I am PM, PO, tech lead, and sometimes primary IC on several projects. I am also owner of a software consulting company so I also control budgets and customer relations. When (not if) projects go over my general strategy is to:
1) Take the pressure off the engineers by reassuring the client with one of several tools (i.e. monetary concessions, strategic scope limitation, detailed investigation, client education, etc). Stressed clients equal stressed engineers. The tension can be palpable.
2) Educate the client on the underlying reasons why we got here. 99% of the time it is because of mismanagement. It is up to management to manage client expectations vs reality and they have clearly failed to do that. It is like the situation where a physician with good rapport with the patient is less likely to sue in the event of a medical error.
3) If overtime is necessary, provide a bonus or extra PTO for overtime, even if it means the company needs to take a small financial hit. Why should engineers suffer the consequences of something that is almost always a management misstep?
I am in a unique situation because I wear so many hats at my company. Unfortunately this decision making process usually involves multiple people. The person controlling the budget is not the same one that is controlling the scope. You need to get the relevant stakeholders in a room together to figure out how to rebalance the expectation vs reality equation. Budget and/or scope are the two dials you can tweak. If this is difficult to do, it may be time to move on. Life is too short to be stressed about things you have no control over.
1) Take the pressure off the engineers by reassuring the client with one of several tools (i.e. monetary concessions, strategic scope limitation, detailed investigation, client education, etc). Stressed clients equal stressed engineers. The tension can be palpable. 2) Educate the client on the underlying reasons why we got here. 99% of the time it is because of mismanagement. It is up to management to manage client expectations vs reality and they have clearly failed to do that. It is like the situation where a physician with good rapport with the patient is less likely to sue in the event of a medical error. 3) If overtime is necessary, provide a bonus or extra PTO for overtime, even if it means the company needs to take a small financial hit. Why should engineers suffer the consequences of something that is almost always a management misstep?
I am in a unique situation because I wear so many hats at my company. Unfortunately this decision making process usually involves multiple people. The person controlling the budget is not the same one that is controlling the scope. You need to get the relevant stakeholders in a room together to figure out how to rebalance the expectation vs reality equation. Budget and/or scope are the two dials you can tweak. If this is difficult to do, it may be time to move on. Life is too short to be stressed about things you have no control over.