• Major Technological Breakthrough – Back to the drawing board.
• Developed after years of intensive research – It was discovered by accident.
• Project slightly behind original schedule due to unforeseen difficulties – We are working on something else.
• The designs are well within allowable limits – We just made it, stretching a point or two.
• Customer satisfaction is believed assured – We are so far behind schedule that the customer was happy to get anything at all from us.
• Close project coordination – We should have asked someone else; or, let’s spread the responsibility for this.
• The design will be finalized in the next reporting period – We haven’t started this job yet, but we’ve got to say something.
• A number of different approaches are being tried – We don’t know where we’re going, but we’re moving.
• Test results were extremely gratifying – It works, and are we surprised!
• Extensive effort is being applied on a fresh approach to the problem – We just hired three new guys; we’ll let them kick it around for a while.
• Preliminary operational tests are inconclusive – The darn thing blew up when we threw the switch.
• The entire concept will have to be abandoned – The only guy who understood the thing quit.
• Modifications are underway to correct certain minor difficulties – We threw the whole thing out and are starting from scratch.

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