Contingencies

Contingencies are extra time or a back-up plan added to a workplan in case something goes wrong or a task is delayed. They are a safety margin, not a job to tick off. For example, if you are making a podcast episode for a school open evening, you might aim to finish recording and editing early, then keep two days free as contingency before the publish date. If a guest is ill or a file will not export, those two days soak up the delay; if nothing goes wrong, you still publish on time.

Where contingency goes

You often build contingency in after a group of tasks has finished, before the final deadline. That way it sits between the work it protects and the date you must hit. In a photo gallery project for the school website, you could schedule the photoshoot, then selecting and editing images, then a contingency day, then upload and launch. The contingency day is not for starting a new task; it stays free so it can absorb a problem such as poor lighting forcing a reshoot. If you fill contingency with extra work, it is no longer available to absorb delays.

What it protects

A contingency protects the final deadline by giving the project room to recover. Delays in one part do not have to push everything later. A back-up plan does the same job in a different way: if the main camera fails, you use a spare; if a contributor cannot attend, you record a shorter alternative segment. Both extra time and back-up plans are contingencies because both help you cope with the unexpected and still finish on time.