* Technical promises are made by nontechnical people. When a performance situation escalates, it's common for management to get involved. While this can bring calm to the situation, if management desires peace at any price, it can lead to promises that are technically unfounded and put unnecessary stress on the technical team. You need to be diplomatic in these situations. Never agree to something you know is false and cannot be realistically accomplished. In the end, you could be held accountable simply for agreeing.

* The timing is unfortunate. How about Friday afternoon just before you are about to leave on a holiday-sound familiar? It has happened to everyone.

* Significant change occurred. It may seem obvious while reading a book, but when you're in the battle, changes like an operating system patch, an Oracle database patch, an application patch, or even an additional module or application can escape everyone's attention. Think about what could have possibly changed, because it will help you understand what you are technically observing.