DRAFT — under teacher review.

Plan B Contingency Table — Reusable Template

Hamilton College · Year 12 · 2026

The C05-3 step "Plan B Ready" asks you to show that you have thought about what could go wrong and prepared a specific alternative. The most common problem: students write "I'll think of another way" — which is not a contingency plan, it is a placeholder.

This page gives you a pre-filled Markdown table to copy into your design log. The risk prompts are specific enough to force real thinking, but they do not hint at solutions — that part is yours.

The template

Copy this table into your design log or SAT submission document. Fill in the Contingency / Backup design and Impact if triggered columns for every row. Delete rows that genuinely do not apply to your project and add rows for risks you can identify from your own scope.

| Risk | Trigger (when does this become a problem?) | Contingency / Backup design | Impact if triggered |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Library / package incompatibility** | A required library does not install on the target machine, or breaks after an update | | |
| **Scope creep** | Client or teacher requests a feature not in the original functional requirements, mid-project | | |
| **UI testing failure** | Beta-testing reveals a screen layout or workflow that users cannot navigate without assistance | | |
| **API or data-source change** | An external API changes its format, is rate-limited, or goes offline | | |
| **Client pivot** | The client changes the core purpose or target audience of the solution after designs are approved | | |
| **Time overrun on a critical task** | A core module (e.g. database integration, user authentication) takes longer than the project plan allows | | |

How to fill it in

What makes a good Contingency / Backup design entry

A contingency is a specific alternative action, not a vague reassurance.

Weak (no marks)	Strong (marks)
"I'll fix it if it happens"	"Revert to the previous pinned library version and document the version in `requirements.txt`"
"I'll think of another way"	"Remove the feature from scope and document the decision in the design log; notify client in writing"
"I'll ask my teacher"	"Replace the external API with a locally-stored JSON dataset that mirrors the last-known good API response"

What makes a good Impact if triggered entry

Name two things: the scope impact (what feature or quality is affected) and the timeline impact (how many days or steps are delayed).

Example: "Login feature delayed by 1–2 days; authentication falls back to a single shared password stored in config.ini until resolved."

Completed example (ClubTracker project)

Risk	Trigger	Contingency / Backup design	Impact if triggered
Library incompatibility	`nicegui` fails to install on school computers	Switch to `tkinter` (Python standard library; no install needed); redesign affected screens in the week before submission	UI redesign costs 1–2 days; appearance is less polished but all functional requirements are met
Scope creep	Client requests a report-export feature not in the original brief	Log the request in the design log; defer to post-submission iteration and document in the contingency section of the evaluation	No timeline impact; manage client expectation in writing
UI testing failure	Peer-testing reveals the member-search screen is unusable without prompting	Replace the free-text search field with a dropdown populated from the database; re-test with the same tester	1 day to rebuild the search component; re-test adds half a day
Time overrun	Database integration takes longer than the 3-day Gantt allocation	Simplify the data model: flatten the member table, remove the `events` table, and hard-code event dates for the demo	Core membership features still functional; event tracking deferred

Adding your own risks

Think about the specific libraries, APIs, and features in your project. Add a row for any risk that would force a design change — not just a bug fix. Good custom risk prompts for student projects:

"My chosen GUI framework does not support [specific feature]"
"The school network blocks the API endpoint I rely on"
"My only tester (client) is unavailable in the final two weeks"
"I discover mid-build that the data structure I chose makes [key feature] impractical"