Timelines and Scheduling

Project schedules are based on the approved scope, available capacity, dependencies, review windows, and information known when the Order is prepared. A date is a firm deadline only when the Order expressly identifies it as one.

A Typical Delivery Sequence

1. Discovery — Confirm objectives, requirements, systems, stakeholders, and constraints.
2. Preparation — Collect access, content, data, approvals, and third-party resources.
3. Production — Design, configure, build, migrate, operate, or create the agreed deliverables.
4. Review — Present work, collect consolidated feedback, and complete included revisions.
5. Validation — Test the deliverables and resolve issues within the agreed acceptance criteria.
6. Launch or handoff — Obtain approval, release the work, and provide included documentation or training.

Not every engagement uses every phase. Marketing, account management, hosting, and other recurring services operate on the cadence stated in the Order.

Dependencies That Commonly Affect Dates

• delayed access, content, data, products, brand materials, or approvals;
• incomplete or inaccurate information about an existing system;
• additional stakeholders or conflicting feedback;
• changes to scope, priorities, volume, or acceptance criteria;
• third-party reviews, outages, platform changes, app behavior, or vendor delays;
• security, privacy, accessibility, or legal review;
• failed source data, undocumented customizations, or technical defects discovered during work; and
• events outside either party's reasonable control.

Customer Review Windows

The Order or project plan identifies review deadlines. Feedback should be consolidated by the designated decision-maker. If feedback or a required dependency is late, work may be rescheduled and later milestones may move by more than the length of the delay because capacity must be reallocated.

Launch Dates

Do not commit advertising, inventory, events, travel, customer notices, or other external dependencies to a launch date until the responsible parties have reviewed launch readiness. Where a fixed date matters, the Order should identify the deadline, assumptions, contingency plan, and decisions required to protect it.

Rush Requests

Accelerated work is subject to capacity, technical feasibility, and written agreement. It may require reduced scope, faster customer decisions, additional fees, or a later phase for non-critical items. Panther & Cub does not begin rush work solely from an informal request.

When timing changes, the project contact will document the cause, affected milestone, decisions needed, and revised plan.