Deadline Abuse: The Project Management Horror Story

A “deadline” was always supposed to be rarely used tool for prioritization. Our overuse of the term has made it useless, if not harmful.

“Deadlines” are the sacred chalice of many corporate control freaks. Little time is spent in declaring them as law, yet much a grand inquisition ensues upon missing of said deadline. Fewer terms have been abused, misunderstood, and out-right mutilated as much as the now infamous “deadline.” But fear not, as the term can be reclaimed for the good of all!

Deadline: The Once and Noble King of Press

The origin of the word “deadline” comes from the American Civil-War. It described the hellish conditions by which prisoners were killed if they stepped over a line on the ground defining their “space.” It was not until the 1920s that the term moved over to define the time by which a newspaper must go to press to be ready for the next day.

These two uses are related in this way: Deadline represented an external limitation beyond your control. Newspapers ABSOLUTELY HAD to be ready by the next day or they would not be able to provide any value to the market. Because of this, editors make choices where everything is “optional” except the…