When the Schedule Is “Managed” but Still Sinking Not everything can be turned into a process—especially in product development, where discovery and uncertainty are unavoidable. But there is a dangerous gap between acknowledging uncertainty and pretending it is under control. The image illustrates a familiar scenario: a project manager confidently “monitoring and controlling” while the […]

When the Margin Is Unknown, Control Becomes Reaction Not everything can be turned into a process. This is especially true in early product development, where learning, discovery, and iteration dominate. However, when ambiguity persists beyond its appropriate stage—especially around dimensions, tolerances, and margins—organizations unintentionally transfer risk downstream. The image illustrates a simple truth: when the […]

By: Jon M Quigley When Process Helps—and When It Can’t We are a big fan of Aircraft Disasters on the Smithsonian Channel  (at least that is where we watch it).  This often appears in our written materials, including the occasional blog post.  This post origins from the season 4 episode 7, “Catastrophe at O’Hare” as well […]