I consider slack to be a pretty integral part of planning because it can help account for an unexpected delays that can occur throughout the duration of the project. Like the professor mentioned in his lecture, it is difficult to account for contingencies, vacations, holidays, emergency closure so having slack already incorporated into the project allows for more leniency in those instances without jeopardizing the project. Going over task slack time is recoverable if more resources are put into the next task to ensure that it gets completed within its window of time. 

Like @pv223 said, accounting for slack in project planning is very important. This slack time helps to account for a number of things that can happen during the course of a project. I believe slack is very necessary for a project's timeline to account for any emergencies that could happen. Some projects, typically longer projects, will have longer slack, whereas shorter projects will have shorter slack times. I also believe that the magnitude/level of importance of the project can play into this as well. 

If my project had gone over the given amount of slack time, I would see where there are areas we could remove or shorten the timeframe. "Cutting corners" has a negative connotation but it is essentially what we would be doing to ensure that the project still gets completed in time for the submission deadline. I feel like the best thing to do for a large scale project would be to make use of a Gantt Chart. A Gantt Chart allows a project group to forecast how long it will take to complete task X, Y, and Z. If task X takes longer than usual and task Y is fairly simple, the project group can use the remaining days in task Y to complete X. 

I feel that slack must always be a factor that a team manager must take into consideration when planning a project. Vacations and delays are expected to occur throughout the duration of a project, and since they cannot always be predicted it is better to have extra time put into the project length to account for them. Personally, I feel that it is a beneficial to put in more slack than needed, just because it would be better to have the extra time and not need it than need the time and not have it. 

However, should the project fall behind schedule then it is up to the project manager to decide the best way to catch up. They can have the members work at a faster rate or work longer through overtime assignments to get the project back on track. Another option that is generally not preferred is to go to the supervisor and notify them that there is a delay and additional time will be needed for the project. 

I agree with the above responses that slack time is a great way to account for unexpected developments with the project. I would like to add that slack time also has a psychological effect on the workers since they will feel less stress each day working on the project knowing that if something comes up they are covered. This is a double edged sword however since some workers may feel that this slack time means that they can be unproductive with their time since there is slack in the schedule which can then eliminate the slack time and cause serious problems if something does come up.

To get back on schedule you must find ways to be more efficient. For example see what steps in the project could be combined and done at the same time. if you originally had to do tasks A, B, and C sequentially see if you can do at least parts of B and C during A and parts of C during B. 

Project slack time is completely necessary, however, I believe with proper planning and anticipation, accurate deadlines could be placed in right away which give a reasonable amount of time to accomplish the given tasks of the project in the order necessary. Realistic goals need to be set after doing proper research and meticulously addressing all potential causes of delays in the project. 

If the project were to go over the allotted time of slack, I believe a new schedule should be created. This schedule should address the problems which caused delay, and push the next solutions and steps to have sooner deadlines. If the delays are not able to be reversed, then the next soonest delays should be implemented, and the project should be absolutely sure that it is the best finished quality if undergoing detrimental delays. 

Slack is important for any project because miscalculations and errors are bound to happen. Of course no one should rely on slack time, however there will always be the chance that a task takes longer than expected especially if multiple parties are involved. If I went over the given amount of slack time I would need to speak with a supervisor about an extension. However, if I were ever in the scenario where I was running late on a project I would speak up before the deadline. If you are budgeting your time correctly it should be clear earlier than the deadline whether the amount of work left is feasible given the timeline. Speaking with your manager and presenting steps on how to finish the task quickly while also explaining why this won't happen again is my most likely path.

Incorporating slack into a project timeline/schedule is critically important. I've learned in school and at work that in any project, anything that can go wrong will go wrong (A little something called Murphy's Law). Slack is something to help prevent against the things that do go wrong in order to ensure the project still goes according to plan. In some cases, as you mentioned, deadlines can still be missed (even more than what slack time accounts for). In those cases, there are different ways of handling it, according to the project leader, team members, and ultimately management.  Some projects will throw more resources/personnel at a problem to help right the ship. In other cases, projects that go incredibly far off track might end up getting cancelled. I think it's a very open-ended question that depends a lot on the type, cost, and objective of the project.

Does anyone think the same?

Thanks,

Matt

It's always a good idea to account for some leeway in your planning schedule because something will and always does go wrong. It may not even be due to your own fault such as vendor supply issues or a pandemic. But by having slack time you can dip into that extra time when an issue arises and still be on track to finish the project. If there was a time where we went over the allocated amount of time given for leeway, we would meet as a team and reevaluate our resources to see if we can get additional help to complete the task as hand or if we can reprioritize items that need to get done with the given resources available. It is crucial to constantly be reevaluating your progress as you can take advantage of the times the slack time was not needed and can add it somewhere else instead to maintain steady progress. 

Having some slack time is just as integral as having a solid start date and finish date, this is because slack time accounts for many variables that are out of a project manager's hand such as inclement weather absence, machine breakdowns, people taking off for vacation and many other factors that might slow down an operation. If one plan has an earlier due date but does not have enough slack time when compared to a plan that has slack time but is expected to be due later, the one that has the slack time would generally be the more acceptable plan. It is generally accepted to finish early and without any repercussion, as this gives the teams to review their work and check and recheck their work for a solid deliverable. However, if a project goes over time, that is what usually causes backup and bogs down processes further downstream. Having a solid amount of time set as slack allows for the pressure set on each team to be lower and allows for a good project outcome. 

Slack Time needs to be given to a project to take into account any sort of emergencies or missed deadlines. A big issue we saw recently was chain and supply issues, hence projects needed to have more slack time to account for these unprecedented events, in order to successfully finish a project. I know firsthand a lot of projects either became more costly, or the end result was not met on time, simply because there was not enough slack time from this random supply/chain shortage that wasn't foreseen. 

There is no question that slack is necessary because stuff happens, and unexpected hiccups in any project... should be expected. As the professor mentioned accounting for slack in a project's timeline is important to the success of the project. As hard as you try you can't account for everything and that's why slack is meant to allocate the time for those unpredictable events or miscalculations. 

I agree with the above posts that project slack time is important in a project due to unforeseen consequences that may arise. Unfortunately, no matter how much planning is involved before a project begins there are often times variables that come up that are impossible to plan for such as family emergencies and other contingencies. If a team member goes over the amount of allotted slack time, it is important to evaluate why this may have happened and take the necessary steps to prevent it from happening again. This might include adding additional resources to the project and/or reorganizing task assignments/deliverables. Regardless, it is important to prevent issues like this from occurring in the first place. Ways to do this include optimizing tasks that are on the critical path. Another is by setting a designated time frame each day to work on the project and holding one another accountable. 

Incorporating slack into a project allows for some leeway if a part of the project takes longer than expected. Often times the project can still be completed on time. I would consider it to be important because some variables such as shipping times, manufacturing errors and so on, can only be estimated. These extra buffer days are sort of a safety net. If I was in a situation where the allotted slack time was used, I would search for the critical path and do my best to make that path more efficient.

slack time is important for the complex project. it can give you some space to catch up on delays so your project won't over the dead line. when the there are unexpected delay happened, you do not need to rush through other tasks. if the project is run out of the slack time. project manager should start to cut down time for remaining tasks and reassign them to group members.