Project Recovery
Business transformation programmes involve multiple teams working together to deliver meaningful change to an organisation that adds value. Such change requires major investment, any failure to achieve the right outcome is hugely costly and causes major long term problems. Harness offer a full programme and project recovery service to get them back on track.
The Signs a Programme is in Trouble
There is rarely a single point of failure. The success of complex programmes involves large teams working together across different projects to achieve an agreed set of goals, usually with technology at the centre. If any area does not perform to expectation, the value of the programme is compromised and investment wasted. Flexibility and reacting to external factors may not be easy for the teams, understanding priorities and adapting quickly might not be something they have experienced.
Spotting the signs that a project is in trouble may not be easy. Those closest to the work may often miss the indicators that something is wrong, while from outside, issues may be clearly visible.
Inward indicators that goals will not be met include missed milestones, scope creep and costs increasing. As risk and issues mount up, team moral will suffer and may become despondent and disconnected from their work. This can be a signal that the project is failing, as a lack of commitment will accentuate issues and accelerate the problems.
There is rarely just one cause for such problems, more often it is a combination of factors that require outside assistance to diagnose and repair. As an independent voice, Harness’ can gather information below the radar, and feed information about progress back to programme executives to help them make better decisions.
Recovering a Failing Project
Rather than simply pulling the plug on activity and bringing the project to an immediate halt, our approach acknowledges that not everything that has gone before is wasted and recognizes there are in fact 4 pillars that need to be addressed:
- Control
- Technology and Data
- Business Processes
- People
Success, and project recovery, is not just about having a technology solution that works, it is about bringing that technology and business together so that new ways of working are underpinned by the technology solution.
Our experienced consultants work with the key stakeholders within the project teams to diagnose the causes (rather than the symptoms) of a failing project. They perform a full analysis of the programme artifacts and goals that are being worked toward and create a recovery plan that restarts communication and delivery within the business.
