First, I would to apologize to my three blog readers for the lack of blog posting I've done the past couple of weeks.  Why have I been missing in action (MIA)?  Well, I've been too busy helping management pay for the blank checks they signed earlier this year.  Huh? Ok, I'm totally lost, you say? 

Well, a while back our management started to sell the idea for the project of the year to our business partners.  After the initial sale pitches, we were asked to come up with a time line that would guesstimate how long the project would take to complete.  Our initial estimate was mid-June (it's a rather complicated integration of system we have little-to-no knowlege of).  Management response: Unacceptable.  We already told the business partners that we will deliver by mid-May.

Huh?  Yeah, this is the part when the dev team looked at each other and asked the question quietly to our selves...why did you ask for a date then when you already had one in mind?  Also, if this is a high profile project, why are you cutting a month of its time line?

Yeah, for the past couple of weeks, we the dev team have been paying for these blank checks from management.  Will the project succeed or fail?  Only time will tell...(yes, I know as of this post we have only 10-12 days left before hard-set production date).

Have any of you had similar experiences?