Step 1: Assess the Situation
Gather all of the information needed to make a decision on what must happen next for the project to survive. Ask key team members why they think the project is failing. Their input is vital in the recovery effort. You also need an answer to this question: how willing will people be to change the project’s scope, dates, and budget? If management and team members are not willing to be flexible, the project has little chance. This leads us to step 2.
Step 2: Prepare the Team for Recovery
Everyone has to accept the current project is failing and the current plan is flawed. Now you can define realistic goals and expectations. It is also important to develop a metric for measuring the success of the recovery effort. At this point it is imperative that the project manager and management establish a supportive environment. This puts the team on the track to success because they know management is behind them all of the way.
Step 3: Develop a Game Plan for Recovery
The recovery effort is like its own project. Therefore, it needs its own plan, separate from the original project. This plan cannot fail. It is important to set more short term goals to gauge the plan’s success. This will also allow for quicker corrections if something should go wrong.
Step 4: Execute the Game Plan
The key to this final step is clear and frequent communication. Everything needs to be in synch and the operation needs to run as smoothly as possible. Everybody, from management on down, needs to know they are being held accountable for the project’s recovery.
You can read Ron’s article in its entirety here. The piece is entitled “Project Management: 4 Steps to Get Flagging Projects Back on Track.” He goes into detail about some of the warning signs and determining factors for whether or not a project is worth saving.
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