So, based on previous posts, I think we are agreed that a PM's job is to continually forecast a project's schedule. And once a project agrees that it will be late, the stop light color would be Red.
Now, if a project has good reason why it went late (like scope changes), the project is able to re-baseline and thus make their color green again.
But here is my question, if a project does not have a good reason, does the stop light stay Red until the project is completed? Even if the PM does their job by forecasting a new end date and then the team stays on track towards that new end date? Are they Red because they missed the original date or are they Green because they are on track for the new date?
Said in another way, do you use Stop Lights as Report Cards or Flags to raise an issue? Thus, in my example above, the Report Card says you are Red until the project ends because you missed the original baselined date. But the Flag says, yeah, we missed the date, but we told everyone and now we are on track for the new date so make it Green.
Karl TwortSenior Project Manager| Fresh EggUnited Kingdom
The RAG, FLAG, TRAFFIC LIGHT, WEATHER (choose your poison!) status should, in my opinion, be used for the project situation at the time of status generation.
If the status causes replanning, then the status going forward should be related to the new schedule, not the past. In the Traffic lights approach, I may take a RED project replanned to AMBER for a few status iterations. To demonstrate that we are working through troubles, but these are in control.
I would move to GREEN once the new date had been baselined and is achievable.
With all that said, in Lessons Learned, we can review the trend and timeline of the project, to better understand what happened, why the project timeline/budget/scope was impacted and how we reacted as a project team.
Put simply, the RAG status of a project is at time of reporting, to inform the team and stakeholders the current position. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The color of the schedule indicator must not be changed. If is delayed, it will be red or yellow. All related to reasons must be raised as issues and risks. "Good reasons" are not defined for you as project manager. They are defined inside your governance model and has to be recorded as positive risk for example. Saving Changes...
When I've used stoplights, the expectation from the business was that they reflected the current status - more of a health check. If the schedule slipped and, after re-evaluating the schedule and remaining work, we established a new timeline, the stoplight indicator for schedule would be green. Likewise, if we were over budget and were able to get more, the stoplight indicator for budget would be green. Saving Changes...
Karl TwortSenior Project Manager| Fresh EggUnited Kingdom
As I also said above, Re-Baseline:
"Essentially, it is the act of recording your original project estimates so you can compare them to actual results at a later time. Re-Baseline by implication represents updating or modification of a projects baseline, as a result of any approved change to the schedule, cost, or deliverable content."
In this case, the NEW baseline is the one that is reported on. The historic project reports and tracking will not lose sight that the project went into the RED and will need reviewing and learnings. If you don't reset the STATUS when agreed by Stakeholders, how can you effectively report on the project going forward? Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
"You can and should help equate corrective measures that can be implemented to change color to green"
This is what Aaron and I are saying. It seems Sergio is saying that the status remains RED OR AMBER for the remainder of the project, irrespective of a new baseline?
Your answer above is contrary to Sergio's view and in agreement with Aaron and myself?
Or am I misinterpreting?
Saving Changes...
Karl TwortSenior Project Manager| Fresh EggUnited Kingdom
"You can and should help equate corrective measures that can be implemented to change color to green"
This is what Aaron and I are saying. It seems Sergio is saying that the status remains RED OR AMBER for the remainder of the project, irrespective of a new baseline?
Your answer above is contrary to Sergio's view and in agreement with Aaron and myself?
Or am I misinterpreting?
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2 replies by Luis Branco and Sergio Luis Conte
Nov 21, 2019 12:07 PM
Sergio Luis Conte
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Just to clarify my point, which is what I do from years ago.
"Now, if a project has good reason why it went late (like scope changes), the project is able to re-baseline and thus make their color green again."
It does mean a project change request (CR). If the change request is approved then all related which is impacted must be modified accoriding to the CR. If a new schedule is in place then the schedule progress indicators must be restarted.
"But here is my question, if a project does not have a good reason, does the stop light stay Red until the project is completed?"
If something in the project is not progressing as planned then related risk and/or issues must be recorded which are the explanation about the reasons. Until the risk/issues are solved then there is no reason to change something.
Nov 22, 2019 5:02 AM
Luis Branco
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Dear Karl
Thanks for this comment
You help me clarify my opinion (which is just a perspective and as such is not for or against the opinion of other people participating in this reflection)
After reading what Sergio wrote, to clarify what he wrote I still agree with him
The only questions I have are:
- Whether the project manager's use of crashing to green the project is a change in scope
- How should the implementation of the risk response be handled (this may put the project back in green)
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Nov 21, 2019 11:18 AM
Replying to Karl Twort
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Hi Luis,
"You can and should help equate corrective measures that can be implemented to change color to green"
This is what Aaron and I are saying. It seems Sergio is saying that the status remains RED OR AMBER for the remainder of the project, irrespective of a new baseline?
Your answer above is contrary to Sergio's view and in agreement with Aaron and myself?
Or am I misinterpreting?
Just to clarify my point, which is what I do from years ago.
"Now, if a project has good reason why it went late (like scope changes), the project is able to re-baseline and thus make their color green again."
It does mean a project change request (CR). If the change request is approved then all related which is impacted must be modified accoriding to the CR. If a new schedule is in place then the schedule progress indicators must be restarted.
"But here is my question, if a project does not have a good reason, does the stop light stay Red until the project is completed?"
If something in the project is not progressing as planned then related risk and/or issues must be recorded which are the explanation about the reasons. Until the risk/issues are solved then there is no reason to change something. Saving Changes...
Wow, great points everyone. Aaron asked, "what does management want?" In our organization, management is also divided, just like this discussion, which is why I came here.
Again, when a project can rebaseline (because the project doesn't resemble what it looked like when the original plan was created) then it is turned green.
The question remains, what do you do when you don't rebaseline. The PM has identified a new target for the team and everyone has been told, but in the end, management understands this project is late. Does the color stay Red so people don't forget its late, or is it turned Green to represent that the project is on track for its new (albeit late) target?
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1 reply by Karl Twort
Nov 22, 2019 4:19 AM
Karl Twort
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Hal,
I believe this comment "The question remains, what do you do when you don't rebaseline. The PM has identified a new target for the team and everyone has been told, but in the end, management understands this project is late." is slightly contradictory.
If you have identified and addressed a delay, the management have been advised there is a delay but a new date has been set and the team are aware, then I would see this as a new baseline - therefore GREEN.
Keith makes a good point about using status colours for specific scenario (i.e Yellow = Late with Recovery Plan).
You can implement other techniques too for overall project, using Trend status (Up Neutral Down)
In this case, your new plan could be GREEN, but the overall project 'Trend' could show a DOWN arrow.
Stop light colors mean different things in different organizations. One of the first things I do when I take a new position that uses them is to define their usage.
Some use Green = On Plan, Yellow = Late With Recovery Plan, Red = Late With No Plan. That can mean if anything is late one day, and there is no ECD (Estimated Completion Date), it is red. The problem there is everything can be red and you can't distinguish the important items from the trivial ones.
I prefer to include severity of the consequence, such as how late it is, or the overall impact of the missed date. That is subjective as well, but the discussion and/or thought process behind the color is more important than the color itself. It promotes understanding of what is really occurring.
Whether or not you re-baseline the plan is also subjective. If you just keep moving the dates, you can't see that the schedule has slid. Everything looks green. If you try to show every milestone's old date and new date, it becomes hard to read the schedule due to all the clutter. If you don't show the slide at all, the schedule just shows that you are late, not what dates you now plan to meet and becomes somewhat useless. This is where you must decide what you are trying to show with the schedule. Is it a planning tool, or is it just a picture of where you have problems? Saving Changes...
You said it yourself, the baseline changed, presumably because a scope change was approved. In that case, the light is green. How can it be red when it is not (based on the new baseline) falling behind? Saving Changes...
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