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Within Framing

When finishing becomes the wrong goal

Delivery framing can make finishing the plan feel more responsible than asking whether the plan still deserves scarce time and attention.

On this page

  • How project momentum changes the question
  • Signals that delivery framing has taken over
  • Reframes that reopen the decision
Preview for When finishing becomes the wrong goal

Introduction

Delivery framing changes the question from “Is this still the best use of our resources?” to “How do we get this finished?” That shift seems harmless, but it can keep weak projects alive long after their original business case has eroded. Once delivery becomes the assumed objective, stopping, redesigning or replacing the project starts to look like failure rather than sound judgement. Research on escalation of commitment, framing effects and project decision-making shows that people often continue investing in underperforming initiatives because the decision is framed around completing an existing commitment instead of reassessing future value. [Project Management Institute+2GOV.UK]pmi.orgpsychology project termination decision maker 5914Project Management InstituteThe psychology of project termination28 Oct 2013 — This paper presents recent research on the topic of escala…

Delivery Trap illustration 1 This matters because projects rarely fail all at once. Markets change, technology evolves, costs rise, priorities shift and new alternatives emerge. A project that was rational six months ago may no longer be the best option today. Delivery framing encourages organisations to treat these developments as obstacles to overcome rather than evidence that the underlying decision deserves another look.

How project momentum changes the question

Projects accumulate momentum through investment, planning, public commitments and organisational routines. Each milestone reinforces the assumption that completion is the natural destination.

As a result, conversations subtly change. Instead of asking whether expected future benefits still exceed future costs, meetings revolve around delivery dates, implementation risks and execution plans. The original investment decision quietly disappears from view.

This is an important distinction because rational decisions should depend on future consequences, not on resources that have already been spent. Yet delivery framing encourages people to evaluate success by whether the original promise is honoured instead of whether continuing remains worthwhile. Research on escalation of commitment consistently finds that organisations often continue funding failing projects despite evidence that expected returns have deteriorated. [Project Management Institute+2Wikipedia]pmi.orgpsychology project termination decision maker 5914Project Management InstituteThe psychology of project termination28 Oct 2013 — This paper presents recent research on the topic of escala…

The psychological effect is powerful because completing a project offers an obvious, concrete objective. Reopening the decision introduces uncertainty, political disagreement and the possibility that earlier choices were mistaken. Delivery therefore feels responsible even when reassessment would create greater value.

Why finishing feels more responsible than reconsidering

Delivery framing works because it changes what counts as good leadership.

A manager who keeps a project moving appears decisive, reliable and committed. A manager who recommends cancellation may appear indecisive, wasteful or inconsistent, even when abandoning the project would save substantial future resources.

Several well-established mechanisms reinforce this tendency.

  • Sunk costs become psychologically relevant. Previous spending cannot be recovered, but people naturally feel pressure to justify earlier investments. This makes further investment seem easier to defend than accepting that past costs cannot be changed. [The Decision Lab+2PMC]thedecisionlab.comThe Decision LabThe Sunk Cost FallacyThe sunk cost fallacy is our tendency to follow through with something that we've already invested h…
  • Losses become more salient than gains. Cancelling often feels like locking in failure, whereas continuing preserves the possibility of eventual success. Prospect theory predicts greater willingness to accept risk when people perceive themselves as facing losses. [Wikipedia]WikipediaEscalation of commitmentEscalation of commitment
  • Personal responsibility matters. Decision-makers who approved the original project may experience greater pressure to defend it because cancellation can feel like admitting poor judgement. Self-justification has been repeatedly identified as an important contributor to escalation of commitment. [Project Management Institute]pmi.orgpsychology project termination decision maker 5914Project Management InstituteThe psychology of project termination28 Oct 2013 — This paper presents recent research on the topic of escala…
  • Near-completion creates false confidence. Projects often receive additional support simply because they appear “almost finished”, even when the remaining work is unusually expensive or when expected benefits have fallen. Studies have identified proximity to completion as one factor associated with continued commitment. [ResearchGate]researchgate.netResearchers described how managers believe the projects are most vulnerable until managers. choose wrong abandonment even though indeed t…

None of these mechanisms necessarily reflect deliberate irrationality. They emerge from ordinary attempts to appear consistent, responsible and dependable.

The Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why Smart People Make Expensive Mistakes

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Signals that delivery framing has taken over

Delivery framing rarely announces itself directly. Instead, it changes the language surrounding decisions.

Common warning signs include:

  • Meetings focus almost entirely on schedules, milestones and delivery plans rather than current strategic value.
  • Questions such as “How do we finish?” replace “Should we still do this?”
  • Business cases are rarely updated despite major external changes.
  • New evidence is treated mainly as a delivery obstacle instead of decision-relevant information.
  • Success becomes defined as project completion rather than achieving worthwhile outcomes.
  • Teams discuss “protecting the investment” more often than comparing alternatives.
  • Cancelling is described as wasting previous effort rather than avoiding future waste.

These shifts narrow attention. Once delivery becomes the unquestioned objective, alternatives receive less analysis even when they could create substantially greater value.

Delivery Trap illustration 2

Why organisational momentum makes the trap stronger

Large organisations add structural forces to the psychological ones.

Projects typically involve multiple departments, contracts, budgets and public commitments. Each stakeholder may optimise for completing their own part of the programme, making collective reconsideration increasingly difficult.

Performance systems can unintentionally reinforce this pattern. Managers may be rewarded for delivering approved projects rather than for recommending timely termination. Procurement contracts, published roadmaps and political announcements can further raise the perceived cost of changing direction.

Research into project escalation identifies not only psychological factors but also project characteristics, organisational structures and social pressures that encourage continued investment. Large projects become difficult to stop because many systems are already organised around their completion. [Wikipedia]WikipediaEscalation of commitmentEscalation of commitment

This explains why weak projects often survive despite widespread private doubts. No single participant believes continuation is ideal, yet the framing of everyone’s role centres on delivery.

Delivery Trap illustration 3

Reframes that reopen the decision

The most effective response is not simply encouraging scepticism. It is deliberately changing the frame.

Instead of asking:

  • “How do we finish this project?”

Ask:

  • “Knowing what we know today, would we choose to start this project again?”

Instead of:

  • “How much have we already invested?”

Ask:

  • “What future costs and future benefits remain?”

Instead of:

  • “Can we avoid wasting the work already done?”

Ask:

  • “Which option creates the greatest value from this point forward?”

Another useful reframe is to imagine that another organisation is offering to sell you the partially completed project at today’s remaining cost. If you would decline that offer, continuing simply because you already own the project deserves careful scrutiny.

Independent reviews can also weaken delivery framing by assigning fresh decision-makers who have less personal investment in previous commitments. Similarly, requiring periodic “continue or stop” decisions based on updated evidence prevents the original approval from becoming permanent authorisation.

Escalation of Commitment: Why We Struggle to Walk Away (90 Seconds)

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Finishing is not always success

Completing a project is sometimes the correct decision. Many initiatives recover after temporary setbacks, and abandoning every struggling effort would be equally unwise.

The problem arises when delivery itself becomes the goal. Completion is a means to create value, not evidence that value still exists.

Strong decision-making separates the quality of today’s choice from yesterday’s commitment. A project deserves continued support because its expected future benefits justify its remaining costs—not because finishing has become the default frame through which every subsequent decision is viewed.

Project Termination: How to Know When to Quit 🛑

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Encourages testing, pivoting, and stopping weak initiatives instead of blindly delivering original plans.

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Endnotes

  1. Source: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Title: UK A review of optimism bias, planning fallacy, sunk cost
    Link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a821602ed915d74e3401a64/lit-review-exploration-of-behavioural-biases.pdf
    Source snippet

    consequences: it is harder to admit a poor decision when we are personally... The effect of optimism bias on the decision to terminate f...

  2. Source: Wikipedia
    Title: Escalation of commitment
    Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalation_of_commitment

  3. Source: researchgate.net
    Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350479101_The_effect_of_sunk_cost_framing_effect_and_educational_background_on_the_escalation_of_commitment
    Source snippet

    Researchers described how managers believe the projects are most vulnerable until managers. choose wrong abandonment even though indeed t...

  4. Source: Wikipedia
    Title: Sunk cost
    Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost

  5. Source: researchgate.net
    Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335325457_The_effect_of_escalation_of_commitment_and_project_risk_in_resources_allocation_decision
    Source snippet

    poor initial project decision can...Read more...

  6. Source: pmi.org
    Title: psychology project termination decision maker 5914
    Link: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/psychology-project-termination-decision-maker-5914
    Source snippet

    Project Management InstituteThe psychology of project termination28 Oct 2013 — This paper presents recent research on the topic of escala...

  7. Source: thedecisionlab.com
    Link: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/the-sunk-cost-fallacy
    Source snippet

    The Decision LabThe Sunk Cost FallacyThe sunk cost fallacy is our tendency to follow through with something that we've already invested h...

Additional References

  1. Source: linkedin.com
    Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rugastechnologies_itleadership-projectdelivery-digitaltransformation-activity-7429137893039960064-NPa3
    Source snippet

    They fail because the conditions for success...

  2. Source: academia.edu
    Link: https://www.academia.edu/105907637/Escalating_IT_projects_A_text_analysis_of_risk_framing_effects_of_managers
    Source snippet

    Escalating IT-projects: A text-analysis of risk-framing effects...This research uses text analysis to determine which types of framing a...

  3. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5904751/
    Source snippet

    framing in the observed tendency to escalate commitment to a failing course of action.... Both results can be interpreted as consistent...

  4. Source: youtube.com
    Title: The Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why Smart People Make Expensive Mistakes
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM38AY8nD48
    Source snippet

    Escalation of Commitment: Why We Struggle to Walk Away (90 Seconds)...

  5. Source: youtube.com
    Title: What is the Escalation of Commitment? | Psychology Facts
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBLQfDtKk7o
    Source snippet

    The Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why Smart People Make Expensive Mistakes...

  6. Source: youtube.com
    Title: Escalation of Commitment: Why We Struggle to Walk Away (90 Seconds)
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeZ1xaD89pU
    Source snippet

    Project Termination: How to Know When to Quit...

  7. Source: journals.aom.org
    Link: https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amj.2011.0869
    Source snippet

    Competitors as Reference...Although larger [rivals]({{ 'rivals/' | relative_url }})' successful experience might still affect escalation behavior, such an influence is ex...

  8. Source: youtube.com
    Title: Project Termination: How to Know When to Quit
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3WX4u-FY9o
    Source snippet

    Project Failing? Here's what to do next...

  9. Source: youtube.com
    Title: Project Failing? Here’s what to do next!
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osSh3qkl8x8

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Framing Is the Question Already Trapping You?

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