There you have it, project manager of a new project, you have done the project planning and started the implementation. Now you’re thinking about what you can say to your PMI colleagues at the next chapter meeting, creating a wonderful spreadsheet to prevent project failure and revolutionize project control, and learning how to use a new software package that just to buy, when BAM – You’re in trouble. A project screwed up and you never saw it coming!
Well, your project is in trouble and is likely to become a statistic unless immediate action is taken. No amount of wishful thinking, praying to the great god PMI, or banging your head against the nearest brick wall can turn back the clock, so now the project recovery process must begin.
Common Recovery Theme
Do you remember the TV series M*A*S*H? Whenever they had an influx of casualties, the first thing they did was “triage,” which Encarta defines as “the process of prioritizing sick or injured people for treatment based on the severity of the condition or injury.” In effect, they didn’t rush to try to heal the first injury they saw: they made a general assessment of the severity of each victim and then worked on the most serious problem first, working down the priority list until everything had been treated.
In terms of project implementation, there can be all sorts of things that go wrong, such as schedule delays, over budget, insufficient resources, or poor quality deliverables that lead to non-acceptance. So how do you recover from this impending failure?
Prevention of project failure
The first thing in project recovery is to assess the overall project: An audit or review of the project using a series of standard questions should identify the key issues and the severity of each. This will allow you to prioritize project recovery planning and activity so that you address the most serious issues first and then resolve the list. During the checkup, you may find some areas where you can stop the bleeding; For example, if the scope is unstable and constantly changing, the introduction of a strict change control process should at least help firm up and stabilize the scope.
The degree of planning for project recovery will vary from project to project: some projects may need a total anesthetic (stopping all work) to allow an operation to take place (re-scoping or even another round of project planning). Some may need a cast to immobilize a broken part (to prevent further scope changes until the project is stabilized), some areas may need a bandage (some corrective measures may restrict progress but not stop the project), some just they need a sticky plaster (minor corrective measures that have minimal impact on overall progress), and some just need a little TLC (smoothing minor issues).
Recognize when the project is unrecoverable
After evaluation of the troubled project, you may determine that there is not a good business case for project recovery, so we may need to cut our losses and move on rather than waste time and money on additional planning. In this case, we must plan euthanasia: let the project die painlessly and with as much dignity as possible.
A failed project needs the help of a well-trained project planning professional, also called a recovery project manager, to minimize recovery time, cost, and residual damage if the project is salvageable, or to recognize when euthanasia is appropriate. the recommended option.
Sell the Recovery Plan and Motivate Stakeholders
Once the project planning professional has triaged and prevented project failure, they must be able to create and “sell” a prioritized recovery plan to all stakeholders. Communication is critical on any project, but it’s particularly vital during project recovery, where there may be a demoralized team, an irate customer, nervous management, and unhappy bean counters to satisfy.
When the plan is accepted and payback is underway, the project planning professional must be able to motivate the team to success, appease customers and give them confidence in ultimate success, and provide bean counters. a realistic plan that can be reviewed periodically. measured and reported. Progress must be carefully monitored, controlled and reported throughout the recovery and responses to unplanned events (risks) must be decisive, fast and effective or we could be facing more project failures.
Finally, during the recovery period, it’s important to keep your team positive – create milestones that allow you to publicize and praise even small achievements. Build momentum based on success, so that the team and other stakeholders perceive that it’s “normal” to hit milestones, and conversely, missing a milestone is unusual and stands out among all other successes.
Conclution
Project failure can be prevented with good project planning based on a well-constructed deliverable-based Work Breakdown Structure and proper controls. However, once a project begins to fail, there are techniques to recognize it, minimize the extent of the failure, and make the recovery as successful as possible. There may be some downfalls along the way, such as some reduction in scope, additional time, and/or additional cost, but with good project planning and timely intervention when needed, these can be minimized. A project manager must be trained in these techniques to not only recover from a failed project, but more importantly, reduce the chances of creating one in the future!