My takeaways:
1. Stick to the plan. It does not mean that SPI or CPI is good that it will remain like that till the end.
2. Crashing or Fast Tracking may not be helpful if there is no concrete plan how to do it.
3. You could be lucky to use a management reserve at times of despair.
4. Lastly, while overcoming constraints and avoiding risks could be challenging, it is not an excuse to fail.
Sorry for the long post - I was just cheering myself up.
I will post my success story next time.
Till next time, John