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We acquired SumoQuote! Learn more here
🏔️ Peak Performance 2024 is here. Get the report

Why It’s So Important to Set Project Deadlines

Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm last year brought the announcement of a new, long-awaited Star Wars trilogy to take place after the events of the original three movies. Disney set an aggressive schedule and plotted the release of Episode VII for the Summer of 2015.

Just yesterday, it was announced that writer Michael Arndt had left the project to move onto other things. There are rumors of other issues behind the scenes that are delaying progress, but CEO Bob Iger is adamant: the show must go on, the release date must be met, despite the delays.

So why wouldn’t Iger want to budge on the project deadline?

Project Deadlines Set a Precedent

Going overtime on a project has some dangerous side-effects. It can often make you go over budget. Things always come up, the job gets delayed even more, and more materials and time are needed.

It can also become habit-forming. Once you fall behind on one project, it’s that much easier to fall behind on the next.

Worse still, every other project after that is dependent on the completion of the one that’s gone over. You might lose customers by making them wait too long, which would be bad for your revenue stream and bad for your Yelp listing.

So how can you make sure you’re hitting your milestones and on track?

Using Project Management Software to Hit Your Dates

The best way to manage one or several projects at a time is with even a simple project management software. Getting tech’ed up will help increase communication between the project manager and team members, help you organize your workflow with tasks, and will give you greater visibility on the status of each phase and task.

Even just the most basic process managed using software can help you immensely in staying on budget, staying on time, and delivering a quality project.

What If Quality is At Stake?

There are always exceptions to every rule. Sometimes, hitting your deadline isn’t the right thing to do.

The perfect example in the media today of a project that stuck to a deadline to its own demise. That example is the website Healthcare.gov, a site who’s unpreparedness is becoming more apparent every day.

Sometimes, meeting a deadline at all costs can cause you to sacrifice quality. However, even in these times, project management software can help you see the big picture on a macro and micro scale, allowing you better understanding of how to fix the issue efficiently and how to improve for the future.

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