the buffer is a decision to accept a later date. Naming it as such is usually enough.
The other components in buffers
The reserve
Time held deliberately, sized from the record and placed where it protects the commitment.
LearnThe consumption
How much of the buffer has been used against how far the work has come — the earliest reliable signal that a date is in trouble.
Learn