When behind schedule, cut scope instead of moving the date

Seibel's advice for a sprint that slips is direct: a week in, if you are behind, cut what clearly is not important. If nothing unimportant is left, cut important things too. The priority is getting something into users' hands.

Keep a ranked list so cutting is a quick decision rather than a debate:

1. Must work for the first user to get value.
2. Makes it noticeably better.
3. Nice to have.

Cut from the bottom. Each cut item goes into a "later" list, which often turns out to be unnecessary once real users start telling you what they actually need.