What is the best way to deal with missed deadlines?
Hello :)
First, I would like to know your opinions. Do you think the term "deadline" exists in the software industry?
Many people believe that "Software is done when it is done, no sooner and no later."
In other words, in the software development context, can we predict a specific date for a particular scope and use it in our plans and costing?
If we don't have the term "deadline" in the software industry, how can we set the total cost for the projects correctly?
And even if the solution in the magical word, "Agile".
If we are working iteratively in an agile way, What about the delays in the iterations?
On the other hand, if you believe that there is a term called "deadline.", how can you deal with the false promises (predictions or expectations) from your team of developers? If you set your costing based on their inaccurate predictions, then they made a delay for a month. As a company owner, you may pay the penalty for your client, and at the same time, you have to pay extra (one month) salary for your developers. In such a case, what is the correct action to do with the developers?
What I learned is that it's all about communication.
As soon as you figure that you won't make it raise the issue and communicate clearly why you won't hit the deadline. You'll see that it isn't all doom and gloom and people are supportive. However if you wait until the end trying to push through but can't deliver on your promise people might get angry.
The reason is that others set expectations based on yours. Just communicate the currents status clearly and you should be good if you're working in a professional environment.
There should be multiple deadlines.
The deadline for your team. The deadline that you give the client. There needs to be space in between the two in order to allow wiggle room.
There should also be smaller deadlines before the bigger team deadline. That way you can see how things are coming along.
This is just my opinion, and I'm typing this while I am tired so I hope it makes sense. We all must find what works for our own processes and flow.
Best of luck to you.