Project Review & Recovery
According to research findings from PM Solutions’ Strategies for Project Recovery research. With so much at stake, fast action is the key to avoiding losses associated with project failures.
PM Solutions’ project recovery experts begin by reviewing of the project’s current state to identify the areas in jeopardy. Common areas of concern often include issues with scope, resource availability and/or capability, roles and responsibilities, and project monitoring and control. We will present our assessment to the senior leadership team recognizing the project’s accomplishments to date, while calling out the major issues that caused it to veer off track. A corrective plan is provided as part of this presentation.
Once the plan is accepted by the organization, our recovery experts will lead the turnaround initiative, or you may choose to have us mentor your project team through the recovery process.
Common Symptoms of Troubled Projects
Critical issues in meeting milestones or completing deliverables
High risk of non-delivering anticipated benefits
Resources are not fully allocated to the project
The project is consistently behind its planned schedule
They are critical and/or significantly growing technical issues with the project
Top 5 Actions Taken to Recover Projects
Improving communication, stakeholder management
Redefining the project—reducing the scope, re-justifying the project financially
Adding and/or removing resources
Resolving problematic technical issues
Replacing the project manager or bringing in a consultant to manage recovery.
Project Portfolio Management Assessment
PM Solutions assesses your current project portfolio management processes and, in collaboration with you, identifies the appropriate level of PPM discipline for your organization. We then apply our best-in-class Project Portfolio Management Maturity Model to determine your current PPM capability and identify process gaps between your organization’s current state and desired future state. We provide the roadmap for improvements and work with you to develop the implementation plan.
Portfolio Process Improvement
Results from the assessment are used to define an approach to improve your organization’s ongoing portfolio management practices. PM Solutions partners with you on the development and delivery of the recommended approach and improvement plan, including a cost/benefit analysis for taking the next steps in optimizing your PPM practices that yields better alignment with your business objectives.
We help you integrate your PM and PPM processes to enable you to select the best project portfolio aligned to your strategic plan. Forecasting and optimizing the use of available resources is an integral part of PPM. Monitoring project and portfolio performance ensures investment decisions remain the best choices in your changing world. Portfolios are continually evaluated. Prioritization is an iterative process and your portfolio must be re-prioritized as business conditions, resources, and budgets change.
Portfolio Reporting & Analysis
Without a well-defined information gathering and analysis structure for project portfolio reporting, the execution of PPM will produce disappointing results. PM Solutions will work with you to customize and implement our five-level portfolio reporting model. We establish value and performance measures at the project, program, and portfolio levels, and then create analysis mechanisms to provide outcome visibility at the department and corporate levels. Analysis includes productivity, resource management, customer satisfaction, financial evaluations, macro-categorization comparisons, ROI, and more; all customized to assist you in managing the demands of your unique business. Plan your success, measure it, and manage it.
Portfolio Improvement Execution
PM Solutions provides you with guidance and implementation support to quickly deploy the PPM improvement recommendations. Activities typically include:
Establishment or refinement of portfolio governance policies
Alignment of portfolio decisions to strategic business goals
Portfolio and program prioritization and selection facilitation
Portfolio Review Board session facilitation
Portfolio and project communication management
Optimized resource planning including “what if” scenarios
Portfolio performance management
PPM software tool selection and process implementation
PPM workshops, training, and mentoring for executives, management, and staff
PPM adoption and change management
Project Management Methodology Implementation
PM Solutions can develop methodology and process to meet your organizations needs by taking into account the size of your project portfolio, complexity and duration of projects/programs, and your current operational model (are you growing or are you contracting). It’s important to have the right level of process, associated with the appropriate artifacts and tools, to enable your project teams to deliver. There’s no need to start from scratch. We will evaluate the current state of your processes and utilization across your organization. Our expert consultants come equipped with a toolkit of processes, forms, and templates to draw from that can be used to subsidize what you already have. The key is to have the right level of process to maintain control and deliver projects in an expedient manner.
The deployment of methodology is not a one-time effort. Once you have a process and artifacts developed, they must be deployed. Different methods can be used to deploy new process and standards within an organization. Some examples are classroom training, workshops, and lunch and learns. Coaches are highly recommended to work alongside Project and Program Managers in a group setting or on a one-on-one basis to ensure that the methodology is properly put into practice. To support natural attrition within an organization, we can provide a new hire orientation process to make transitions smoother.