There you have it, project manager of a new project, you’ve done project planning and started implementation. Now you’re thinking about what you can tell your PMI colleagues at your 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 ruined project 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, prayers to the great god PMI, or banging your head against the nearest brick wall can turn back the clock, so the project recovery process must begin now.
Common Recovery Theme
Do you remember the television series M*A*S*H? Whenever they had an influx of injured, the first thing they did was “triage,” which by Encarta’s definition states is “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 did 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 dealt with.
In terms of project implementation, there can be all kinds of things that go wrong, such as schedule delays, budget overruns, insufficient resources, or low-quality deliverables that lead to non-acceptance. So how do you bounce back from this impending failure?
Prevention of project failure
The first thing in project recovery is to assess the overall project: A project audit or review 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, then introducing 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 require a full numbness (stopping all work) to allow an operation (rescoping or even another round of project planning) to take place. 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 that may restrict progress but not stop the project), some just they need an adhesive cast (minor corrective measures that have minimal impact on overall progress), and some just need a little TLC (smoothing out minor issues).
Recognize when the project is unrecoverable
After evaluation of the problematic project, you may determine that there is not a good business case for recovery of the project, so we may need to cut our losses and move on rather than spend time and money on additional planning. In this case, we must plan for 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 can be saved, or to recognize when euthanasia is necessary. the recommended option.
Sell the Recovery Plan and Motivate Stakeholders
Once the project planning professional has done the triage and prevented project failure, they should 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, irate customer, nervous management, and unhappy bean counters to satisfy.
When the plan is accepted and recovery is underway, the project planning professional must be able to motivate the team for success, reassure clients and give them confidence in ultimate success, and provide bean counters with 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 the team and other stakeholders perceive that it is “normal” to hit milestones, and conversely, missing a milestone is unusual and stands out among all other successes.
conclusion
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 scope of failure, and make recovery as successful as possible. There may be some casualties along the way, such as some reduction in scope, additional time, and/or additional cost, but with good project planning and timely intervention when necessary, these can be minimized. A project manager must be trained in these techniques to not only recover a failed project, but more importantly, reduce the chances of creating one in the future!