Project Rescue – Meat in the Sandwich

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Project Rescue – Meat in the Sandwich

A presentation to PMIby Don Robertson

21 March 2011

2 UK & EUROPE. NORTH AMERICA. ASIA PACIFIC. WWW.PIPC.COM

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Project Rescue - recovery or quiet death?

So you have been asked to rescue a project? What now? Where do you start? What can you expect? What process to use? Should you kill or cure? How would you know?

But first…..


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Why do projects fail?

What do you think?


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Some typical reasons projects fail

Failure to accurately define requirement & set & manage expectations Project scope poorly defined Poor engagement & leadership at any & all levels Inadequate communication, including progress tracking & reporting Inadequately training &/or inexperienced PM Failure to adequately estimate, identify & manage risk Poor plans, inaccurate timeframe estimates & planning processes Poor effort estimation Uncertain dependencies Insufficient skills, resources or competition for them Cultural & ethical misalignment Misalignment between project team, business or other organisation it services Inadequate or misused methods Insufficient resources – financial and people


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So how do you recognise a project is in trouble?

What do you think some of the symptoms would be?


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When to rescue a project?

Multiple milestones have been missed/overrun Escalating project costs & lack of financial management/reporting Poor team morale & lack of belief in the goal Lack of team work, irresolvable conflicts, strained relationships Many changes & uncontrolled scope creep occurring No clear direction exists for where the project is headed or when it will get

there Project agenda far exceeds the ability to deliver Major issues (showstoppers) not identified, diagnosed or escalated Risk profile exceeds acceptable level Sponsor lost faith in ability of project or PM to deliver Vendor or subcontractor also not delivering Project deliverables/products loaded with errors Team members working long hours/overtime


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Is the Project Recoverable?

Recovery may not be possible due to:– Business benefits can no longer be achieved

– Organisation political priority too low

– The skilled resources may not be available

– Sponsor has dropped the project & no replacement apparent

– Business need the project is satisfying no longer valid

– Market conditions changed or window of opportunity missed

– Major technology change renders proposed deliverables obsolete

– Litigation is in progress

– Fast tracking, crashing and working overtime required are too extreme

Ensure you look for items like these and present in the assessment– Don’t be afraid to put up project closure as an option


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Some observations

From: Immutable Laws of Project Management: http://ifaq.wap.org/science/lawprojman.html

Law 3 The effort required to correct a project that is off course increases geometrically with time. – Corollary 1: The longer you wait the harder it gets.– Corollary 2: If you wait until the project is completed, its too late.– Corollary 3: Do it now regardless of the embarrassment.

Law 12 If project content is allowed to change freely, the rate of change will exceed the rate of progress

It takes a much greater level of project management rigour and process quality to get a project out of trouble than was applied when the project got into trouble


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Project Rescue Eco System

Project ManagerRecovery

Project ManagerRecovery

Senior ExecutivesSenior Executives

Middle ManagementMiddle Management

Subject Matter ExpertsSubject Matter ExpertsPMOPMO

QualityQuality

Board of DirectorsBoard of Directors

VendorsVendors

CustomersCustomers OthersOthers

Previous PM


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Political Dimension: Golden rules

Get your reporting line as high as possible in the organisation– Board, CEO, CXO (i.e. avoid the sponsor or PMO if possible)– You need the authority both perceived and real

Protect yourself– Get all (personal) commitments up front and in writing– Establish a performance baseline of where the project is (not) at as soon as

possible

Do not allow yourself to inherit responsibility for the inadequacies of the past – A very difficult objective to achieve

Decide whether you want to take on the role– Notoriously thankless jobs– You have a short time to establish control possibly in a hostile environment– Will have to deal with lots of “negative” issues– Changing employers is a not uncommon outcome

Difference between internal and external PM


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Project Rescue Process Overview

Seize Control• deploy the very

best specialists• act immediately

on key issues• communicate

rescue plan




rescue plan

Get the real MI• detailed analysis

of project leakage• set-up reporting

and gain visibility• rigidly formalise

project controls




project controls

Reset the goal• set over-riding

and very clear objectives

• Energise the team• hive off non-core

activities




activities

Transform plans• set rigorous plans

to attain over-riding objectives

• drive quick-wins• instil belief in

revised plans




revised plans

Reinforce• reinforce project

control processes• address/manage

critical issues• ensure success

can be achieved




can be achieved

Rapid deployment, mobilisation and recovery actionsRapid deployment, mobilisation and recovery actions

Constant & consistent communication to all affected partiesConstant & consistent communication to all affected parties

2-6 weeks (depending on project scale)




rescue plan




rescue plan




project controls




project controls




activities




activities




revised plans




revised plans




can be achieved




can be achieved

Rapid deployment, mobilisation and recovery actionsRapid deployment, mobilisation and recovery actions

Constant & consistent communication to all affected partiesConstant & consistent communication to all affected parties

2-6 weeks (depending on project scale)


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Step 1 –Day 1 Activities

Meet with CEO to define and agree Recovery Charter– Agree communication and reporting plan– Agree and communicate Authority to Act– Agree that people issues will be escalated to the CEO

Meet with Project team and brief them on process– Arrange individual protect team meetings– Request project documentation and files/data

Organise a desk, room to store documents and hold meetings Be very aware of the sensitivities of people involved

– People will be emotional, angry, resentful and stressed– They will be judging you (the white knight – Hero)

Time is of the essence– You don’t have time for in-depth audits or analysis– But you must identify the root causes underlying the project


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Create the Project Recovery Charter & Plan

Create and agree engagement charter with Project Owner The recovery process is a project in its own right

– treat it as such

– Create a project plan/schedule

– Start and end

– Define the outputs

– It fits the classic definition of a project

The output is an assessment and recommendation– Including immediate action plan for critical issues

You will also have a decision to make– Do you want to continue to rescue the project as the PM or exit at that

point


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Step 1Project Current State Assessment (Audit)

Carry out an assessment of the project status – Create an assessment plan

– Identify and obtain all documents and files to conduct the review

– Identify the project team members

– Identify the stakeholders for review meetings

– Hold a project kick off meeting with all parties involved

– Hold individual meetings with all parties

– Analyse all project data

– SWOT

– Root cause analysis

– Draft assessment report

– Factual accuracy review of assessment report with stakeholders

– Finalise assessment report and recommendations

Above all do it quickly


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Step 1- Documents Required

Documents requested for assessment review:

– Business Case or Mandate– Project Objective/s– Project Charter or Initiation Documents– Organisational Chart– Work/Product Break Down Structure– Last 3 Project Status Reports– Project Schedule/plan– Financial budget/plan– Financial tracking sheet actual vs plan– Business Requirements– High level roadmap– Benefits map

– Scope definition – Process Models– Project Logs

• Issues

• Risks• Decision• Change• Dependency

– Resource plan– Resource tracking sheet actual vs plan– Project Management

process/methodology & metrics– Last 3 steering committee meetings– Communication plan– Quality Plan


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Step 1Document and Present the Assessment

Document your findings on the project– Keep it simple, short and high level

– Factual with examples

– Be brutally honest

– Remember it is not a witch hunt

– Be sensitive to human emotions & reactions

– PowerPoint bullets are good• What was found, results or implications

Exhaustively reconstructing history is not recommended – Establish a “stake in the ground”

– From which the project can move forward

Recommendation Immediate action plans for critical issues

– KILL or CURE?


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BUT….. More than likely:

Project issues are symptoms of the organisation shortcomings It will most likely throw up and highlight non project issues:

– Organisational structure issues

– Managerial skill and experience deficiencies

– Missing or poor organisation processes

– Lack of delegation

– Low project maturity and methodology

– Low or missing quality audit

– Turf wars between management and subject matter experts

– Missing company strategic plans and initiatives & priorities

– Senior management may be partially or wholly at fault

– No EPO/PMO

You must report on these as issue, risks and opportunities that will affect the project recovery


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Reaction to early status assessment

You will be asked (often & increasingly):– When are you going to deliver our (already late) system?

– How much is it going to cost us to get out of this (mess)?

If it’s a project in serious trouble – (as opposed to a well run project which is running a bit late)

– The news is almost inevitably going to be very bad on both fronts

Be prepared for nasty surprises and reactions when the first Status Reports are prepared – May be the first time an objective assessment of progress has been

undertaken for a long time

– Which will upset the either complacency or unfounded optimism (denial) which often permeates troubled projects

Tell it like it is – don’t hold back


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Step 2Develop Recovery Plans

Develop Recovery Plan– Immediate action plans for critical issues

– Establish a roadmap and recovery plan

– Verify and validate/redefine project objectives/benefits

– Validate, redefine (achievable) scope

– Produce an achievable project plan

– Clarify project’s priorities and risks

– Focus on people, process and tools, products/deliverables

– Redefine timelines, budget and resource requirements

– Determine the resource requirements, people, funding, tools and vendors

– Clarify everyone’s roles and responsibilities

– Establish project processes, monitoring & reporting

– Create a communication plan

– Obtain approval to proceed


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Step 3Implement Recovery Plan

Engage Project team Engage Stakeholders Engage Vendors Execute Recovery Plan Monitor and report project progress Schedule regular project recovery status reports outside the standard

project methodology


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Be on Alert for:

Reoccurrence of issues between people– It takes time to change behaviours

– Issue will flare up a few times

– You need to mentor and coach people at all levels

– In the end escalate and have removed those who won’t change

They will all quickly forget why you were brought in– You don’t have much time to get control

– Present a separate Project Recovery Progress Status to remind people how bad it was and how it is getting better

– Continue to set expectations and communicate

The project may never catch up– May need to be nimble

– Cut corners with acceptable risks/trade offs

– BUT still deliver an acceptable output/outcome


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Conclusions

Recovery Project Management is really– Applying sound PM principles the second or third time around

– Applying good people & political communication skills

Risk Management is really– Applying sound PM principles the FIRST time around

There are methods for managing projects using quantitative techniques which are:– Well known (e.g. PMBOK, Prince2)

– Relatively simple and easy to implement

They put the Project Manager in a powerful position of:– Objectively understanding the status of the project and being able to

communicate that status at all levels

There is no magic or silver bullet solution– No ready made formula or recipes, each project is unique by definition


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Conclusions

Recovery Project Management requires– Good communication skills

– Open mindedness

– Realism - accept what can & can’t be fixed

– A solid constitution

– The courage of your convictions• It is essential to have some convictions to have the courage of

– A willingness to tell the truth as you see it

– Political and personal survival skills

– An ability to deal with the paradoxes imposed by the above requirements

If you have these skills job security is assured

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Thank You

Any QUESTIONS?