Te enfrentas a opiniones contradictorias sobre los plazos de los proyectos. ¿Cómo se asegura de que se mantengan los estándares de calidad?

The recent CrowdStrike outage, which resulted in substantial financial losses, underscores the critical balance between speed and quality. So, it's essential to communicate that the cost of poor quality can have far-reaching consequences for all stakeholders involved. Adjusting project plans to accommodate both timely delivery and high-quality outcomes may require strategic resource reallocation, deadline extensions, or scope adjustments. Establishing and adhering to agreed-upon quality standards, coupled with continuous testing, measurement, and monitoring of quality metrics, is paramount. Effective communication of project status and potential risks to all key stakeholders is also crucial to maintaining transparency and trust.

First, align the team on the project's core objectives—quality should never be compromised for speed. Facilitate open discussions to understand the reasoning behind each perspective, fostering collaboration rather than conflict. Establish non-negotiable quality benchmarks and ensure continuous monitoring. Leverage agile methodologies, allowing for iterative reviews that balance time constraints with the need for excellence. Ultimately, clear communication, shared goals, and a commitment to quality drive the project to successful completion.

When faced with conflicting opinions on project deadlines, I would first facilitate open communication to understand the concerns of all parties. By evaluating the project's scope, resources, and risks, I would find a balance between meeting deadlines and maintaining quality. Prioritizing critical tasks, setting realistic milestones, and allowing flexibility where necessary ensures that quality standards are upheld. Regular reviews and feedback loops would help catch potential issues early, ensuring the final deliverable meets expectations without compromising on quality.

When there are conflicting views, I think it is essential to understand the reason. Ask at least 3 times "Why?" to understand what leads each expert to understand what the real expected deadline is. Use a multifunctional group of professionals to question and validate each of the arguments, and truly understand the factors involved, scenarios and probabilities. By clarifying the next steps and deadlines, it will be easier to establish new agreements, and define the activities and critical paths to ensure the quality of the final delivery.

One thing I've found helpful is bringing team members together to openly discuss concerns and priorities. By focusing on the importance of quality and finding a compromise, we worked out a new timeline that satisfied everyone and maintained high standards.

Prioritising is easier said than done - especially in a situation where deadlines are an issue. Projects should - always - be delivered: - On Time - On Budget - On Quality and the more modern methodologies add: - On Scope So the priority is already split in 3 (or 4) parts. In my experience, usually the Scope is not considered, what matters most is the Time, and secondly the Budget (although with more leniency). Quality tends to get even more leniency when the two constraints above are at risk. However, neglecting Quality is a bomb ready to explode. So the main advice is to ensure that when prioritising you include Quality checks (see my answer on point 5 below)

We should not even have to say this, but in times of tight deadlines or conflicting schedules communicating is even more CRUCIAL than in a normal setting. Tell your people WHY it is fundamental that Quality is met, WHAT to do to meet the constraints, and HOW to ensure all the work is well done.

One option to ensure the Quality constraint is respected is to add small checks along the process. The advantage is that you can detect issues early, when they are still small and don't impact on all the pipeline. This usually takes small bits of time, as opposed to a Quality check at the end of it, that in case of conflicting deadlines you might not have that "luxury" of time!