Rescuing a troubled project begins with rebuilding trust, fuelled by clarity, swift action, strong leadership and emotional intelligence. This foundational trust paves the way for a well-defined action plan and fulfilling commitments.
Digital transformation projects, particularly those involving data, can face serious challenges due to several factors, including:
- Unfulfilled or unclear expectations: Unclear expectations lead to misalignment. Business users anticipate specific outcomes, but these aren’t always effectively communicated. Technology teams, especially in product ownership, are crucial in translating these into technical terms while communicating what is feasible. Once clarified, this information must be conveyed clearly for both parties to understand.
- Project scope and planning: The project’s scope must align with expectations, as any misalignment can affect delivery schedules and timelines. Lack of clarity around expectations and dependencies can create significant scope gaps, disrupting the project plan.
- Resource and capability gaps: A team lacking the necessary skills can encounter further complications. Sometimes, it’s not a lack of capability, but rather that team members are assigned roles that do not align with their strengths.
- Miscommunication: Technical teams often underestimate the effort and complexities involved, leading to overpromised deliverables. Additionally, they may fail to communicate progress effectively to relevant stakeholders.
The first step is recognising these challenges. The next is navigating them effectively through focused, collaborative recovery efforts.
Start by evaluating the current situation. Identify what has gone wrong due to inadequate planning, resource shortages, vague goals, or miscommunication. Collect feedback from team members and stakeholders for a comprehensive understanding and prepare a stakeholder map to prioritise their interests.
After identifying issues, prioritise them. Concentrate on critical tasks that have a direct impact on timelines or quality. Review the project plan and redefine scope if necessary. Sometimes, achieving success means doing fewer tasks but executing them better.
Effective communication is vital during project recovery. Regularly update stakeholders to restore trust and involve them in key decision-making.
Finally, closely monitor progress. If possible, remain adaptable and responsive to changes. Stakeholders want to witness a history of delivery and a clear path moving forward. Once this framework is established, trust returns, enabling the project to achieve successful and meaningful outcomes.
Case Study – A Data Project in Trouble
A prominent ASX-listed client recently brought us in to help with a project that was facing difficulties. The client’s digital teams had committed to producing a large number of reports in a short timeframe, yet there was minimal progress. As deadlines neared, key stakeholders grew anxious, leading to a breakdown of trust between the parties involved.
When we completed the initial assessment, the project struggled with unmet expectations, scope creep and widespread miscommunication. Although the team possessed remarkable strengths and excellent technology adoption, our assessment revealed that the core issues were not technical but cultural.
Our first step was establishing key milestones and deliverables required at each, evaluating capability gaps and effectively communicating this information to the steering committee. This seemingly simple approach initiated a positive shift and began to rebuild trust.
We assigned clear responsibilities and established short-term, achievable goals to generate momentum. Analysts were dedicating too much time to testing rather than engaging with stakeholders. This led to a clear delineation of roles and the formation of specialised data testing teams, allowing analysts to concentrate on their development deliverables. It was also crucial to rally the teams around leadership, so members felt confident that progress was being made in the right direction. We specifically identified analysts who contributed significantly to the project and invited them to present solutions at steering committee meetings.
We also organised regular working group meetings, bringing together key business stakeholders, analysts, engineering teams, and testers to address and resolve issues collaboratively in real time. This fostered momentum and we began to see deliverables completed swiftly. It empowered the team with the necessary tools and support and cultivated a collaborative environment encouraging creative problem-solving.
The key lies in maintaining focus, being realistic and confidently leading. Ultimately, it may not just be the right technology or project management methods that illuminate the path to recovery but rather the inherent human qualities, clarity, empathy, confidence and collaboration that often turn the project around.