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Introduction

When does a project need to be “rescued?”  When it is “off track” vs “troubled” vs “failing?”    Before the question can be answered, the organization must have defined those action levels, at both the portfolio and project levels as appropriate. Once there is a mechanism to alert, a simple, straightforward process of assessment and remediation that clearly document the steps that will be taken, by who, and by when to get the project back to a successful status. The process, assessment, and plan need to be shared with the entire team to create a higher level of commitment and accountability.

Communication and Criteria

Is it a communication issue for the project – you simply don’t know, or can’t tell at a glance what is going on with the project? Is it “over budget” or ‘behind schedule” and therefore ‘failing” and “not delivering value?  10%? 25%? How do you know?  Have these thresholds been defined by the PPM for the organization or for the project?  Basic success threshold or tolerance questions to be answered include:

  • The project is being delivered within the estimated cost (plus or minus what tolerance?)
  • The project is being delivered within its deadlines (plus or minus what tolerance?)
  • All the major deliverables are being completed and accepted. (Some minor ones, or minor functionalities, might not be delivered.)
  • The overall quality is acceptable. (Remember – it does not have to be perfect!)
  • The project is meeting the defined Return on Investment (ROI), or defined/planned Benefit/Value
  • The project is meeting the requirements of the Communication Plan

Leverage the resources inside the Project Communications Package to ensure that the organization’s status reporting mechanism provide for answering these questions at a glance.  Criteria should be defined (SEE PPM Playbook), reporting should be simple and information sharing straightforward.  Use the Status Reports/Executive Dashboard template to provide information for each project and to provide reporting  for the entire organizational portfolio of projects using the portfolio-level dashboard template. Leverage COLOR to tell the story of status – GREEN for on track, AMBER for slightly OFF TRACK, and RED for OFF TRACK/ REQUIRES IMMEDIATE MANAGEMENT ATTENTION. 

The Process

Action should be initiated immediately upon project status change.  Assessments and remediation plans can be simple, but should clearly document the steps that will be taken, by who, and by when to get the project back to Green status. The plan should be shared with the entire PPM team immediately upon development. Do not wait until the next meeting. This process creates a higher level of commitment and accountability.

Use the following templates for the Project Recovery process:

  • The 2 stage Project Assessment & Remediation Plan
  • Project Assessment Checklist
  • Project Assessment Documentation Review Checklist
  • Project Assessment Stakeholder Interviews
  • Project SWOT (Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat) Analysis

When a project is in AMBER status, perform the following steps:

  1. PM and Sponsor complete the Assessment
  2. Based on assessment results, remediation plan developed with the goal of getting the project back to Green within 1 week
  3. Proposed plan is reviewed with the Portfolio Manager
  4. Plan shared broadly with the entire PPM team
  5. Initiate remediation

When the project is in RED status, or proceeds from AMBER to RED:

  1. PM, Sponsor and Portfolio Manager meet to develop a more detailed assessment of the project, using the Assessment Checklist
  2. Based on assessment results, PM and Sponsor develop a more thorough remediation plan
  3. Share the assessment results and proposed remediation plan with the entire PPM team immediately upon development
  4. PPM review assessment results and proposed remediation plan make remediation determination per organization PPM policy/criteria
  5. Implement PPM decision: initiate remediation vs close project

Project Assessment and Remediation Plan

The remediation plan can be simple, but should clearly document the steps that will be taken, by who, and by when to get the project back to Green status. The plan should be shared with the entire PPM team immediately upon development. Do not wait until the next meeting. This process creates a higher level of commitment and accountability. 

Project Assessment Checklist

The Project Assessment Checklist should be leveraged on a regular basis to audit existing projects and determine if there is additional support needed to help ensure project IMPACT is achieved.

Project Assessment Documentation Review Checklist

The Project Assessment Documentation Review Checklist will aid in the review of project documentation for completeness as part of the project assessment process.

Project Assessment Stakeholder Interviews

The Project Assessment Stakeholder Interviews are a key part of the project assessment process. This template captures each of your stakeholder’s understanding of the project and where it falls within the organization’s priorities, their expectations, their understanding of roles and responsibilities, and any project issues.

Project SWOT Analysis

The Project SWOT Analysis Template (Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat) is used as part of the project assessment to determine where energy should be spent and to discover root causes. Once completed, the project’s SWOT matrix information can be used to develop the plan, strategy and to manage project risk.