Watch this video parody of how engineers and managers communicate.
It’s an all too common occurrence. It becomes really obvious that it is important for management to give engineers the opportunity to buy-in to the project schedule. If the schedule is unrealistic, or resources are stretched and employees are overworked then productivity is going to suffer.
No matter how hard you make employees work, if the project goals are not communicated from the start with progress continually measured, if the right tools and adequate resources are not in place, and most importantly if any member(s) of the team resign(s) to the fact that the deadline is not achievable, then it will never be met.
If you believe that a deadline is not achievable for any reason, do not be afraid to approach management with conviction… and back it up with facts. There is an obvious misalignment of goals that needs to be addressed immediately. Sometimes this could be sorted out in a 5 minute conversation!
If your goals and your manager’s goals are not aligned with the overall project goals then the project is doomed.
