Managing Projects in Trouble: Achieving Turnaround and Success

204 Pages·2011·2.1 MB·English

by  Ralph L. Kliem PMP

Business Management / Project Management K
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Whether you use budget, schedule, quality, or other criteria, the statistics m
compiled by think tanks, institutes, associations, and other trade organizations
all point to one inescapable conclusion: your project has a greater chance of
getting into trouble than staying out of it.
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Based on the lessons learned by the author during a quarter of a century of
leading projects to successful conclusions, Managing Projects in Trouble:
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Achieving Turnaround and Success unveils the five secrets to ensuring
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success—even for projects seemingly doomed to fail. Using numerous flow
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diagrams and checklists, it explains how to take action in ways that will increase
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the likelihood of success and minimize the possibility of failure. Specifically,
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it shows you how to n
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• Recognize the symptoms of troubled projects

• Revisit your project’s vision and execute an improved vision
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• Examine all options for turning your project into a reality
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• Choose the options most appropriate to your situation
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Supplying step-by-step guidance through each phase, the book explains how e
to spot the symptoms of troubled projects early on and arms you with time- c
tested techniques to address the problems that will inevitably emerge. Each t
chapter includes a case study that illustrates real-world implementation of the s
actions and steps discussed as well as a checklist to help ease the transition
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from project failure to surefire success. Learn the five secrets for turning n
troubled projects around detailed in this book—or continue what you’re doing
T
at your own peril.
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K12412
ISBN: 978-1-4398-5246-0
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Managing
Projects
in Trouble
Achieving Turnaround
and Success
PROjECT MAnAGEMEnT TITLES
FROM AuERBACH PuBLICATIOnS AnD CRC PRESS
Managing Web Projects Effective Communications for
Edward B. Farkas Project Management
ISBN: 978-1-4398-0495-7 Ralph L. Kliem
ISBN: 978-1-4200-6246-5
The Complete Project Management
Methodology and Toolkit Managing Global Development Risk
Gerard M. Hill James M. Hussey and Steven E. Hall
ISBN: 978-1-4398-0154-3 ISBN: 978-1-4200-5520-7
Implementing Program Management: The Strategic Project Leader: Mastering
Templates and Forms Aligned with the Service-Based Project Leadership
Standard for Program Management — Jack Ferraro
Second Edition (2008)
ISBN: 978-0-8493-8794-4
Ginger Levin and Allen M. Green
ISBN: 978-1-4398-1605-9 Determining Project Requirements
Hans Jonasson
Project Management Recipes for Success
ISBN: 978-1-4200-4502-4
Guy L. De Furia
ISBN: 978-1-4200-7824-4 Practical Guide to Project Planning
Ricardo Viana Vargas
Project Management of Complex and
ISBN: 978-1-4200-4504-8
Embedded Systems: Ensuring Product
Integrity and Program Quality The Complete Project Management
Kim H. Pries and Jon Quigley Office Handbook, Second Edition
ISBN: 978-1-4200-7205-1 Gerard M. Hill
ISBN: 978-1-4200-4680-9
Leading IT Projects: The IT
Manager’s Guide Staffing the Project Office for
Jessica Keyes Competitive Advantage
ISBN: 978-1-4200-7082-8 J. Kent Crawford
ISBN: 978-0-8247-5477-8
Building a Project Work Breakdown
Structure: Visualizing Objectives, Project Management Maturity Model,
Deliverables, Activities, and Schedules Second Edition
Dennis P. Miller J. Kent Crawford
ISBN: 978-1-4200-6969-3
ISBN: 978-0-8493-7945-1
A Standard for Enterprise
Optimizing Human Capital with
Project Management
a Strategic Project Office: Select,
Michael S. Zambruski
Train, Measure, and Reward People
ISBN: 978-1-4200-7245-7
for Organization Success
Global Engineering Project Management J. Kent Crawford and
M. Kemal Atesmen Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin
ISBN: 978-1-4200-7393-5 ISBN: 978-0-8493-5410-6
Managing
Projects
in Trouble
Achieving Turnaround
and Success
Ralph L. Kliem, PMP
Auerbach Publications
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
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For Tonia and Mulder
© 2011 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Contents
List of Figures ........................................................................................xi
Preface .................................................................................................xiii
Chapter 1 Introduction .......................................................................1
1.1 What You’ll Learn ............................................................1
1.2 The Odds Are against You ...............................................2
1.3 Symptoms to Look For .....................................................3
1.3.1 Poorly Defined and Managed Scope and
Requirements .......................................................3
1.3.2 Lack of Involvement and Buy-In of Key
Stakeholders .........................................................3
1.3.3 Lack of Detail and Realism in the Project
Plan ........................................................................4
1.3.4 Negative Conflicts among Team
Members and Poor Morale.................................4
1.3.5 Ill-Defined Assumptions and
Expectations .........................................................5
1.3.6 Lack of People with the Necessary
Attributes ..............................................................5
1.3.7 Failure to Identify or Deal with Risks ..............6
1.3.8 Too Many Dependencies ....................................7
1.4 Patterns to Look For .........................................................8
1.5 The Five Key Actions ........................................................9
1.6 Avoid the Quick Fix........................................................14
Chapter 2 Energize ............................................................................17
2.1 The Spark .........................................................................17
2.2 An Overview ...................................................................23
2.3 1.1: Identify or Bring on the Key People ......................24
2.4 1.2: Call for a Time-Out .................................................27
2.5 1.3: Communicate the Need for Revisiting the
Vision................................................................................29
© 2011 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC vii
viii  •  Contents
2.6 1.4: Ask the Hard Question: Is What Has Been
and Is Currently Being Done Necessary? ...................30
2.7 1.5: Emphasize the Need for Concerted Action .........32
2.8 1.6: Stress the Importance of Having a
Meaningful Plan .............................................................41
2.9 1.7: Be Decisive Based on Facts and Data, Not
Personalities .....................................................................41
2.10 1.8: Avoid Being Arbitrary and Capricious ................42
2.11 Conclusion .......................................................................45
2.11 Getting-Started Checklist ..............................................47
Chapter 3 Envision ............................................................................53
3.1 An Overview ...................................................................53
3.2 2.1: Identify Stakeholders ..............................................56
3.3 2.2: Take a Systems Approach ......................................60
3.4 2.3: Conduct a Gap Analysis of What Was and
What Should Have Been Done .....................................63
3.5 2.4: Take a Snapshot of What Is Going Well and
Not So Well ......................................................................65
3.6 2.5: Do Not Add More Resources—Not Just Yet ........70
3.7 2.6: Develop a New or Revised Project Charter .........72
3.8 Conclusion .......................................................................78
3.9 Getting-Started Checklist .............................................80
Chapter 4 Explore ..............................................................................83
4.1 An Overview ...................................................................83
4.2 3.1: Get People to Share Feelings and
Information ....................................................................86
4.3 3.2: Recognize Everyone’s Interests Are
Important ........................................................................90
4.4 3.3: Get People to Think about the Project’s
Circumstances and Suggest Improvements ................91
4.5 3.4: Remove the Non-Value-Added Work .................103
4.6 3.5: Identify Options.....................................................104
4.7 Conclusion .....................................................................116
4.8 Getting-Started Checklist ............................................118
© 2011 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Contents  •  ix
Chapter 5 Evaluate ...........................................................................129
5.1 An Overview .................................................................129
5.2 4.1: Conduct a Thorough Risk Assessment ...............131
5.3 4.2: Select One or More Options ................................132
5.4 4.3: Present and Negotiate Options ............................138
5.5 Conclusion .....................................................................142
5.6 Getting-Started Checklist ............................................144
Chapter 6 Execute ............................................................................147
6.1 An Overview .................................................................147
6.2 5.1: Develop a Realistic Recovery Plan.......................149
6.3 5.2: Apply Knowledge of What People Can and
Cannot Do .....................................................................156
6.4 5.3: Get Participation and Commitment from
Stakeholders ...................................................................159
6.5 5.4: Apply Good Project Execution Practices ...........159
6.6 Conclusion .....................................................................166
6.7 Getting-Started Checklist ............................................167
Chapter 7 Final Thoughts ...............................................................171
7.1 The Odds Are Not in Your Favor ...............................171
7.2 Now the 5 Cs .................................................................172
7.3 The Five Secrets .............................................................174
Glossary ...............................................................................................175
Bibliography ........................................................................................185
© 2011 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC