Once this occurs our skills for identifying problems and how to deal with them come to the fore. The first stage is to assess the severity of the problem. If it’s not too bad then perhaps additional resources, scope change or some staff increase may solve the issue. In the same way that we have assessed risk in other parts of the project definition and management process, it is good to assign some level of risk to the issue.
This has the advantage of determining the actions to be taken, which can be particularly important if there are several areas being assessed at the same time. A factor more common are parallel activities all heading toward the same deadline or milestone. These need special recognition to determine when the need to change occurs.
Figure: Example of parallel processes leading to a common milestone of a released product
Some outcomes from the assessment process can include:
- No change;
- Need to reduce the scope to stay on time;
- Increase resources;
- Modify approach and design to get back on schedule;
- Let the schedule slip here and pick up later;
- Cancel the project;
- Or change the milestone and deadline.
While this book has “on budget and on time” in the sub-title, there will be times that the project timeline or budget changes. By looking at the project in its entirety, making the trade-offs listed above can be managed, and the right combination picked for the circumstances.
It is amazing that a frequent reaction to project problems is to start out with a liberal dose of blame and fireworks, as if that helps solve the problem. While this may have some cathartic benefits for the admonisher, it will do little for the team. So as problems arise, take a deep breath, look at the alternatives and move forward.
As these management challenges arise, tackling them in a logical and calm manner will also create the appropriate problem solving attitude in the rest of the team. Radical action such as canceling the project is usually only taken in dire circumstances, but it is an option that is sometimes better than the alternative, if the project is so far off track that it cannot possibly meet the goals initially set. An Information Technology example at the US Internal Revenue Service, illustrates that millions of dollars can be wasted on a project if not managed well, but at least someone had the guts in the end to cancel the project and not waste more.
Excerpted from Finish What You Start by Michael Cunningham
