When Projects Go Awry

Bart has been in ecommerce for over 20 years, and can't imagine a better job to have. He is interested in all things agile, or anything new to learn.

  Communications Management   Scope Management   Teams  

Projects go off the rails all the time. I’m even tempted to say that something goes wrong more than it goes right; after all, project managers wouldn’t be valued as highly if things always happened smoothly. Knowing what to do when it happens is a key skill for a project manager. Keeping calm and finding a path forward can show the difference between an experienced project manager, and a rookie just starting out. The most experienced project manager might even be able to keep this from happening, or at least, guiding the project to safety before things get too bad.

An important aspect of being a good project manager is stakeholder management. Stakeholders want to know that the project manager has everything under control, that even if there are bumps and bruises along the way, someone still has a firm hand on the wheel, and will steer the ship through whatever disruption the project is facing. This is easier said than done, however. Keeping one’s head when everything seems to be on fire is a difficult skill, and it can be even more difficult when the path forward (or the path to green) hasn’t been discovered yet. Ensuring that stakeholders are informed, being transparent with what is going on, and figuring a way out are all keys to resolving any difficult project situation.

This happens so often, that we often ask a question about this to prospective project managers or …

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