Project Rescues

September 2018

Every organization has them: projects that have lost their way – the project team has dug themselves into a hole, and their natural tendency is to keep digging. Perhaps the project manager has lost sight of the end goal, and the team is either spinning and going nowhere, or trying to go everywhere at once. Costs have ballooned beyond original expectations, and the PMO is not happy. The next step is often to place the project on hold, and hand over the project reins to a new PM. That new PM is you: what do you do, when your first inclination is to thank the PMO manager profusely as you reach for the exit door?

DO NOT RUN…stay. Projects in need of rescue can often be rewarding once you’ve turned things around. Having been brought into rescue many projects, there are a few initial steps that you can do to make sense of the insanity and set the project on a better path, one that converges (and comes to an end with a happy PMO, happy sponsor, and grateful team).

Step 1: Determine the state of the union.

• What is the budget, and how much of it (if any) is left?

• What was the original scope, and what has changed via Change Requests?

• What is the team working on?

• Is there a charter, plan, or something that relates to the work currently underway? What is complete, and what is outstanding?

• Find all the status reports and read them, in chronological order.

• Look for Change Requests, documented Issues, a Risk Management Plan and Decisions Requested/Made.

• Check for approval emails or signatures on PM deliverables and project deliverables. Have these been reviewed, and by whom.

• What do the stakeholders know about the true status of the project? Often, they are either unaware, or hopeful that things are going well; some might be pessimistic. Talk to them.

Step 2: Communicate the state of the union.

• Be prepared for an uncomfortable meeting or two with the PMO, sponsor and stakeholders.

• Do not take ownership of why the project got into the state it was when you were assigned to fix it.

• Determine how the project got to its current state, and identify positive actions to chart a new course.

• When communicating, do not cast blame; focus the conversation on what needs to be done. If you can’t cast a schedule right away, commit to building one in the upcoming week or two. Believe me, the PMO and sponsor may not have seen a realistic plan in a while, and will give you some slack to prepare one.

Step 3: Build a plan with the team.

• Identify what has been done, what work is underway, and what still needs to be done. There is a real possibility the project team can describe the first two items in the previous sentence, and may not know much about the third.

• Develop a rapport with the sponsor; reconfirm the project goals and objectives, and use that to identify the deliverables still ahead.

• Build the plan in front of the team, with their input. It is THE PROJECT’S plan, not YOURS. Identify tasks to produce all in-progress and not-started deliverables. Assign the work and have it estimated. Apply contingency if that luxury still exists. It might not.

Step 4: Recast the budget.

• Collect the actual costs spent to date.

• Calculate the costs needed to complete the in-progress work and not-started work.

Step 5: Resource the plan.

• Look for skill mismatches or team members playing roles they should not be doing.

• Identify the right resources for the plan; some changes might be in store for some members of the current team.

• Get commitment from resource managers for the resources and resource levels needed for success. This step isn’t about trying to keep feelings from being hurt; rather, it’s about setting up the project (and team) for success.

• Identify risky areas of the plan, and add contingency where possible.

Step 6: Communicate the plan and get schedule, scope and budget approved.

• Get the sponsor, stakeholders and PMO to give the plan a thorough review. They might point out some things missing or incorrect from the plan. Listen to their advice and adjust the plan as needed.

• Once the plan has been finalized, wrap a Change Request around the plan, get it approved. Make sure there is sufficient budget and time to execute on time. You may only get one chance to extend the budget and schedule, in an effort to right the ship. If you return to the well, be prepared to have even more difficult conversations with the PMO and sponsor.

Step 7: Execute the project plan and monitor it closely.

• Check up on the team daily, or perhaps more often at first.

• Update the PMO and sponsor often, in between status reports. Let them know how the team is doing against the new plan.

• Make minor course corrections often, rather than waiting for things to get off the rails, requiring a big kick to get it back in line with the plan.

• Celebrate all achievements large and small with the team. Share those achievements with the PMO and sponsor.