The duration of a project is often set by the parent organization that charters the project with a deadline that reflects the business purpose of the project. The following are examples of projects with end dates that are established to meet the organization’s business purpose:
- A new software program for a university to be implemented in time for registering students in the fall
- A new product to be introduced to the marketplace at the industry’s major conference
- A new high school to be constructed and open next fall
The project team also estimates the duration of the project and establishes a project end date based on normal work (e.g., forty hours per week) and the availability of resources.
Sometimes the normal time needed to complete a project is longer than the time available.
Super Bowl Hotel Space
The investors in a planned hotel start booking rooms for an upcoming Super Bowl weekend a year before the hotel is finished. This is six weeks ahead of the time estimated to build and open the hotel. People will be working overtime, suppliers will be paid a bonus to supply materials early, and management is meeting with city officials to expedite permitting issues. A new project schedule is developed based on these changes to the execution approach, and now the project schedule has zero float.
The result of this six-week compression to the project schedule is additional stress on the project. Significant management time and energy will be invested in tracking and managing schedule issues. Every issue that arises will need to be resolved quickly and involve the project’s senior manager to assure the project schedule does not slip. This additional stress increases the overall project complexity.
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