A project recovery is an attempt to turn around a troubled project. If there is ever a case where project control is absolutely critical, it is when you are trying to heal a sick project. To really understand what is important for controlling a project, let’s review what occurs during a typical project recovery.
The first thing that senior management will do to recover a project is to make sure there is an effective project manager in charge. This might mean anything from validating the current project manager, bringing in someone new, pulling someone up from the project team, or providing a mentor to the current project leadership. After the project leadership is solidified, most recovery missions
involve the following activities:
1. Review planning principles—The planning principles are revisited. A focus is placed on establishing priorities and objectives, clarifying acceptance criteria, gaining consensus, and reviewing roles and responsibilities.
2. Reset baseline—As a final step in the re-planning step, key milestones are set and new baselines are set for cost and schedule performance.
3. Frequent status checks—To facilitate better communications, prevent additional obstacles, reinforce the visibility of the recovery mission, and emphasize individual accountability, team status meetings are conducted daily. In some situations, these checkpoints are even more frequent. It depends on the nature of the project.
4. Aggressive issue resolution—One purpose of the frequent status checks is to gain visibility of any new or potential issue. The resolution of any new issue is aggressively pursued. These become top priorities for project leadership.
5. Ensure clarity—Another technique normally employed in successful project recoveries is an extra effort to ensure clear understanding of all communications, expectations, and work assignments. When focus and efficiency is of paramount importance, the criticality of clear communications and mutual understanding is obvious.
6. Increase visibility and accountability—This has been referenced indirectly already, but it is worth emphasizing again. A major reason that project recoveries often work is because people know they are more accountable for their efforts due to the increased visibility with senior management. For both the individual and the organization, the recovery mission helps to prioritize efforts and align resource allocations.
The first thing that senior management will do to recover a project is to make sure there is an effective project manager in charge. This might mean anything from validating the current project manager, bringing in someone new, pulling someone up from the project team, or providing a mentor to the current project leadership. After the project leadership is solidified, most recovery missions
involve the following activities:
1. Review planning principles—The planning principles are revisited. A focus is placed on establishing priorities and objectives, clarifying acceptance criteria, gaining consensus, and reviewing roles and responsibilities.
2. Reset baseline—As a final step in the re-planning step, key milestones are set and new baselines are set for cost and schedule performance.
3. Frequent status checks—To facilitate better communications, prevent additional obstacles, reinforce the visibility of the recovery mission, and emphasize individual accountability, team status meetings are conducted daily. In some situations, these checkpoints are even more frequent. It depends on the nature of the project.
4. Aggressive issue resolution—One purpose of the frequent status checks is to gain visibility of any new or potential issue. The resolution of any new issue is aggressively pursued. These become top priorities for project leadership.
5. Ensure clarity—Another technique normally employed in successful project recoveries is an extra effort to ensure clear understanding of all communications, expectations, and work assignments. When focus and efficiency is of paramount importance, the criticality of clear communications and mutual understanding is obvious.
6. Increase visibility and accountability—This has been referenced indirectly already, but it is worth emphasizing again. A major reason that project recoveries often work is because people know they are more accountable for their efforts due to the increased visibility with senior management. For both the individual and the organization, the recovery mission helps to prioritize efforts and align resource allocations.
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