Project Management

Please login or join to subscribe to this thread

does a project stay red until deployment

linkedin twitter facebook   PMO   Risk Management   Using PMI Standards  
avatar
Scott Bennett Shoreline, WA, United States
My project is going to be Red as the deployment date will be missed.  The project team is electing to mitigate by removing some scope from the approved deployment.  This is a mitigation strategy so that some of the deployment can be met.  I am advocating the project stay Red until all approved deployment activities are completed.  If the project team elects to re-baseline and remove deployment activities, then I can get on board to pivoting to Green.  Agree?
Sort By:
avatar
Abolfazl Yousefi Darestani Manager, Quality and Continuous Improvement| Hörmann-TNR Industrial Doors Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

The definition and interpretation of "Red" may vary depending on your project and company standards. It's important to consider the project plan when determining status. Keeping the project Red until all originally approved deployment activities are completed ensures transparency and helps stakeholders clearly understand the impact of the missed deadline.



However, if the project team formally adjusts the scope and secures stakeholder approval, it would be reasonable to shift the status to Green, as the re-baselined plan would redefine what constitutes project success.
avatar
Kiron Bondale Retired | Mentor| Retired Welland, Ontario, Canada
Scott -

Your interpretation is correct by the book as re-baselining would be the means of accepting new scope & timelines which could be met, otherwise the variances remain till project end.

However, in the real world there are many companies which will allow project teams to reset their health indicators once all key stakeholders agree that approved baselines can't be met. This is sometimes done to avoid teams from the demoralizing effect of having red health status held over their heads for a sustained period of time.

Kiron
avatar
Pavan Maddi
Community Champion
Buona Vista, Singapore
Scott Bennett Your approach makes sense. If scope is being reduced but not officially re-baselined, the project is still off track and should remain Red. However, if leadership approves the scope change and re-baselines the project, then shifting to Green would be justified. Transparency is key stakeholders should clearly understand the adjustments and their impact.
avatar
Sergio Luis Conte Helping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based Organizations Buenos Aires, Argentina
The problem here is: this is not a decision that the development team must take in isolation. They do not have the whole information. You need to put aware to highest roles in the team. For example, portfolio management. You need to scale this to the steering committee.
avatar
Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
There are many definitions for the different stoplight colors but often we use yellow/amber when a mitigation plan is in place.

To me the most important thing is what behaviors you are trying to drive with your choice of status color. Are you just trying to show that everyone must be laser-focused on the mitigation plan, that you need help from senior stakeholders, or some other specific purpose? Sometimes when people color too many things red, the critical near-term actions get hidden by all the nuisance items where yes it's late but you don't need daily meetings with your VP to right the ship. I often tell people that if everything is the top priority, then nothing is.

Please login or join to reply

Content ID:
ADVERTISEMENTS

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself."

- Chinese Proverb

ADVERTISEMENT

Sponsors







Vendor Events

See all Vendor Events

Newsletters

Jun 3: The Career Problem Facing New PMs
May 20: Your PM Career as a Project Life Cycle
May 13: The Big Lie After Layoffs

See all newsletters