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What's the worst Project Manager Nightmare?

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George Lewis Program/Project Manager| DXC Technology Company Heredia, Costa Rica
What's the worst Project Manager Nightmare?
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George Lewis Program/Project Manager| DXC Technology Company Heredia, Costa Rica
Apr 01, 2018 10:13 AM
Replying to Jessica McCurdy Crooks
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Being told that I had to cut my previously approved budget by 20%! We were already operating on the low end.
Jessica - that's a terrible situation because 20% is huge.

Question: Did they allow you to cut down the scope as well? Or to decrease the project timeline?
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1 reply by Jessica McCurdy Crooks
Apr 01, 2018 11:40 AM
Jessica McCurdy Crooks
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George, I had to write to the sponsor explaining why that would be disaster. I was allowed to continue, but I had to be extra careful not to have any overrun.
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George Lewis Program/Project Manager| DXC Technology Company Heredia, Costa Rica
Apr 01, 2018 10:11 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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To act in any manner which causes you to have difficulty looking at yourself in the mirror...

Kiron
Kiron - that's a real nightmare...
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George Lewis Program/Project Manager| DXC Technology Company Heredia, Costa Rica
I did a search and found others have asked themselves same question...

https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles...Project-Horrors
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George Lewis Program/Project Manager| DXC Technology Company Heredia, Costa Rica
Below are just a few nightmare examples taken from Andrew Makar - October 19, 2009 in https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles...re-on-PM-Street

1. The project manager publicly disagreed and criticized the project stakeholder in a staff meeting. It didn’t help that the stakeholder was also the project manager’s boss.

2. The project stakeholder publicly dismissed the project manager and changed project managers two additional times before assuming the role of the project manager.

3. The vendor underestimated the resource effort required and further subcontracted the work to another vendor who disagreed on payment terms, roles, responsibilities and accountability.

4. The subcontracted developer refused to work with the internal IT team and insisted on working out of his hotel room than a team room. The only way we could accommodate him was by letting him work in a dark office with his laptop as his only source of light.

5. Everyone on the project team felt they were on a death march to delivery with no positive reinforcement.

I did a search and found others have asked themselves same question...

https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles...Project-Horrors
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Jessica McCurdy Crooks Old Harbour, St Catherine, Jamaica
Apr 01, 2018 10:21 AM
Replying to George Lewis
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Jessica - that's a terrible situation because 20% is huge.

Question: Did they allow you to cut down the scope as well? Or to decrease the project timeline?
George, I had to write to the sponsor explaining why that would be disaster. I was allowed to continue, but I had to be extra careful not to have any overrun.
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Michael Delaney Partner| Delaney Management LLC West Chester, Pa, United States
I was thinking along the lines of huge imposed changes on a currently progressing project. I must say having project team leave the country was not something I considered
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Teresa Lawrence, PhD, PMP, CSM President| International Deliverables, LLC Hilton Head Island, SC, United States
Change in stakeholders!
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Meade Rubenstein PM III| IT Project Guide Sparta, Nj, United States
To find out that you hinder more than help the team
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