The date is fixed. Are the hidden dependencies ready?

Milestone and decision are not the same

A plan may show go-live, board approval or contract date. The real decision can occur weeks earlier when resources are committed, data is changed, legacy systems are disabled or suppliers receive irreversible authority. After that point, Continue, Reset and Stop remain possible only at different cost.

Make dependencies visible

A defensible view connects external deliveries, data, architecture, process, controls, people, environments, contracts and regulatory approvals. Each critical dependency needs an owner, evidence, latest decision point and an alternative if it fails.

The GAO Schedule Assessment Guide stresses logically linked activities and a credible critical path. For executive decisions, a schedule must also show which dependency changes which option.

Evidence instead of percent complete

‘Ninety per cent complete’ means little if the remaining ten per cent depends on one untested migration or operating approval. Examine integration proof, lead times, acceptance criteria, capacity, decision latency and rollback conditions.

Warning signs

Warnings include dependencies outside the integrated plan, owners without authority, supplier dates without assumptions, rollback never tested under realistic conditions, or a board date after the actual irreversible commitment.

Questions for management

Which option do we lose next? Which dependency can move that date? Who evidences it? Which decision must reach the forum earlier? What is the last safe point for Reset or Stop?

When independent review may help

Review helps when component plans are locally plausible but nobody owns the end-to-end dependencies. It focuses attention on the few connections that determine the decision path.