Managing Troubled Projects. Mr. Anthony Eve, MAPM, PMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner

Transcription

1 Managing Troubled Projects Mr. Anthony Eve, MAPM, PMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner

2 Anthony Eve, PMP, MAPM, PRINCE2 PRACTITIONER Senior Partner and VP BMC Consulting ENGINEERING

3 Agenda The Issues Structure and Process Case Study Examples Interactive Questions 16/6/2009 HAU 3

4 Does This Sound Familiar? No one knows when the project will be finished Most people have given up trying to guess The product is laden with defects Team members are working lots of involuntary overtime Project Management has lost the ability to control progress The PM cannot find the project s status with accuracy The project controls!

5 Hold On We are not done. The customer has lost confidence that the project team will deliver The team is defensive about progress Relations between project team members are strained The project is near cancellation The morale of the project team has hit rock bottom The customer is threatening legal action.

6 That s when your boss says. This Project is extremely important, but you have no budget, no guidelines, no staff support and it is due by tomorrow morning. At last here is your chance to impress everybody!

7 So, There s Room For Improvement 74% of all IT projects are: Over Budget Behind Schedule 52% of all projects finish at 189% of their initial budget. (Main reason? Lack of user input - communications) For every 100 projects there are 94 restarts. (Some have more than 1 restart) And after huge investments of time and money, 28% are simply never completed..., or fail altogether. The Standish Group

8 The Problem Lack of attention to project management principles can lead to high failure rates. KPMG reported: Firms that Claimed at least One IT Project Failure = 56% Average loss per firm from these failures = $12.5m Largest single IT Project Write-off = $210m

9 The Top 10 Reasons Projects Fail Inadequately trained and/or inexperienced project managers Failure to set and manage expectations Poor leadership at any and all levels Failure to adequately identify, document and track requirements Poor plans and planning processes Source: Frank Winters, The Top 10 Reasons Projects Fail in gantthead.com Poor effort estimation Cultural and ethical misalignment Misalignment between the project team and the business or other organization it serves Inadequate or misused methods Inadequate communication, including progress tracking and reporting

10 Prevention is always.... better than a cure!

11 Reasons Projects Succeed in Your Organization 3% 34% 29% 34% Objectives Clarified Early Consistent, Transparent Communication Stakeholder Collaboration Ability to Adapt to Changes Source PMI Network 97% = Communication and Stakeholder Involvement!

12 Is Your Project REALLY in Trouble? What is the definition of project failure in your organization? You have just read that almost 80% of all projects fail. But how is failure defined?

13 Evaluate Your Project for Trouble Before Applying Rescue Tools Before you go to the trouble of project rescue, make sure the project really is in serious trouble. THE INDICATORS? The project is trending 30% or more over its estimated budget. The project is trending 30% or more over its estimated deadline The project appears within tolerances, but only by deferring the completion of one or more major deliverables. The project is within tolerances, but only by compromising quality; value and integrity of the deliverable are questionable. The clients are extremely dissatisfied with the performance of the project team. If the clients had to do it again, they would select a different team. The client-project team relationship is dysfunctional.

14 The Triple Constraint Resource (Budget) Scope (Planned Results) Schedule (Time) How is this achieved?

15 Planning Model Client Requirements Project Objectives 1 Work Breakdown WBS 2 Recycle Project Organization 3 Project Schedule 4 Risk Assessment Project Baseline (Budget) 5

16 Trouble Ahead? Guidelines on Acceptable Control Limits Work Variance (%SV or %CV) % to 40% into the Project +30% % 50% 75% 100% % Complete (Total Project Time) % Statistics from Edwards Deming

17 Case Study Example Programme X Project 1 120% 100% Reference milestones : % 60% 40% 20% SV = EV PV , or SV/PV -40% 0% 4.5 months

18 Am I in Trouble? Work Variance (%SV or %CV) % to 40% into the Project +30% % 50% 75% 100% % Complete (Total Project Time) % Statistics from Edwards Deming

19 Case Study Example - Programme X Project 1 120% 100% Reference milestones : % 60% 40% 20% Ouch!!! 0%

20 Managing Troubled Project Why do projects almost always become troubled toward the end of the project life cycle? At the worst possible time? Crisis Occurs Project Start Project Midpoint Project Finish Phase or Stage Gates

21 Case Study Example 12 week IT Delivery Project Verify Requirements 100% 100% 100% 100% 0% Feature Set Development Test Preparation User Documentation Sign-off 100% product Document 60% product released 30% product released Test Plan Draft version Final Version Ask for, and demand, hard deliverables, not just the measures Why does this happen? What can we do to avoid this happening?

22 Rapid Trouble Assessment and Recovery Define Charter Develop Assessment Plan Execute Assessment Develop Recovery Plan Execute Recovery Trigger Assessment Charter Assessment Plan Assessment Phase Prioritized Causes Recovery Plan Recovery Phase When the project becomes troubled, there will be increased management focus on all activities from the crisis point forward. Lessons Learned, Exit Review Pressure risk will increase. Therefore, assessment and recovery must be both quick and thorough.

23 THREE ENVELOPES ONE TWO THREE

24 What is the Purpose of an Assessment? Determine: Current real status of the project Is the project a candidate for recovery or cancellation? Changes that need to be made Key Variables to be Assessed: Objectives and scope, business case Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Project Organization, including systems and processes Schedule Resources and budget Problems Risks Defects Should be done quickly. About one week

25 Define the Assessment Charter Define Charter Develop Assessment Plan Execute Assessment Develop Recovery Plan Execute Recovery Trigger Assessment Charter Assessment Plan Prioritized Causes Recovery Plan Lessons Learned, Exit Review Assessment Phase Recovery Phase

26 Define the Assessment Charter Many times the recovery team is from outside the project. That team will need a recovery Charter from management, written by the Sponsor that: Delegates authority to the recovery project manager Defines the recovery mission,

27 Details: Complete the Charter and Obtain Approval The charter is critical to recovery success. All stakeholders must agree and be committed to the same objectives. The charter must be signed by a senior manager and be distributed to all stakeholders. The deliverable produced in this step is the Assessment (Recovery) Charter.

28 Develop the Assessment Plan Define Charter Develop Assessment Plan Execute Assessment Develop Recovery Plan Execute Recovery Trigger Assessment Charter Assessment Plan Prioritized Causes Recovery Plan Lessons Learned, Exit Review Assessment Phase Recovery Phase

29 Develop the Assessment Plan The recovery team will develop an assessment plan: is realistic, can be executed, will achieve the charter s objectives, will allow for quick assessment, provide accurate findings, and minimize original project team distraction.

30 Develop the Assessment Plan The recovery team will conduct interviews and analyze project data to: Identify critical project documentation Identify stakeholders who need to be interviewed, and Prepare the agenda and interview schedule. The recovery team should expect some resistance from the core project team Assessment planning should allow the core team to continue working on the project.

31 Stakeholder Management: Identification Position people accordingly on the Stakeholder Map Think about who is essential to have support you: Who are the most influential people around? How much will your plan affect them? How are they likely to react to your plan? Who is effected by the project s objectives? Think about how to identify all kinds of stakeholders: Resistor Bystander Brainstorming (free or structured) Interviews Past experiences (documented in checklists or lessons learned documents) Utilize the project team Influence high medium low AB GU CF AR GU Behavior BG Change Agent LÖ

32 Execute the Assessment Plan Define Charter Develop Assessment Plan Execute Assessment Develop Recovery Plan Execute Recovery Trigger Assessment Charter Assessment Plan Prioritized Causes Recovery Plan Lessons Learned, Exit Review Assessment Phase Recovery Phase

33 Execute the Assessment Plan Executing the assessment has the following focus: Determine the true status of the project And includes: Identify the S.W.O.T, to move forward Establish an extended team for recovery. Conduct interviews Analyze data Develop a prioritized list of causes and effects Present these to key stakeholders Last: Should we attempt to recover this project? Is it worth saving?

34 Details: Outline of the Assessment Report Developing the recovery plan is highly influenced by the findings in the assessment report.

35 Should we Attempt to Recover this Project? What are our Alternatives? Stop the project. Reasons? Let the project continue Let the project continue with adjustments Sometimes none of the options are attractive. However, remember that you are not trying to get the project to complete within its original scope, deadline and budget. You are just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

36 Agreement to the Strategy Strategic planning results in: GO NO GO DECISIONS

37 IF Decision is GO: Develop the Recovery Plan REVIEW MTG Define Charter Develop Assessment Plan Execute Assessment Develop Recovery Plan Execute Recovery Trigger Assessment Charter Assessment Plan Prioritized Causes Recovery Plan Lessons Learned, Exit Review Assessment Phase Recovery Phase

38 THREE ENVELOPES Suggestion ONE... Blame it on me, i.e. the previous project manager

39 IF Decision is GO: Develop the Recovery Plan Define Charter Develop Assessment Plan Execute Assessment Develop Recovery Plan Execute Recovery Trigger Assessment Charter Assessment Plan Prioritized Causes Recovery Plan Lessons Learned, Exit Review Assessment Phase Recovery Phase

40 Develop the Recovery Plan A recovery plan for a troubled project is much different from a plan for a new project: It must not fail Highly monitored Changes the triple constraints Resource (Budget) Scope (Planned Results) Schedule (Time) Recovery plan is shorter (with Inchstones ) Highly controlled More frequent communications and reporting

41 Develop the Recovery Plan The recovery team and key stakeholders must: Stabilize the requirements Identify the minimum requirements to meet schedule and cost constraints Reduce defects Implement a QA/QC plan to keep changes low Produce steady state. There is more micromanagement than in a new project

42 THREE ENVELOPES Suggestion TWO... Blame it on the contractors

43 Execute the Recovery Plan Define Charter Develop Assessment Plan Execute Assessment Develop Recovery Plan Execute Recovery Trigger Assessment Charter Assessment Plan Assessment Phase Prioritized Causes Recovery Plan Recovery Phase Lessons Learned, Exit Review

44 Execute the Recovery Plan Start with the end in mind! The end game of recovery is a project that is no longer troubled. It is anchored, controlled, and the team can get the job done with higher morale. After sustained performance is achieved: Micromanagement and mini-milestones may no longer be needed Manage more to the baseline plan Remaining milestones may be turned back to the original project team, who has continued working on the project After transition, conduct lessons learned and an exit interview with original project team and key stakeholders.

45 Case Study Programme X Project 2 Recognised problem unacceptable 41 week lead time to production Problem owned by the project team from Day 1 Clear roles and responsibilities established Steering committee driven

46 Organisation structure Steering Group Role To provide clear direction To approve proposals & provide challenge To eliminate the road blocks and provide cross functional sponsorship To provide a strong focus and deliverable culture to the project Visibly represent an integrated top team

47 Team roles Coordination team (Full Time) Co-ordinate project & provide drum beat Accountable for ensuring project success Provide support to sub-teams Provide and allocate resources Demonstrate integrated commitment to project Monitoring and control Identify and manage sub-project interdependencies Incorporate previous learning to date Manage overall process and stakeholders CDBT/IDBT leaders (Part Time 3 days per week) Develop the baseline plan Develop improvement proposals Integrate CDBT/IDBT plans horizontally & vertically Produce Business cases Responsibility for delivery of benefits Presentation of proposals to steering committee Own improvement initiatives

48 Case Study Programme X Project 2 Recognised problem unacceptable 41 week lead time to production Problem owned by the project team from Day 1 Clear roles and responsibilities established Steering committee driven Co-located team Establish Clear Plan, Objectives and Prioritize Identify and action Quick Hits Continuous stakeholder involvement

49 Process and Work Plan Overview LAUNCH VALIDATE PLAN INTEGRATE PLAN DEFINE AND SET CHALLENGE GENERATE OPPORTUNITY DEVELOP OPPORTUNITY GENERATE BUSINESS CASE RE-PLAN AND SET MILESTONES INTEGRATED PLAN 49

50 Case Study Programme X Project 2 Recognised problem unacceptable 41 week lead time to production Problem owned by the project team from Day 1 Clear roles and responsibilities established Steering committee driven Co-located team Establish Clear Plan, Objectives and Prioritize Identify and action Quick Hits Continuous stakeholder involvement Aggressive work plan with frequent steering groups Freeze work where appropriate to focus on problem Establish rigid control mechanisms

51 Mobilisation tasks week 1 Agree need for improvement & programme sponsorship Achieve buy in to the approach with the programme sponsor Agree the key priorities & any fast track initiatives Nominate the full time coordination team and Steering Group and release team from current duties Set & agree objectives Provide infrastructure for full time team location, tools, communications etc.. Team mobilisation event 51

52 Result Through the process created a BUZZ to improve developed effective teamwork and focus cross functional groups have generated and signed off against the plans identified and provided impetus to close the gap achieved a common understanding and buy in to the size of the challenge Reduced the overlap to 4 weeks 52

53 Key Tips for Recovery Do not declare victory too soon Sustained control is necessary Involve all stakeholders. Politics are important. At the first sign of trouble define the problem, the solution, and alert the stakeholders

54 Remember Prevention is Better than Cure! You need to develop Project Management skills in everyone in your organization! Advantages of having tools offered by the Project Management Method: The Standish CHAOS Chronicles reported 8 years tracking of organizations who have good project management methods. For the same money spent on projects: Successful projects: Failed projects: Waste and budget overruns: Doubled Cut in Half 61% Less

55 THREE ENVELOPES Suggestion THREE... Write three envelopes!!!

56 Summary Recognise the problem Evaluate the problem Make a decison Provide focus and structure (plan), look for quick hits Continuous stakeholder management Freeze other work if appropriate Remember the THREE ENVELOPES 16/6/2009 HAU 56

57 Managing Troubled Projects