Project Management Warning Flag 5 – Fast Tracking Everything

“A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.”

George S. Patton (1885 – 1945)
General, U.S. Army

There is no such thing as the perfect project plan. Sometimes a project manager will find him or herself with excess resources and, as is more often the case, fewer resources than are required to complete a task. Depending on whether or not this task impacts the overall project’s progression, the project manager may choose to fast track or ‘crash’ that portion of the project schedule’s execution. In doing so, the project manager commits additional resources to the performance of the fast tracked work, whether those individuals are working overtime or are pulled from other activities in order to accelerate these project activities. Fast tracking itself is a useful tool to keep a project on schedule. It can, however, become a very dangerous practice both to the health of the project and the organization if used too frequently.

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