Project management · Running it · Component
The early warning
What would show a problem before the deadline does — because a project is reported on track until shortly before it is not.
The deliverable
What it is
Projects report green until very close to the end. The pattern is universal enough to be a name, and it is a reporting phenomenon rather than a delivery one.
The available early signals are buffer consumption, progress against elapsed time, and the rate at which external items are arriving late.
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 indicators
What would show a problem early.
3 attributes: Indicator · Current reading · Threshold
LearnThe safety
Whether it is safe to report a problem.
3 attributes: Safe to report · What happens · Time from problem to report
Learn
Reduce scope, extend, add capacity or accept. All four are available early and only the last is available late.
The other components in running it
The progress measure
What is actually finished, established rather than reported — because percentage complete is an opinion.
LearnThe change log
What was added or changed, and what it cost in time — because absorbing changes without adjusting the date is how projects slip invisibly.
Learn