Montgomery Scott School of Project Management

I read about this somewhere, and a typical google search turned up only vague references to it. So, here it is, for others to link to.

The Montgomery Scott School of Project Management
First, the background...
For those of you who don't know, Star Trek started as a television show in the late 1960's and became a cultural phenomenon. It spawned 5 spin-off series and about a dozen movies. The "original series" takes place on the Starship Enterprise, and Montgomery Scott (aka "Scotty") was the chief engineer on the ship.

It seemed like each week, there was some crisis and a conversation something like the following would occur:

Captain: Scotty! We need the warp drives back on line! We need to escape!
Scotty: I canna do it, Cap'n. The drives are shot. They canna be fixed.
Captain: Scotty! If you don't do it, the Caldrassian Empire will be eliminated!
Scotty: I'll see what I can do, but it'll be several hours at least.
Captain: Well, keep me updated! We need to have that power!

Scotty: Cap'n, the warp drives are back online.
Captain: Bless you, Scotty! Navigator, Full Warp Speed!

This particular example was repeated over and over, and even became somewhat of a joke. However, from this exchange, we can infer the guiding principles of the Montgomery Scott School of Project Management:

1. When the client asks for a new project, even when the specs are clear, deny the possibility of the task being able to be accomplished. The odds of completion are so astronomical as to defy description.
2. If pressed, multiply by 4 (or 8) the amount of time you think it might take.
3. When it only takes you twice as much time as you originally estimate, you will come out ahead by a factor of two (or four).

I have only used this once or twice, and believe me, it works.

Quote from Montgomery Scott, later in his career:

How are you going to get a reputation as a miracle worker if you tell the Captain the actual amount of time it will take?!?!

Hopefully, this will rise in the google rankings, so others can benefit.