Question

•

What do you think are the common responses to

the following problems

–

Project behind schedule

–

Project over cost

–

Project needs earlier delivery date

–

Project has a team member who is brilliant but

disrupting team

•

Why are the “obvious” responses problematic?

Answer 1

A. Project behind schedule:

1. Incorrect project estimation at the beginning of a project

2. Scope creep

3. Poor project management and tracking

4. Poor stakeholder management

5. Poor productivity of employees and equipment

6. External reasons that cannot be controlled like environment, political unrest, etc.

B. Project over cost

1. Changed scope of project

2. Miscommunication between various stakeholders

3. Poor cost planning at initial stages

4. Scope creep or poor estimation of complexity

5. Delays in project

6. No plan for contingency

C.Project needs earlier delivery date:

1. This would lead to quality issues in the deliverables

2. Would lead to cost overruns

D .team member causing disruption:

1. Particular employee required for a critical activity

2. Replacement would cause issues

The obvious responses are problematic because most of the problems that happen in a project can be avoided by careful planning and analysis in the initial stages, effective tracking and monitoring to identify problem areas timely, and having action plans in place for contingencies. The following steps should be used for effective project management:

1. Effective stakeholder management, keep communication active between all, identify areas of overlap, avoid a project running in silos

2. Defining clear scope of work: A significant time should be spent on gathering all requirements for a project, and then prioritizing them, breaking them down

3. Maintain buffers at overall level vs at every stage, to avoid overruns, as work can fill up any extra time that is available

4. Careful resource planning

5. Develop a preliminary plan, and following discussions with all the stakeholders, have a baseline plan

6. Monitor and track progress carefully

7. Focus on documentation