5 Steps To Follow When Your Project Starts Slipping
Sunday, September 27, 2015, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
We all know that it’s pretty hard to deliver a project on time and within the budget allocated to it. Even if it’s done on time, it may be over budget or vice versa.
If you have been successful in finishing the project as planned and to the customer’s satisfaction, then you are one of the luckiest project managers alive.
However, if you haven’t delivered the project as planned, then relax and don’t take it hard on yourself because the majority of projects are delivered over budget or over schedule.
Now you have started working on the project and you are in the middle of it when you realize that you as a project manager will not be able to deliver the project on time and under budget.
When the project starts slipping, there are still certain steps you can take to finish the project to the customer’s satisfaction.
-
Focus the team
Remember when your team started working on the project, everyone was excited about start-up phase. Now it’s the middle of the project and some team members feel like worn out, not because of work but probably because of team politics and pressure of meeting the deadline.
As a project manager, you need to recognize and reward staff for good performance. You need to focus the team by restating the objectives, providing incentives and boosting morale. You need to be their shining star when things get dark and gloomy.
-
Prioritize
Identify key deliverable that must be produced. Prioritize them and get the priority list approved by your project sponsor.
-
Reduce Scope
Time to update your schedule now and request approval from your project sponsor to leave the low priority tasks until after the project deadline.
Granted it will reduce the scope of your project but it will boost your chances of delivering the high and medium priority tasks by the deadline date.
-
Increase Resource
If your project sponsor will not extend the end date of the project or reduce the scope, then ask for more resources – people, money, equipment and materials – to help you complete it.
-
Communicate
You need to communicate the new scheduled task to as many project stakeholders as possible. Set their expectations as early as possible that you will be late.
If you by any chance of luck finish the project, you will be seen favorably by the customer.
In a Nutshell
Follow the steps and you will not only save the project but you will finish it successfully as well.
Throw us a like at Facebook.com/doable.financeCourtesy of…
This column is © copyright to www.Method123.com and originally appeared in their weekly project management tip newsletter.
Use the best project management process in the world. Method123 Project Management Methodology (MPMM) is used by tens of thousands of customers around the world.
Take a test drive with the free trial download.
Buy MPMM today – NOW with extra program management and IT development modules.
Get your project started quickly with a pre-built set of great project management templates.
