Option 1: Stay on the current course.

Strategy : Keep the scope, all features intact; shoot for the same deadline, using the same plan; and pursue quality as goal number 1.

Pros : We know the game. The team feels comfortable playing the way it knows. The goals are reachable. Cons : We will most likely be late by one month. We will lose sales. Team members may start finding new jobs as the program is nearing the end.

Option 2: Keep all features intact and hit the announced release date.

Strategy : Crash schedule, fast - track, and outsource. First, in some parts of the program, we will crash the schedule by adding more resources, retaining activity dependencies, and shortening critical path activities: Second, we will fast - track some parts of the program by breaking activity dependencies and creating new ones to overlap and speed up the schedule. Third, we will outsource the software testing to an external, top - notch company to accelerate the schedule.

Pros : It will be a feat. The product will be released as announced. Customers will be happy. Cons : We may not be able to deliver on time with the quality desired. Outsourcing was never tried before. Fast - tracking is a new approach for us.

Option 3: Drop the two features and finish on time.

Strategy : Drop the two features. That enables the elimination of time to integrate the two new features, making it much easier to deliver on time and also to pay attention to the quality of the remaining features.

Pros : The product will be delivered on time with good quality. The product will be released as announced. It is still the best product in the market. Cons : We may lose about 20 percent of the product sales (according to a phone survey of lead customers). Because we failed on our product feature promises, we may lose some customers permanently. We may have a tarnished reputation.

Which of the three options would you choose? Why?