Crashing and Fast Tracking – How to Shorten Your Project Schedule

In project management, time is always important. Many times, project deadline is coming near, but some tasks are still not finished. Maybe there is delay, maybe client changes something, or maybe team was short. So how to save time without breaking the whole plan?

There are two methods that help in such situations. These are crashing and fast tracking. These methods are used to shorten project duration without changing the scope.

But both have different way and different risk. In this article, we will explain what is crashing and fast tracking, how they work, when you can use them, and what are pros and cons.

What Is Crashing?

Crashing means adding more resources to critical path activities to finish them faster. For example, if one person is working on task, you add one more person so task is done in half time.

But crashing always increases cost. You have to pay more for extra people, extra machines, or overtime.

🔧 Example of Crashing:

• Task A takes 5 days with 1 person

• You add 1 more person, now it takes 3 days

• Project finishes 2 days earlier

• But you pay double for labor

📌 When to Use Crashing:

• You have budget but short on time

• Deadline is fixed and delay is not allowed

• Quality should not reduce

• Critical path is known and clear

What Is Fast Tracking?

Fast tracking means doing two tasks at same time, even if they were planned one after another. This saves time but brings risk. If second task depends fully on first one, fast tracking can cause mistakes.

This method does not increase cost like crashing, but increases chance of rework.

🔧 Example of Fast Tracking:

• Task B is planned after Task A

• You start Task B when Task A is 50% done

• Project moves faster, but maybe Task B faces changes later

📌 When to Use Fast Tracking:

• Tasks can be overlapped without full dependency

• You need to save time and budget is tight

• Team is experienced to handle parallel work

• Some risk is acceptable

Crashing and Fast Tracking – What Is the Difference?

So both crashing and fast tracking help to reduce time, but way is different. You must choose based on your project condition.

Pros and Cons of Crashing

✅ Pros:

• Faster project completion

• Easy to manage if team is available

• Keeps plan and quality in control

• Works well in short-duration tasks

❌ Cons:

• Higher cost (extra labor or resources)

• Resource conflict possible

• May need approval for extra budget

• Not useful if task cannot be sped up

Pros and Cons of Fast Tracking

✅ Pros:

• Saves time without more cost

• Good when project is behind and no money to crash

• Helps use team more effectively

❌ Cons:

• Higher risk of mistake

• Task dependency can break

• May lead to rework or delay later

• Needs good communication in team

Important Tips Before Using Crashing and Fast Tracking

Before you apply crashing and fast tracking, you should check some things:

• Make sure critical path is correct – only work on critical tasks

• Check resource availability (for crashing)

• Review task dependency (for fast tracking)

• Talk to team and ask if they can handle change

• Update risk plan if fast tracking is used

• Don’t use both methods on all tasks – only where needed

Also remember, these are schedule compression techniques, not magic tools. If project planning is bad or scope is always changing, they cannot fix everything.

Crashing and Fast Tracking in Real Projects

These techniques are used in many industries:

• Construction: If material is delayed, crashing can help speed up next work

• Software: If client wants early delivery, fast tracking development and testing

• Event Management: Two teams work in parallel to finish decoration and catering

• Manufacturing: Adding more machines to complete production early

But always check quality and safety. Don’t crash or fast-track blindly just to finish early.

Final Thoughts

Every project faces time pressure one day or another. In such time, crashing and fast tracking are helpful tools. They allow you to reduce schedule, meet deadlines, and satisfy stakeholders.

But they are not same. Crashing costs more, fast tracking brings more risk. You must decide based on project needs, budget, and team strength.

Smart project manager uses them only when needed and with full plan. So next time project is behind, remember – maybe crashing or fast tracking can save your day.