Extract from the May briefing of qb³:
Turnaround Management: Getting projects back on track
In the monthly briefings, qb³ provides its clients and partners with know-how and up-to date informtion...
Too late, too confusing, and any possible success seems far away. Practice shows that IT projects (too) often get into trouble and are about to fail.
Irrespective of the fact that projects may differ significantly and thus require different approaches (including support of external specialists in some cases), sponsors and/or stakeholders of projects can contribute to getting them back on track:
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Review the objectives! And make sure that they are as precise as possible and that they are also feasible.
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Take a close look at the IT service providers and make adjustments if required. This is an issue where project managers might need the support of sponsors since internal requirements may seem to be set in stone for them.
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Are the right skills on board? Think about it (preferably together with the project manager): Which skills are required in the project team of such a project -- IT knowledge, change management expertise, people with a lot of experience from each department, etc.?
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Does the project have the necessary support within your organization? If not, you might want to involve additional sponsors into the project.
- Do not intervene into the project competencies without any reason! The worst thing that can happen to a project is the following: the manager intervenes as patriarch and manages the project "her/his way" for two to four weeks.