Rescuing the troubled project

Have you worked on or known of a project where key stakeholders have suggested changes very late in the project (what could be called ‘constructive feedback’ on what has been built)? Late changes, or the potential for them, can signal trouble quite quickly. A project should have a natural cycle that allows stakeholder’s ‘constructive feedback’ and input in the requirements early, and to taper off as the project progresses through execution. If you have properly planned, managed and captured stakeholder expectations, and have good communications in place, the level ‘feedback for changes’ should be minimal and controllable.

Ineffective risk management

Risk management should underpin all project activities. Remember that risks can be positive (opportunities) as well as negative, however there is no such thing as ‘positive trouble’. All trouble is bad. Risk management is not just about maintaining a risk register. It is about considering all risks, and devising ways—as a team—to categorise risks, devise ways to respond to them, agree on these responses and put actions into place to track them.

Risks are related to all aspects of projects: schedule, budget, safety, quality and everything else. Ineffective risk management comes about when the project fails to carry out these activities properly. Trouble on projects can arise from the ‘unknown unknowns’. Therefore, management and contingency reserves planning should be included in your risk response planning.

Rescuing a project

What steps can a project manager take to steer a project back on course if it finds itself in this position? Depending on the type of organisation you work in, and the authority granted to you, the exact tasks will vary. Below are a few—but by no means a definitive list of—’corrective actions’ that can span most types of organisations.

• Early detection. Firstly, try to prevent it from straying into trouble. Projects do not normally fall immediately into trouble; they take a path towards it. Having a system and routines in place to provide early detection is key to limiting the impact when projects begin to display telltale signs of trouble. A project manager must be willing to sound the alarm bell and know that they have the support of the project’s key stakeholders to implement early corrective actions. However, we recognise that many factors can prevent such early warning signs being recognised or heeded.
• Accept responsibility. The project manager and others must accept the responsibility for the project being off course (within their extent to control it). The project manager must also take responsibility for getting the project back on track—with the help of the right stakeholders. If the project manager cannot do this, management needs to work out how to help the project manager overcome the problems, perhaps with the help of a risk response team that works alongside the main project team.
• Be flexible and open to feedback. Every project has a unique set of stakeholder and project team members. What may have worked well for you in previous projects, may not work best for your current project. Be willing to solicit feedback from your team and adapt the workings of your project as needed.
• Be willing to re-contract or re-baseline. This is especially true if expectations have been missed. Consider the steps and processes used to identify, prioritise and agree on a collective set of project expectations. If needed, conduct a thorough review and be willing to revisit the business case for the project, ask ‘does it still align to strategy objectives?’ and ‘Is the project still worth undertaking?’. Expectations do change and stakeholders change. Be willing to review expectations in your stakeholder routines and embrace changes via change controls if needed.

In conclusion, we have only covered a few aspects of troubled projects in this article. If you work on many projects in your career, it is likely that you will be, or have been, involved in a poorly performing project at some point in time. Key to limiting the damage is to know how to spot the signs, and stop the rot early if you can. If it does happen to you, try stepping back and looking for the root causes of the problem (knowing that this can take time to do), don’t fall prey to rash reactions, and determine solid ways to address the problem or trouble proactively.

Denial can be a powerful force preventing you from acting. Keep close communication with your project stakeholders, be open about things, and if you have to implement a mitigation plan, make sure you keep track of actions, and as positive progress starts to occur let them know how things are shaping up hopefully for the better.