Rescuing Projects in Distress

Projects in Distress

Experience shows that many projects whether they be large or small experience significant problems in the course of their life. This may include technical performance shortfall, financial budget over-runs, resource inadequacies, legislative impediments, unforeseen environmental problems, or industrial difficulties.

PES can assist in performing a comprehensive audit of any part of the project, evaluate the risks, and propose mitigation strategies for reestablishing the project or at the very least minimising the losses.

Typical Problems in the Life of a Project and Some Solution Options

Requirements mismanagement - improper requirements capture or allocation to product, scope creep, lack of mutual agreement with the customer on contracted requirements, lack of requirements validation, and agreement to untestable requirements are all factors that contribute to loss of project control. PES can assist with system requirement reviews (SSR) for achieving mutual understanding of requirements with the customer, identifying scope creep, develop testing strategies for "untestable" requirements, and other requirements related solutions.

Technical performance shortfall - we can analyse the problem, identify the root causes, and explore options for addressing the shortfall. The causes may include inadequate requirements definition and validation, incomplete allocation to functions and products, inadequate peer and supervisory reviews, and inadequate design validation and development testing. The solution options may include validating the real contract requirements, implement effective development testing, organise effective technical reviews, locating alternative products, use of specialist designers, transferring responsibility, or renegotiating the contract.

Test and Acceptance  - ultimately, the contractor must satisfy the customer that the product produced satisfies the requirements of the contract. The establishment of an effective testing strategy is vital for the effective close out of the project. PES can assist in the preparation of test plans, procedures, and test reports. If required, PES can assist in arranging for external testing of environmental and electromagnetic testing at accredited laboratories.

Financial budget over runs  - this problem may be caused by poor estimating during bidding, an inadequate work breakdown structure (WBS), an ineffective cost/schedule control system (C/SCS), poorly defined and managed work orders, poor reporting by the project team, inadequate internal reviews, poor contingency planning, reallocation of moneys within the project budget. Solution strategies may include implementing an effecting C/SCS and reporting program, ensuring a sound WBS is developed, initiating proper internal progress reviews at all levels, hold team members accountable for agreed performance.

Loss of Control  - circumstances may arise where effective control of the project is lost, impacting on technical, financial, scheduling, and contractual performance. These may include dependence for project completion on factors beyond the projects control.

Conflict with subcontractors or vendors  - these problems often arise for the same reasons that the prime contract runs into difficulties. For example, the absence of mutually agreed, firm and definitive specifications, is a key contributing factor. The lack of effective progress reviews, poor incremental monitoring of performance, and ill-defined expectations. PES can assist in correcting all these contributing factors.

Failure to close out the project  - A project may bleed to death because a company cannot close out a contract. Typical factors that contribute to this state include technical performance shortfall, gross schedule overrun, failure to deliver all contract data items (CDRL items), industrial disputation, or failure to meet close out terms of the contract. PES can assist by performing an audit on all outstanding items required for close out of the contract and recommend strategies for rapid project close out.

An afterthought  - The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians , passed on from one generation to the next, says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.

In the same manner, some project managers try to deal with the problem by other strategies:

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Threatening the horse with termination.

4. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

5. Arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.

6. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.

7. Appointing an intervention team to re-animate the dead horse.

8. Creating a training session to increase the rider's load share.

9. Re-classifying the dead horse as living-impaired.

10. Change the form so that it reads: "This horse is not dead."

11. Hire outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

12. Harness several dead horses together for increased speed.

13. Donate the dead horse to a recognized charity, thereby deducting its full original cost.

14. Providing additional funding to increase the horse's performance.

15. Do a time management study to see if the lighter riders would improve productivity.

16. Purchase an after-market product to make dead horses run faster.

17. Declare that a dead horse has lower overhead and therefore performs better.

18. Form a quality focus group to find profitable uses for dead horses.

19. Rewrite the expected performance requirements for horses.

20. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.

21. Apply for a government subsidy to retrain dead horses.

(Source unknown, but whoever you are, great insight)