How to Say No to Unrealistic Target Dates

Abstract

It’s a fact of life that PMs will be given unrealistic target dates for their projects. Sometimes these crazy dates are driven by real-world constraints such as market windows or large corporate initiatives, but they are just as often based on wild speculation—a management team with a Magic 8 Ball and a handful of optimistic dates. This is your reality and to be successful you need a slew of tricks up your sleeve to inject some reality into those pipe dreams. Let me share some of my tricks of the trade.