The BAUER Principle (and No, it wasn't named after the "24" character, although he did use it.

The Bauer Principle stands for the Best Available Use of Essential Resources. Simply put it is taking what you have and getting the most out of it. This means that your overall objectives stay the same but your intermediate objectives change depending on what time and resources you have available at the moment. Instead of thinking about a problem as linear steps to a solution, where you must accomplish one goal before you can start on the next goal, you break it down in to smaller tasks which can be accomplished and then brought in at the appropriate time to complete the larger goal.