What do you do if your IT Operations Manager sets unrealistic project deadlines?

Phasing the project helps to give a sense of the deliverables giant projects, with a high volume of deliveries and the involvement of many stakeholders suggest long-term schedules, right? Not always! The methodological trend of a unified schedule, with hundreds of lines of activities to be carried out so that only at the end of the deadline does the client see the value of the product delivered, has been overcome. Just like many other business disciplines, project management has evolved and methodologies that were previously only used in industry or software engineering - such as Lean or Agile Methods, respectively - are being adapted so that their premises can also be applied to projects.

By segmenting a large, complex project into the various parts of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), it helps add clarity on the tasks needed to successfully accomplish the project. Break the project into smaller tasks and estimate the time required for each. This granular view will highlight any discrepancies between the manager’s expectations and what is feasible. Leveraging historical data from previous projects can enhance this analysis and provide valuable insights into the timeline and resource commitments. The goal is to find a timeline that aligns with the project’s complexity and available resources

It would help if you worked to try to adhere to the deadlines as much as possible, by re-examining what can be done on those deadlines by breaking the project down into smaller, categorized projects, and then working on studying the projects in which the completion time was not correct, and then reviewing them with the operations manager again to discuss how to address the change in their deadlines, which in turn will work to change the project completion date.

Some deadlines are simply unattainable due to unrealistic goals or misconceptions about the time required, or assets needed to complete the task. I would present a more feasible and realistic timeline to the manager, backed by clear reasoning and explanations of the limitations.

Separate the project into smaller parts, making it easier to visualize each step. For each task, estimate the time required based on complexity, available resources, and dependencies between activities. After dividing the project into parts, organize the tasks on a timeline, considering the team's capacity and possible delays. This will help create a clearer picture of the time needed to complete the project. Present the schedule and estimates to the manager clearly and with detailed data.

Once you’ve assessed the situation, initiate a conversation with your IT Operations Manager. By segmenting the project into smaller segments, you can clearly communicate your concerns using data from your assessment. Highlight discrepancies between expectations and feasibility and be honest about risks like quality issues or team burnout. Emphasize your commitment to the project’s success and achieving the stated objectives. As a leader, you want to ensure the timeline factors in resource availability to avoid missing important milestones and deadlines. You want the team to be successful.

Open dialogue is key to exchanging ideas, which can open up new possibilities for completing the project on time. After carefully studying the implementation mechanisms and putting everything in place, it is possible to conduct a SWAT study of the advantages, disadvantages, and opportunities during the project implementation, which will reveal issues related to the workload on employees, and also the cost of resources that must be available or not, and through all of this, this may open doors to ideas that can be implemented, which will work to change the operations manager’s decision regarding the project deadline.

If its not possible and someone else in leadership pulled the numbers out of the air, the only thing you can do is talk to them. At the end of the day it will be them that looks bad when it over runs.

When approaching your manager, position the conversation as an opportunity to work together on the solution. Demonstrate that your goal is to ensure the success of the project and that resetting deadlines can improve results without compromising quality. Explain clearly and objectively how the unrealistic deadline may affect project delivery. Detail the possible negative impacts, such as errors, low quality, or team overload, to highlight the risks that the short deadline can bring.

After assessing the situation, start a conversation with your IT Operations Manager. Share your concerns clearly, using data from your assessment to back up your points. Be honest about the risks of sticking to unrealistic deadlines, like potential quality issues or team burnout. Highlight your commitment to the project’s success and express your willingness to find a solution that benefits both the team and the overall outcomes.

Of course, when setting the important priorities for the project implementation, the issue of when to finish each part of the project will also arise, which means that it will help in determining what should be implemented first as long as the actual resources required for those priorities are put in place. Long mechanisms and procedures may be replaced by shorter ones, but with the assurance that their efficiency will be the same, and thus they will be implemented in the required time.

If renegotiating deadlines isn't possible, you'll need to prioritize tasks effectively. Identify the critical deliverables that must be completed first and allocate resources accordingly. This might mean shifting team members' focus or temporarily putting aside less important tasks. Prioritization is key to managing the workload and ensuring that the most crucial aspects of the project get addressed within the tight timeframe.

Managing expectations is key to maintaining trust and collaboration. Clear communication about challenges, timelines, and potential trade-offs allows both your team and stakeholders to align on what's feasible. When expectations are set realistically, you can reduce the likelihood of disappointment and create an environment where the team feels supported even under pressure. If compromises in scope or quality are necessary to meet deadlines, addressing them early on helps everyone adjust their priorities and ensures smoother project execution.

You need to work on the expectation of what the outcome of the decision will be, so always try to be reasonable about explaining the issues that will hinder your work in completing the project in its final form on time, as this may lead to the operations manager changing the execution time.

Manage Expectations It's crucial to manage expectations both within your team and with stakeholders. Communicate the challenges and set realistic expectations about what can be delivered by the deadline. This transparency can help mitigate disappointment and fosters an environment where team members feel supported despite the pressure. Expectation management also involves being clear about potential compromises in quality or scope that may be necessary to meet the deadlines.

It is important to make your team aware from the beginning of the difficulties associated with a tight deadline. Explain delivery expectations and potential challenges, encouraging a collaborative effort to manage time as best as possible. If the deadline is non-negotiable, be prepared to discuss with stakeholders the possibility of reducing the scope of the project. Propose commitments, such as partial deliveries or initial releases, to maintain quality and meet expectations within the available timeframe.

A project always takes time to complete, and for this reason, the resources allocated may not be sufficient, leading to delays in project delivery, and potentially a significant loss to the party implementing it for the benefit of its stakeholders. Always review the project’s resource requirements periodically so that there is no confusion and thus the project is completed on time.

Host a feedback session with your team to discuss what could have been done differently. Ask about difficulties faced and suggestions for improvement, creating an open environment for reflection and learning. Record the key points about what caused the problems with the deadline and how it affected the outcome. Create a document with lessons learned that can be consulted in future projects to avoid similar mistakes. Present the data and feedback collected to your manager and propose improvements to the deadline-setting process, such as greater collaboration in the initial planning phase.

Learning from what happened will certainly benefit discussions for future projects and is an opportunity to develop and improve strategies for dealing with such situations. Learning and development are essential in IT operations management.