The project deadline was announced before feasibility work. How do I respond?
Unvalidated deadlineTreat the announced date as a constraint to test, not a reliable forecast. Develop a minimum feasible scope and show the trade-offs necessary to meet it.
What to do now
- Identify the reason for the date
- Estimate the essential delivery path
- Identify scope and capacity options
- Ask the sponsor to select a feasible commitment
When to escalate
Escalate when
No combination of safe scope and available capacity meets the date.
Who decides
The accountable sponsor
Example
A conference website launches registration first while less urgent content moves to a later release.
Mistake to avoid
Making the schedule look feasible by deleting testing.
Prevent a repeat
At each stage decision, check that the expected outcome, owner and justification remain valid.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Projects
- Documents
- Approvals
Keep the decision brief with the project and request a recorded sponsor decision before the next commitment. See the platform
Related cases
- The proposed project duplicates work already underway. What should we do?Duplicate initiative intake
- Our project depends on a funding approval that is not confirmed. Can work begin?Unfunded commitment risk
- The client says an excluded item was always included. How should we respond?Scope interpretation dispute
- Can I use an AI estimate as the project commitment?Unvalidated model-generated estimate