So, you have tried everything and still the project will not be delivered. The project sponsor is jumping up and down demanding it is sorted, the customer is threatening to remove payment and find another person / organisation to deliver the project. Being the project manager, everyone is looking at You.

Hang on, is it really all about you? No. You may be the face of the project, a presentative of the project, but a well-run project will have a strong, focused team delivering the project.

There are standard processes, governance, and information that a project needs to be successful. Do you know what these are? Does your project have and use them?

If your project is struggling check if you have the following information:

• The delivery style – this can be waterfall or agile or a mixture
• The project scope signed off – this means you know what is to be delivered
• The timeline for deliver – so you know by when the project has to be delivered
• An approved budget – so you know how much money you can spend
• The relevant resources – with the skills and availability needed by the project

It is really important to keep all communication channels open. This can be through:

• Monthly project board meetings
• Budget reviews
• Project Reviews
• Project reports
• Status updates
• Resource meetings
• Team meetings
• Customer and stakeholder meetings

Don’t struggle alone

Reach out to your peers. Some of them may have experienced what you are going through and may be able to give some advice and help out. Look to your team to come up with solutions, work arounds. Afterall they are the experts in their field. Give them a change to make recommendations and be part of the solution.

As soon as you realise there is a possibility of a delay or overspend, analyse the impact and present to the project sponsor. Make sure you have the reasons for the concern, the impact and a potential solution available. This shows you are on top of the project and propose a solution the you are comfortable to deliver.

Ask yourself

• What is working well on the project?
• What is going wrong with the project?
• What can you change to move it forward?
• Who can hep you turn the project around?

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