How to fix a failing project

Your project is circling the drain.  You know it, your team members know it, even the guy that delivers the sandwiches knows it.  Somehow though, your management haven’t gotten wind of it yet.  Let’s try and keep it that way, at least until you have fixed the problem.

Get back to the basics

Let’s start by going back to the parts of the project that must be done, those parts that have to be accomplished no matter what, and let’s get some focus back. Remember your basic project management training such as the APM Project Fundamentals and review the project as if your were just starting it. List all of the things that were added to the project ‘unofficially’.  What you want to achieve is a very clear picture of what is expected from you and your team.  With these two lists complete, take them to your sponsor, or investor, and agree on what should be kept and what should not in order to move the project forward.

Create a new schedule

Looking at the remaining resources, and work left to do, work out your schedule again.  At this stage, the deadlines that had previously been put into place need to be given up as lost.  You need to pick your battles carefully and sticking to past deadlines on an already struggling project is one you cannot win.  Look at what you need to do, and what you have available to do it, and work out a more realistic timetable.

Refactor the cost

Write down the project budget, and remove the amount that has already been spent.  Now look at what still remains to be done.  Visiting your new schedule for reference, get out your calculator and figure out a reasonable, but realistic, estimate to complete the job.

Identify mistakes made

Get your team together and discuss the issues with the project, and try and find out where things went wrong and what you can do to avoid making those mistakes again.

Construct alternative routes

Using the project parameters, schedule and new costs as a base – review the options open to you.  Is your plan to rescue the project going to have a significant impact on areas of the project that you need to be aware of?  Will you need more resources, time or a parameter change or tweak?  You need to be aware that some projects cannot be saved, and the only way to prevent even more time and money from being wasted is to cancel it completely.  Another option, though not necessarily a recommended one, is to reduce the amount of time testing the project before it is launched. This is clearly a risky strategy but may, in some cases, be necessary.

Smell the coffee

Once you have other, viable alternatives you need to swallow your pride and go to your management team.  Be prepared though, they are not going to like hearing the words ‘failed project’, so hopefully you have a solid plan to get your project back on track.  Lay it all out for them in a way that does not point fingers at anybody, and be honest about what went wrong and what you need in order to fix things.

Start from the top

Send out a revised statement, get the funding if more money is needed, start the work schedule again from the beginning.  It is important that you learn from the mistakes that killed your project the first time around.