and on budget.

Sigh.

There are always some extenuating circumstances:

• A key component was more difficult to work through.
• Some circuit design was wrong the first time around (and the second, and the third).
• Regardless of how many times the design was reviewed, a connector was wired backwards on a circuit board.

Or commonly, software is delayed by not having hardware to test and develop against. And vice versus.

Or the software was a lot more difficult than anticipated.

The funny thing is, even with professional, certified project managers handling the threads, using the best practices for estimating time/effort/resources, projects are late/late/late.

As a product manager, I have my own “Kentucky Windage” that I use to “adjust” my personal expectations.  And it is invariably way off.

Can’t we do better?