Donato BlandolinoA project that has gone off track does not need a new plan, but decisions and an honest status assessment. Four measures and a ten-day plan for recovery.
How many days does a project that has just gone off track have before it is beyond saving? Fewer than most people think. And the first ten determine whether it will be rescued or merely prolonged.
The answer is uncomfortable because it contradicts the usual reflex: when a project goes off track, a new plan is drawn up. That is precisely the mistake. A new plan built on an existing backlog of decisions is just a more attractive route to the same outcome. In this article, we at SMART iNTERIM show what to do in the first ten days, what not to do, and how to tell whether your project can still be saved.
What really ails a project that has gone off track
When we take over a project, it was almost always still green yesterday. The plan exists. So do the resources. There is usually even a good team. What is missing is something else: decisions that nobody has owned for weeks, and a status report that nobody believes any more.
These two symptoms are connected. Where decisions are left unresolved, those involved learn that reporting achieves nothing. So they stop reporting. The status stays green because amber means trouble and red means the end of a career. Until the project turns red overnight, and everyone acts surprised.
That is why our recovery work never starts with a new plan, but with four things that can be done in ten days.
The four measures for the first ten days
Every outstanding decision gets an expiry date.
48 hours. Anyone who has not made a decision by then has decided that programme management will do it. That sounds harsh, but in practice it is a relief, because most decisions are not difficult, just uncomfortable. As soon as it becomes clear that sitting it out is no longer an option, they suddenly get made.
Every work package gets a name.
Not a department, not a pair, not a committee. One person. Two people accountable means nobody accountable, because each assumes the other is taking care of it. This can be done in an hour and changes the dynamics of the entire project.
Status reporting switches to the truth.
From now on, amber means: a risk is known. Not: it has materialised. And amber has no consequence other than help. Anyone reporting amber gets support, not questions about blame. From the day that becomes credible, people start reporting again, and programme management sees problems while they are still inexpensive to resolve.
The weekly meeting asks a different question.
No longer “Where do we stand?”, but “Where are you stuck, and who can resolve it?” The difference sounds small. It changes what is discussed in the room: not completion percentages, but blockers and who will remove them.
The ten-day plan at a glance
| Timeframe | What happens | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 2 | Gather all outstanding decisions, assigning each an expiry date and a decision-maker. Review all work packages, assigning each a name. | Decision list with 48-hour deadlines, accountability list with no departments |
| Days 3 to 5 | Introduce and explain the traffic-light rule: amber for a known risk, with no penalty. First meeting in the new format. The first decisions are made by their owners or by programme management. | Honest status reporting, usually with considerably more amber than before, as intended |
| Days 6 to 10 | Work through the blockers raised in the meeting. The decision backlog is cleared. Only now: update the plan to reflect the actual situation. | A plan built on decisions rather than hope |
Planning only starts once this is in place. Before that, every deadline shift merely postpones the problem.
What must not happen in the first ten days
Three things are tempting and harmful.
- Drawing up a new plan. This is the reflex, and it is reassuring because it shows activity. But a plan built on the same unresolved decisions will go off track again, only later and at greater cost.
- Looking for someone to blame. At some point, it is legitimate to ask who got the project into this situation. In the first ten days, it is fatal because it silences precisely the people who should now be reporting honestly.
- Adding more resources. More people on a project with an unresolved decision backlog means more people waiting. Capacity only helps once it is clear who makes the decisions.
How to tell whether a project can still be saved
Not every project that has gone off track can be saved, and the ten days reveal that too. Three signs suggest it can: the 48-hour deadlines are met, so the decision-makers want to make decisions. The status turns amber, so the team has regained its confidence to speak up. And blockers are named in the meeting that nobody had voiced before.
If none of the three signs is present after ten days, the problem is not within the project, but above it. Then the honest recommendation is not “carry on”, but “start afresh or stop”. That too is recovery, just a different kind.
Projects do not fail because the plan was wrong. They fail because nobody was there when it became wrong.
Which decision in your organisation has currently had no owner for more than 48 hours?
Frequently asked questions
What is project recovery?
The structured takeover of a project or programme that is missing its objectives or is at risk of doing so, with the aim of bringing it back under control. Unlike ongoing project management, recovery does not start with planning, but with restoring the ability to make decisions and honest status reporting.
How long does it take to stabilise a project that has gone off track?
The ability to make decisions can be restored in ten days if expiry dates, individual accountability, honest traffic-light reporting and a different meeting format are introduced consistently. Whether the project subsequently achieves its objective depends on its starting position, but whether it is back under control becomes clear after ten days.
Why is a new project plan the wrong first step for a project that has gone off track?
Because a plan only sets out what is supposed to happen, not who makes decisions when things get stuck. Projects that have gone off track almost always suffer from unresolved decisions and a status report that nobody believes. A new plan changes none of that; it merely shifts the date when it becomes apparent again.
What does the 48-hour rule mean?
Every outstanding decision gets a deadline of 48 hours and a named decision-maker. Anyone who does not decide by then leaves the decision to programme management. The rule works because most decisions are not difficult, just uncomfortable, and sitting it out is no longer an option.
About SMART iNTERIM
SMART iNTERIM Management is a transformation partner for manufacturing: Operational Transformation, SAP and Enterprise Transformation, Program & Project Management, as well as Interim Management and Executive Search. We bring hands-on experience, not a detached perspective. Headquartered in Switzerland, with an office in Dubai.
