Projects are sometimes delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, such as illnesses or late deliveries, which may deem extending the duration of the project necessary.
Unfortunately, in many cases, these delays can’t be avoided. However, there are other situations where projects can be delayed due to poor planning and a lack of communication on the part of project managers.
In order to avoid project completion date delays, it may be necessary for you to crash your schedule so that your project is completed on time. Project crashing can be an effective way to speed up the completion time of a project when it’s clear that the project is going to take longer than expected.
What is Crashing a Project?
You’re a project manager (let’s say for a software development company) and you have a project that is to be completed in four months. But then your client decides that they need the project done in two months instead of the four months originally agreed upon. This means that the work has to be completed in half the time.
What do you do? At this particular point, you’ll need to consider crashing the project.
Crashing a project refers to the process of reducing the overall project duration by adding additional resources, such as labor, materials, tools or equipment, to the project’s critical path tasks. This is typically done when a project is behind schedule and needs to be completed sooner than originally scheduled.
It should not be confused with fast-tracking, which is a technique whereby sequential tasks are completed in parallel. Many project managers will only crash a project if fast-tracking is not an option.
Although crashing a project can be beneficial if the project is running behind schedule and there is a critical deadline to be met, it can also be detrimental. Project crashing can result in increased costs or decreased quality.
This is why it’s always important to consider the trade-offs and potential risks before making the decision to crash a project.
How Does Project Crashing Work?
In order to understand how project crashing works, it is important to first understand the concept of the critical path method.
The critical path is the sequence of tasks required to complete a project, as well as the amount of time each task takes. If one or more tasks on the list are delayed or removed altogether, then the overall project schedule will be impacted negatively. This is because no other tasks can be completed until they are finished.
Project managers use critical path analysis to determine which tasks are critical to the project, and then they schedule them accordingly. If it’s clear that a critical task will take more time to complete than originally planned, then the project manager will add more resources to the task in order to ensure that it gets done within the original timeframe.
These resources are paid for by the client and this is where crashing a project can become tricky. If the client does not have additional funding available to pay for these resources, then there is nothing that can be done to speed up the project.
Why Would You Want to Crash a Project?
Projects are usually started with good intentions and a lot of excitement. Unfortunately, things can go wrong and you can end up with a project that has gone off track.
In such a situation you may be forced to crash the project in order to meet the critical deadline. There are several reasons why you might want to crash a project and they include:
One of the most common reasons for crashing a project is that you have a tight deadline. You may be in the process of building a project and realize that it will take much longer than you originally thought. In such cases, you can crash the project by cutting down on time-consuming activities like meetings, documentation, and other unnecessary tasks.
You might find yourself with a project that is going slowly because some critical tasks are taking too long to complete. In this case, you don’t have an option but to crash the project.
To complete a project on time, you not only need the right resources, but you also need enough of them. If you don’t have enough staff on hand or you don’t have enough equipment or materials, crashing the project may be your only option.
A budget issue can cause a project to stall or even come to a complete halt. This is especially true if the client has not provided you with the correct amount of funding to complete their project. Sometimes this can happen because they did not know how much it would cost; other times it happens because they are not willing to pay what the project requires.
Sometimes you might hit a snag that you did not expect. This can be anything from a supplier failing to deliver on time, to an employee getting sick and being unable to work. When these things happen and they are out of your control, it can cause delays in your project timeline.
What Are the Benefits of Crashing a Project?
One of the main benefits of crashing a project is the ability to complete it faster than originally planned. This can be beneficial in situations where there is a tight deadline or a critical need to deliver before the project completion date. It can also be beneficial when there are penalties associated with not meeting the project timeline such as liquidated damages or lost revenue. Additionally, if the project is part of a larger project, crashing one project may have a domino effect on the entire program allowing other parts of it to proceed.
While this might seem counter-intuitive, crashing a project can actually increase productivity. That’s because many projects are slowed down by unnecessary tasks or inefficient work. By reducing the project’s duration, you eliminate these inefficiencies and enable the team to focus on what matters most. Plus adding resources can help your team complete their tasks in a short amount of time. This is especially true if you have new team members that have more experience or knowledge in a particular area than your existing team members. Or you’ve purchased tools, materials, or equipment that will make completing tasks easier and more efficient.
It goes without saying that if you deliver a project on time, then your client will be happy. But there’s more to it than that: a shorter project duration means you can deliver the project sooner, which gives your clients something they want more quickly than expected. This can improve client satisfaction and even reduce churn rates as clients feel more valued and appreciated by your business.
A budget issue can cause a project to stall or even come to a complete halt. This is especially true if the client has not provided you with the correct amount of funding to complete their project. Sometimes this can happen because they did not know how much it would cost; other times it happens because they are not willing to pay what the project requires.
Sometimes you might hit a snag that you did not expect. This can be anything from a supplier failing to deliver on time, to an employee getting sick and being unable to work. When these things happen and they are out of your control, it can cause delays in your project timeline.
What Are The Disadvantages of Crashing a Project?
Project crashing can be costly, as additional resources are required, which means going over the initial project budget. For example, if the project is complex and requires specialized equipment or materials, adding resources to complete it faster will be expensive.
Project crashing is a risky business altogether, because making mistakes at this stage can cost you a lot of money, time, and effort in the coming milestones or tasks. Also, if you crash too late in your schedule then you may not have enough time to complete all of your tasks.
Crashing can also have a negative impact on team members, as it often involves working longer hours and taking on additional responsibilities in a compressed time frame. This can lead to burnout, fatigue, and decreased morale among team members. Besides that, the added pressure and tight deadlines can lead to increased stress and tension among team members, which can negatively impact team dynamics and cooperation. It’s worth mentioning that crashing only works when there is an accurate critical path constructed for each task involved in completing a particular phase of work. If this information isn’t available then your team won’t know which tasks should receive priority attention first.
Project crashing doesn’t guarantee that a project will be successful in the long run. In fact, project crashing can actually cause more problems than it solves and lead to bigger issues that are harder to fix.
When Shouldn’t You Use Project Crashing?
When the time-cost tradeoff is too great, project crashing is not a good idea. For example, if you’re working on a project that’s already behind schedule and over the budget, crashing it may not be worth it.
Project crashing is also not a good idea when you don’t have the right data or tools. For example, if you don’t have access to project management software or other project-tracking tools, it may be difficult to get the data you need to make a good decision.
It’s important to mention that not all project tasks can be crashed. For example, if you’re working on a project that requires a lot of creative thinking or problem-solving skills, it’s not going to be possible to crash.
The Bottom Line
Project crashing is a powerful technique that can create a more dynamic workflow and save valuable time. However, it’s not for the faint-hearted and it’s not suitable in some situations.
In order to implement project crashing effectively, it’s important to understand how it works and what it can do for you. Otherwise, it can lead to problems such as project scope creep, increased time-to-market, and lower quality.
