Project Crunch - The Abandonment of Best Practices

Proudly written and published while not under project crunch

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When is the last time you procrastinated doing something? Don't be shy, we've all done it at some point or another. You stare down the clock trying to figure out if you have the time and energy to get something done. But wait, now that you've spent all that time figuring out if you had time or not, you no longer have the time to get that thing done! Best to just put it off for later.

You begrudgingly come back to it in a little bit, but you still don't feel like doing it. There are other small tasks that need to get done and, while not the most glamorous, they certainly sound a lot more appealing than doing that thing you really don't want to do. And would you look at that... by the time all those are done, you won't have time for that brutal task you're putting off. What a bummer! Best to just put it off for later.

More time passes and you muster up the energy to finally power through what you were procrastinating doing. It should only take a couple hours to do, so that isn't too bad. Problem is... you have 20 minutes to get it done now. WHOOPS! You go into hardcore 10/10 get things done mode and power through, getting it done right at the final second. Was it the best job? No. Did you make mistakes? Yes, probably. But it's done now!

Procrastinating is a normal thing to do in our daily lives, and as long as you don't make a habit out of it, not much harm other than a little inconvenience can come of it. Heck, I procrastinated writing this article by a couple days! I'm not ashamed to admit that! I make sure not to make a pattern of it though. And I certainly never procrastinate to the point where I experience project crunch, but more on that in a bit.

So what happens when we magnify procrastination up to the scale of businesses, companies, and industries? People make up businesses and the workforce in general, so it's only natural that procrastination would creep in a little. Here's the thing though... if you procrastinate and end up creating project crunch in a business, you're likely not the only one that's paying the price for it. Project crunch sucks, and if a business gets in the habit of allowing it to become the norm, it leads down a slippery slope where all the best practices of the business can fall by the wayside. Therefore, it's in our best interest to be on the lookout for and minimize project crunch in the workplace.

But what even is project crunch? How can project crunch be caused? What are some warning signs to look out for when it comes to project crunch? And why does it negatively affect your workplace best practices?

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So this Project Crunch thing sounds rough. What is it?

Project crunch (otherwise known as a "Crunch Period") is a term that describes a period of time wherein a team needs to operate close to 100% efficiency in order to complete a project. This is typically done at the end of a project as the deadline fast approaches and can sometimes force a team to work at a rate beyond what is sustainable or healthy.

That's a lot of words to take in, so let's look at a couple of examples of project crunch in the workplace...

A retail store needing to get a new product that was advertised in a flyer on the floor leaves the task for the morning crew. They now have an hour to get the product out and properly re-arrange the rest of the store's products to account for this.

A construction team had been given two weeks to complete a section of road before another contractor was to come in and work on installing water lines in the area. They are now facing down the last day and a half with only 60% of the roadwork complete and are at risk of delaying the entire project.

A building manager was given the task of finding an installation team to put heating units in a group of buildings. They had four months to get it done, but after putting it off for most of the summer, they now only have weeks to get the team selected and booked as "busy season" approaches.

Three scenarios, three industries, and the same key characteristics across all the scenarios. All of these will lead to project crunch, and will likely not see best practices (or in fact best work) delivered. As for those characteristics, what were they?

The task assigned was approaching the "due date".

The teams or individuals placed the business or project in a bad position as a result of their actions.

All three scenarios could likely have been avoided.

I've glossed over only a couple of situations here, but it's easy to look at them and determine that the blame for the impending crunch period sits at the feet of those directly involved. Unfortunately, it's not always that simple.

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The Root Causes of Project Crunch

Project crunch can pop up as a result of three different situations. It can be caused by any one of them or any nasty combination of them. What are they? Let's dive in...

Procrastination

We've already looked at how procrastination can lead to project crunch. Think back to those three examples and consider the actions of that building manager. The consistent putting off of the task in lieu of whatever else was on that person's plate was eventually going to catch up. Project crunch for the building manager will come in the form of needing to put other (possibly more important) tasks to the side and force them to find someone to come do the job. If this was left until "busy season", the best practice of getting a high quality team may be thrown out. As well, if the selected team is being slammed with requests, they may also cut corners on best practices to keep up with the workload.

Poor Management

The role of a manager is to ensure that the task at hand is completed and that the appropriate amount of resources and time are given to complete it. There needs to be a constant assessment and re-assessment of the job at hand, and decisions need to be made to facilitate progress. This is especially true on bigger jobs. Look at the retail store example I gave. The store staff are there to get the busywork done, but it was the manager that not only didn't offer appropriate time (by leaving the task for the morning) but also did not provide enough resources (extra staff) to the morning team knowing the time crunch was there. Those who are part of the morning crew now must go against best practices, either moving stock unsafely or not setting it up properly to get the job done.

External Factors

Sometimes life just happens. The person from another office didn't get you their work on time, or the shipping was delayed, or a critical player on the team was sick. It happens, but it's also something that should be considered when planning a project. That road crew from earlier may have had the resources available to complete the work, but you can't control the fact that it rained for a week and a piece of machinery on site broke. It's unfair, but it leads to a crunch period where the crew now may be looking at working through the weekend to get the job done. What kind of best practices do you think would get set aside in the name of a speedier exit from the worksite on a sunny Saturday afternoon?

As I mentioned earlier, these three things don't exist in a bubble. They can be combined to amplify the severity of the project crunch period. Think of how these could work in tandem to either be the solution to a problem or the cause of a much worse one.

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Forecasting and Pivoting

As a member of a team, what can you keep an eye out for to ensure that you don't get caught in the trap of crunch period? It will look different depending on your industry and your role on the team, but you can have a huge impact on the life of your project by ensuring you remain diligent.

When is the last time I checked in with my team?

Extremely simple to manage, a quick check with your team can give you information on whether things are running smoothly and according to plan. What's working? What's not? Those with the "boots on the ground" have the answers you need.

Is the project still on pace?

Some projects are sprints while others are marathons. A little hiccup can be remedied easily, but a trend of falling behind the set pace is cause for re-assessment of your plan. What do you need to provide your team to avoid a project crunch? More resources? More time? Can it be fixed before it gets out of hand?

Is the team burning out?

A burned out team is not a team that will fare well under the additional stress of project crunch. Burnout alone can see best practices being set aside, but add the extra workload and it makes for a bad mix.

What could go wrong?

Assess your project and know what can happen. Murphy's Law has a habit of making an appearance, so account for it if you can and mitigate what could be a nasty crunch period that is partially out of your control.

Am I putting something off?

Check in with yourself and see if you're falling into a procrastination loop. Are you procrastinating, or is a task being put off for a reason? How are you staying accountable to your tasks? Ensuring that you won't be someone else's crunch period is up to you as much as the next person.

It is important that a collective effort be made to ensure that project crunch does not become the normal operating standard for you team. There are some industries where this has unfortunately become the expectation, and there are a number of high profile cases of this happening that serve as a good example of why this should be avoided (but more on that shortly).

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Abandoning the playbook

Most companies and businesses have processes in place to ensure that work is done "properly". These are the Best Practices I've been referring to up to this point, and I'm willing to bet you've experienced them in your workplace. They can cover almost anything a business does and represent the best method to complete work based on people-centric and growth-centric factors.

How to properly transport a load

How to properly file a document

Who to notify in the event of an incident

How to properly document hazards

What to document in a given situation

These are just some examples of best practices that may appear in a workplace. Unfortunately, it's these practices that are most at risk of being tossed to the side in a project crunch scenario. Lack of resources or time in a work environment means that corners may need to be cut to meet a deadline. It leads to things getting missed or skipped. These best practices are in place for a reason, and by ditching them a business abandons all of the benefits that come with them. It leads to the business not having it's structure and framework followed, but it also has the potential to put the employees at risk.

Through all of this, we haven't touched on the human cost yet. Extended project crunch can lead to instances of burnout and low morale in even a highly skilled team. Being made to work in high stress and high pace settings is not sustainable, and project crunch guarantees this scenario. Best practices may be abandoned for the sake of speed, but a burned out staff may skip or forget critical safety or documentation procedures out of exhaustion. The result of project crunch is that your staff experiences lower efficiency (when it's needed most) and has the potential to suffer "Stress Casualties". It's a bad situation and one that should be avoided where possible.

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Crunching down on crunch

Project crunch is a bad thing. It's avoidable to a certain degree, but the trick is to implement strategies at both the employee and management level to minimize the effects of crunch periods should they occur. Best practices are the bedrock of many organizations, and preserving these practices should be a top priority for any business. As is often the case, communication is key. Staying in touch and on track is huge, and assessing progress on an ongoing basis should help to keep your team from having to experience this crunch period. Do it for yourself, but also do it for your fellow team members.

~IR

Have you experienced project crunch? What strategies do you use to combat against project crunch situations? Maybe you just have a comment to add? Check out the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn page and let everyone know. Don't forget to follow or like the page for updates! And share this article if you feel others should give it a read!

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