Definition: This is the work you do, and changes you make, to improve the speed of completion of tasks and deliverables. What do you actually change to bring things in sooner. Not how much you worry about it.
This page is not about visibility or perception. If you want to fool someone, or make them feel good, look somewhere else. These are methods you can use to improve the actual delivery date, usually at the expense of other priorities. If schedule is important....
You will have to come to grips with an increase in risk. Risk is a part of the business. You may try something that does not work out. If you spend time working on improving the schedule, then you are not spending time working on the other priorities. So even just trying to figure out how to go faster takes something away from everything else - and that adds risk to all those other things. Changes in plan are what management and leadership are about. The status reporting that you spend all that time setting up is to work up information to allow you to make these decisions. The reporting methods should help you. If they don't, use something else.
If all previous similar jobs at your company ended up late by 3 months, then there is a 100% chance that yours will be too - if you make no changes to the initial plan. Wouldn't it be better to have a 50% chance of making the schedule, then a 100% chance of failing by sticking to the original plan?
You may encounter an egotistical boss who is trying to get a particular method to work. The fact that it has not met schedule the last five times may not bother them. In this case, you are not trying to meet the schedule, per se. You are trying to validate your bosses world concept. Do it once for the experience, but if they don't let you change things the next time based on what you have learned, get out.
Effect on Task Dependencies
Use these categories to assess the risk of task dependencies for each change to the plan. Compare the total risk of your changes the risk of not meeting the schedule using the original plan.
T1 - Low Risk. We don’t have to think about down stream coordination. The following tasks will adapt to what the output is.
T2 – Moderate Risk. We have to do some work on down stream coordination. Changes will affect the following tasks.
T3 – High Risk. Changing this will drive or create other tasks and events downstream, putting stress on other tasks.
T4 – Very High Risk. We do not know how to replan to recover the loss we will incur if it does not work out. Essentially, betting the farm on the approach.