The numbers tell the story. There is a 7 in 10 chance that you will get an emergency call that a mission-critical project is in trouble. It’s a question of when, not if. And more importantly, how will you respond when the call comes? Will you react to the symptoms, or will you uncover the root causes? Will you be prepared, knowing that this kind of call is likely to come? With the appropriate preparation, you can be ready, with a strategy in place to resuscitate a project that looks like it is down for the count.

 

 

It’s a common trap to react to the very apparent symptoms that a troubled project presents, rather than focusing on underlying causes for the problem. We recommend taking a triage approach, much like is done at a hospital emergency room. Here are three critical areas to explore—an emergency checklist you can follow the next time you are called on to revive a failing or stalled project:

 

First, review the project plan. Does the plan span both the technical project management side and the human side? Remember that the activities and deliverables that address the human elements should be interwoven with the technical project plan, so that there is one implementation plan that is being managed. Also consider the timing—how early in the project life cycle are the human elements being addressed? If the activities that address the human elements aren’t addressed until close to or after project cutover, then you have missed the opportunity to build readiness for the change. You may get to installation, but miss the mark on the real measure for implementation success--- project Return on Investment.

 

There are other considerations as well. Does the plan provide structure, yet permit flexibility? Is it supported, understood, and owned by top management? Is it resourced realistically, including the resources needed to address the human elements? 

 

Second, analyze your tool kit. Do you have specific tools and diagnostics to help you manage resistance, build your communication plan, align reinforcement and performance management practices to the new behaviors, monitor the climate for this change, and engage the leaders needed to manage your project? These tools should be accessible and easy to apply whenever they are needed. If they are supported by a common vocabulary and a structured process for managing the change, if they are a systemic component of the way projects are implemented, the likelihood of project success dramatically increases.

 

Third, review your deployment tactics. Do you have active and engaged Sponsors through all the organizational layers? Do they know they are being looked to as Sponsors for the change, and are they aware of how they must express, model and reinforce the new behaviors? Do you have enough skilled Change Agents in the right places? What about your climate—is it a barrier to implementation success, or does it support what you are trying to accomplish? Are the critical roles (Champions, Agents, Sponsors, and Targets) being proactively managed on an ongoing basis? Are you equating communication with implementation?

 

By gathering the data to answer these questions, you will be much better prepared to apply emergency first aid tactics to the most acute problems, and develop a comprehensive re-hab plan for the chronic ones.