fbpx

Help! My project has gone pear-shaped

by | Dec 11, 2012 | Project Management

How often as a project manager have you had to pick up the pieces of a project that has become a disaster zone?

Let’s look at some figures…

In 1997 KPMG Canada surveyed public and private sector IT organizations.
Over 61% reported project failure and more than three quarters overshot
their schedules by 30% or more.

Similarly, The Chaos Report by the Standish Group found that 31% of
projects get cancelled before completion. 53% of projects will cost over
189% of their original budget and only 16% of software projects are
completed on-time and on-budget.
Source: www.it-cortex.com

What makes a project go bad?
Projects can go awry for a whole range of reasons. Our experience tells
us that the main reasons are not technical ones – they are more an
element of ‘the human factor’ such as:
• inadequate planning
• lack of skilled resources at the right time
• unclear lines of communication
• conflicting priorities among project team members – usually between ‘project work’ and their normal job

How can you bring a project back on course?
It sometimes seems like an impossible task to get a project back on the right track with everything seemingly against you.

Don’t despair – there are a few steps that help you get the project back
on track in a coordinated manner, without throwing an endless pool of
people or money at the project.

First – don’t panic! Stop and take stock of the current state of the project’s performance against its outcomes.

  • What was the original scope and how does this relate to what has been delivered to date?
  • What is the budget versus the actual spending on the project to date?
  • Review project plans – are they still appropriate? Have there been contextual changes you need to account for?
  • What resources do you have? Do people know what they should be doing? Are they working efficiently and effectively?
  • What are the issues that have brought the project unstuck? Are there appropriate governance and controls in place?

Second – report the current state to the project sponsor, executive or
manager. People often don’t want to acknowlege bad news. They may be
embarassed or ultra-sensitive. However, if you don’t get support – at
this critical time – to take corrective action, the project may be
unrecoverable. This is the time to use your good communication skills
and be assertive.

Third – devise a recovery plan. Treat it as if you are planning the
project from the beginning. The only difference is that much work will
have already been done. To do this:

  • Identify what deliverables need to be produced
  • State what processes and QA checks need to be put in place.
  • Reprioritise and focus on the important issues and drop the ‘nice to haves’

Fourth – identify resource requirements. Be realistic – otherwise you
will end up back where you started. Re-establish individual priorities
and what each person needs to do. Devise ways to keep team members
accountable for the outcome. Most importantly, include ‘time out’ in the
plan so team members don’t have to work 24/7.

Fifth – measure progress! Schedule regular status update and briefing
sessions (not more than 15 mins) with all key project team members. This
may need to be one or twice a day initially.

Sixth – lead the team from the front. Demonstrate your own commitment and the team will follow.

Avoid trouble through sound planning
The best advice or course is to take advantage of industry best practice
and utilise a tried and tested project management methodology such as
‘Prince 2’.

Of course, there is no substitute for good planning up front including a
risk assessment and treatment plan so you are ready for all
eventualities. After all, failing to plan is planning to fail!

Recent Blog Posts Testimonials

“I found the course easy to follow and navigate through. I would recommend this course to others”

Ekan
August 2018

“I am very satisfy with the study”

Eric Lam

Completing my CPP41119Certificate Home Energy Efficiency & Sustainability course has been a significant step in my professional journey.
Thank you for your support and guidance and every single subject in this course you have taught me

Amir
Cert IV HEES student - April 2024

“Phenomenal course to understand contract management in the best way possible. I am working as a Procurement Manager and never understood contract part completely but this course helped me to understand key points of contract management. Thanks to author for creating this wonderful course. ”

Nitin
Student - Introduction to Contract Management - August 2021

“Working at my own pace online and the response time to emails and responses were always great”

Ekaterina Sidorova
Lend Lease

“Learning – I have now fine-tuned my existing skills”

Brian Peterson
Moreton Bay Regional Council

“The most practical and well organised course I’ve been involved with, perfect for anyone with a demanding full time career and family commitments. My facilitator was extremely helpful and being part of the construction industry applied a very focused approach to the course content which assisted me in completing my studies, Would strongly and have already recommended Transformed to those looking to complete their Cert IV and Diploma in Building and Construction. Thanks for all your efforts and support.”

Aleks Petrovic
Cert IV and Diploma in Building and Construction Student

“I want to thank you for providing that encouragement and feed back at appropriate times. You make me and I’m sure all students, feel special and like we are getting personal assistance, which I have received. I don’t know how you manage all that you do but you do it well. Thank you”

Darrell
Cert IV in NatHERS Assessment student

“The course is really well organised, your videos and zoom meetings were extremely helpful, the platform functions perfectly, your response time to queries and questions is always prompt and overall it is just been a wonderful experience”

Melanie
Cert IV in HEES student, July 2021.

“Thanks for your support over the years and I look forward to doing more courses at Transformed in the future”.

Gerard
Cert IV in HEES - March 2022

“The excellent and prompt communication from my assessor”

Cert IV in NatHERS Assessment student

“The self-paced learning it allowed me to work whilst studying”

Haylea Edwards
Efficient Living

“Don has been a terrific teacher and very prompt with feedback throughout the whole diploma, which has been great!”

Anna
Diploma of PM

“I also want to take the opportunity to thank you for all your help during my studies. I think your training company is very professional and I would endorse you and Transformed to anyone looking to study distance learning”

Doug Madarovski

“All round I’ve been really impressed with how professional everyone at Transformed has been”

Anna
Diploma of PM

“I engaged Michael Young from Transformed to assess me for the Australian Institute of Project Management Certified Practicing Project Manager. I wanted to be certified as I wanted to verify that the skills and knowledge was in line with industry best-practice. At first it seemed a bit daunting, however, Michael made the process very easy, providing templates for references and self-assessment as well as providing a list of the project management documents I would need to provide as evidence. The assessment interview was very relaxed and more like a conversation than an assessment, which brought out the best experiences to evidence my capabilities. Because of Michael’s current government security clearance, we were able to look at specific of particular projects, rather me than having to spend a heap of time sanitising documents. Since the assessment, I have been successful in gaining a promotion..”

Mike McCarthy

“I’m extremely impressed by The Cert IV in HEES delivered by Transformed. It is a fantastic, relevant, and interesting course with great content. The study materials and assistance have been exceptional. Thanks again to Transformed for their support”.

Matt Wade
Cert IV in HEES Student – April 2022.

“Just wanted to say thank you so much for offering such a great course, I have really enjoyed studying my Certificate IV in Home Energy Efficiency and Sustainability with Transformed”.

Melanie
Cert IV in HEES student, July 2021

“I think everything worked very smoothly”

Susan Mariott
Quality Home Design and Drafting Service

“Easy to deal with”

Laura Lace

“Ease of delivery, completing from work”

Simone
Qld Health

“…I originally enrolled in Transformed’s Diploma of Project Management on the basis of their flexibility. ..As I subsequently discovered, Transformed’s approach extends even further to include ‘one on one’ coaching sessions… and adjusting the training to fit in with the client..”

Michael Irwin
Austrade

“Just wanted to say thanks for putting up with me and getting me over the line!! Which I know was a bit difficult with no background in the industry!! Thanks very much and I look forward to starting my business and conquering the world as an Energy Rater!”

Laura Lace

“Always good and prompt feedback from Michael”

John Logan
Draft Comps Services

“I am so appreciative of you and Transformed for your flexibility and support- THANK YOU”

Louise Anderson
Cert IV in P & C student - May 2020

“My assessor was absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t have achieved this without her encouragement and guidance’.

Simone
Cert IV in Procurement & Contracting - March 2022
Archives