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Death March

Project Management | February 27, 2005 | 2 comments

I came across the term Death March and it’s definition the other day and I wanted to share it with all of you because I figured it would make everyone laugh or cringe, depending how many times it has happened to you, by it.

“In software development and software engineering industry, a death march is a dysphemism for a project that is destined to fail. Usually it is a result of unrealistic or overly optimistic expectations in scheduling, feature scope, or both. The knowledge of the doomed nature of the project weighs heavily on the psyche of its participants, as if they are helplessly watching the team as it marches into the sea. Often, the death march will involve desperate attempts to right the course of the project by asking team members to work especially gruelling hours, weekends, or by attempting to “throw bodies at the problem” with varying results, often causing burnout.”

(courtesy of wikipedia)

Have you ever been on a death march?

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Comments

February 27, 2005 02:06 PM | Ness commented:

dysphemism

n : an offensive or disparaging expression that is substituted for an inoffensive one; “his favorite dysphemism was to ask for axle grease when he wanted butter” [ant: euphemism]

So far, no.

March 14, 2005 11:00 PM | David Di Giacomo commented:

A book’s been written on this: Death March, 2nd Edition, By Edward Yourdon.

I’ve only started the beginning but looks like an interesting read. It seems the book will be focusing on what death march projects are and how to negotiate (since you’ll spend a lot of time doing this) with management and how to get through.

My colleague who has read the whole book says the author’s solutions are extreme at times - ie, threatening to quit, but it made him a littke more aware of what managers do to trap you into these projects…

I just finished reading about a tactic where managers suddenly call you into a room with the clients and put you on the spot - “When do you think you can finish?” You give an estimate, but now your estimate is more like a commitment that the clients will hold you to.

Just 15 minutes later, my manager did the exact same thing. Having had just read it, I realized a possible solution was to mentally double the estimate, which is what I did.

Have a look, may save you one day as well :) :)

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