The Scheduling Problem

If you could work as a team of one, you wouldn't need to coordinate other people's efforts and phase deadlines. Instead, you could plan, control, and achieve the end results of the project all on your own.

When working with a team, however, your schedule is the "crunch point" for the whole team. Their networking requirements work on at least three levels: with one another, with you as the project manager, and with their recurring departmental tasks. Even at the beginning of your project, the schedule can get off track. For example, the entire core team may agree on your schedule and proceed with phase one, but it would take only one unexpected delay to throw off the entire schedule. Without your continual supervision, such delays certainly arise. Even when you supervise carefully, you need to be prepared for the unexpected.