/ Opening
A due date is not a plan
“Can you just make this?” hides intake, decisions, dependencies, approvals, production, QA, and release conditions.
WORKFLOW
What stages must happen?
Request, brief, build, review, release.
DEPENDENCY
What must be true first?
Inputs, decisions, assets, approvals.
CRITICAL PATH
What moves the date?
The longest dependent sequence with no float.
TAKEAWAYCommit to a date only after the path and release conditions are visible.
PRODEVXQXQ1
/ Quick Test
Which project is actually on track?
Both teams report the same final deadline.
DATE-ONLYLaunch Friday
Launch Friday
Everyone is “working on it”
Legal review not scheduled
Final assets arrive Thursday
PATH-BASEDRelease criteria defined
Release criteria defined
Tasks sequenced backward
Legal is on the critical path
Two-day QA buffer
TAKEAWAYStatus is not progress unless dependencies and gates are explicit.
PRODEVXQXQ2
/ Model
Work backward from release
The workflow becomes a plan when stages have owners and conditions.
01Release conditionDefine what “ready” means.
02Stages + ownersMap the work and accountability.
03Dependencies + gatesName what must happen before movement.
04Critical path + bufferProtect the tasks that determine the date.
TAKEAWAYA handoff is not a gate unless someone confirms what is ready.
PRODEVXQXQ3
/ Distinctions
Four planning terms answer different questions
Do not use them interchangeably.
MILESTONE
What important point must be reached?
A visible event or decision.
DEPENDENCY
What must happen first?
A relationship between tasks.
FLOAT / BUFFER
What can move without moving launch?
Time available to absorb change.
CRITICAL PATH
What sequence determines launch?
Tasks with no usable float.
TAKEAWAYSome tasks are late; critical-path tasks make the project late.
PRODEVXQXQ4
/ Team Challenge
The launch stays fixed. Reality changes.
Build the plan, then respond to three disruptions.
Legal feedback arrives two days lateFinal product claims changeClient adds a new video formatMedia trafficking deadline moves earlier
OUTPUT: revised path · critical tasks · trade-offs · owner updates · earliest useful warning
TAKEAWAYKeep the controls while adapting the plan. Do not hide the consequence.
PRODEVXQXQ5
/ Pressure Test
Can the plan survive contact with reality?
A credible schedule exposes trade-offs before the deadline fails.
1.What release condition cannot be compromised?
2.Which task is now on the critical path?
3.What can be moved, reduced, parallelized, or deferred?
4.Who needs the update now—and what decision is required?
TAKEAWAYDo not report lateness after it happens. Communicate at the first useful warning.
PRODEVXQXQ6
/ Example
One change, three different consequences
The path determines the response.
CHANGEPATH EFFECTDECISION
Late logo fileHas floatAbsorb within buffer
Late legal claimCritical pathMove launch or reduce scope
New channel sizeProduction dependencyTrade another format or add capacity
Missing tracking planRelease gateDo not launch unmeasurable work
TAKEAWAYThe same amount of delay can have different impact depending on the dependency structure.
PRODEVXQXQ7
/ Close
Make the path visible before making the promise
Process exists to make the work releasable—not bureaucratic.
MAPStages and owners
PROTECTCritical path and gates
WARNCommunicate consequences early
TAKEAWAYThe work is a connected system, not a list of tasks.
PRODEVXQXQ8