Basically they’re saying “we’re going to start by getting this project done as fast as possible so that I can tell my boss that it is done. Then, if we feel like it, we’ll come back to it later and actually do it right.”

Now, I know there are many projects that should legitimately be done in phases. You may have a project that is so huge that it can’t be handled in one chunk, or, it may be a project that is sequential in nature and one phase is dependant on another. I’m just blogging about this because it seem that the people that I have heard use “phases” lately in their project management have been in the first situation that I mentioned. The word “phase” seems almost to be a business buzz word that is supposed to make your lack of planing and discipline sound like a strategic business decision.

So, if you are planning out a project in phases, maybe you should reflect on your first phase and ask if the whole purpose of that first phase it to get some sort of facade up for your boss to see or for some other sort of “quick win” (another buzz word that is over-used). Just keep in mind the old carpenter’s adage “measure twice, cut once.” If you do “measure twice” you will be set up for success, whereas, it seems that mistakes made in the beginning (or “phase 1″) seem to compound and become much bigger in the future. Do it right the first time.

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