The Road To Recovery For A Project In Trouble

  PM Network  

The signs are all there. Deadlines are blown, budgets are maxed out, and yet you’re no closer to the finish line. How do you get a problem project back on track? It’s not as difficult as you may think—if you take the right steps:

Step 1: Agree on what recovery looks like.

Sponsors, project team members, stakeholders and even vendors all need to work together to determine:

• What specifically needs to be accomplished to achieve recovery?
• Who will sign off on the recovery?
• How and when do you transition from “recovery” to “project”?

If you’ve been tasked to recover a project and the plan is to eventually transition it back to the original project manager, that person should be involved in the process as well. He or she is probably a little beaten up and sensitive about the state of the project, but by involving the old project manager, you gain valuable historical insight.

Step 2: Determine the current project status.

Don’t get distracted by the smoke. Find the fire. The most common mistake at this point is to act on symptoms— missed deadlines, low team morale—but that only provides short-term relief. Instead, dig down to the root problems.

Step 3: Review the project management processes.

Start with the basics—the processes defining project scope, budget, …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.