Projects in Exception

By Ian Burgess On July 17, 2008 · Leave a Comment · In Project Management, Risk Managment

Working in project recovery it very quickly becomes apparent that the majority of these projects are in their present situation as a result of misinformation and the mistrust that grows from it. If there is an intention to save the project there are some fundamental steps that need to be taken

To get an assessment of the reality of the situation from an external viewpoint.
Discover the reasons for the misinformation on both sides of the project.
Estimate the viability of the project with the present suppliers involved.
Create exception plans
1. Create exception plans to bring the project back on track.
2. Create a plan to dissolve the project.

It is in theses first stages that an understanding and experience of what is commonly known as soft skills is important to gain an understanding of what was the original cause of the problem and to help to unravel any issues that have arisen as a result of the project going in to exception.

It is important bear in mind that anyone or team being put in to a project recovery situation needs to have a mix of both soft skills and technical skills.

In situations where it is considered that the project has no further value it is important to look to effectively dissolve in most cases this is a technical and in some cases legal process.

The closure of a project aims to remove any outstanding risks and minimise both short and long term issues. In most cases there are individuals and teams on both sides looking to end the project with the interests of the parties that they represent first and foremost.

It is my belief and experience that the both situations can be better resolved and more projects can be saved by spending time understanding what caused the issues and looking for a willingness to resolve them in a beneficial way wither the project is to continue or not.

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