Reporting status better than it is. Opposite of (but sometimes complement to) [[Sandbagging]], and part of [[Fundamental signal problem]]. It causes the problem of "Thermocline of truth" > In the ocean, temperature decreases with depth: the deeper you go, the colder it gets. But sometimes, what’s called a *thermocline* forms: a temperature barrier, a point at which the temperature changes rapidly. Go above the thermocline and the water is warm; pass beneath it, and it’s suddenly cold. This can have huge ramifications for life in the ocean, preventing the passage of oxygen and nutrients past the barrier. > > In [a 2008 blogpost](https://brucefwebster.com/2008/04/15/the-wetware-crisis-the-themocline-of-truth/), legendary IT consultant Bruce F. Webster applied the idea of the thermocline to large-scale IT projects. Why was it, Webster asked, that so many projects seemed to be on-track until *just* before their launch date, at which point it became suddenly clear that they were miles behind schedule? > > Webster observed that, generally speaking, those at the bottom of an organisation have a fairly accurate view of what’s going on. They’re close to the detail; they know whether their area of the project is on-track, and can infer from that the state of the wider project. #published 2025-02-02