| Essay 19 | Cut the Detail Out of the Timeline |
In twelve years of software development, I’ve never seen a project go exactly as planned.
Functionality changes. Unanticipated obstacles arise. Sometimes things that we think might take a week actually take three. Yet, all too often, we put too much detail into a project timeline. Putting a delivery deadline on every little component means we become slaves to our own timeline. We’ve decided how long every single step will take without having taken any of the steps yet. It’s impossible to come up with the perfect plan at the very beginning.
So, when you begin your plan, plan with less detail.
Build timeline deliverables in sizeable chunks, not in small breadcrumbs. If you’re estimating an eight-week ...
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