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9 - When It All Falls Apart: Diagnosing Project Problems

Charter: If a written project charter has not been completed, is it time to stop and prepare one? Is the charter clear and specific? Has the project objective and scope/schedule/budget been clearly stated? Is there a clear linkage between the project and hospital’s strategy, goals and objectives?

Executive Sponsorship: Is the project still a priority for the Executive Sponsor? Are meetings between the Executive Sponsor and project leader/manger happening at least every two weeks? Are executive sponsors visibly supporting the project with all stakeholders?

Project Leadership/Management: Does the project leader/project manager clearly understand and support the scope, schedule and budget for this project? Does he/she/they have the skills to manage this project?

Project Team: Are team members devoting adequate time and attention to the project to meet the scope and schedule? Do their supervisors fully support their participation on the team? Does the team understand and support the objective and project plan? Are there players missing that are critical to the project’s success? Does the team have the technical and/or interpersonal skills to pull it off?

Scope/Schedule/Budget: Has the scope of the project changed without consideration for impact on schedule or budget? Is the schedule and budget appropriate for the objective and scope?

Project Plan: Are project problems identified and addressed in a timely manner? Has a plan with weekly and monthly milestones been established? Has the project leader/manager been making at least bi-weekly reports against that plan?

Issues Management: Are issues being resolved in a timely manner or are unresolved issues threatening to overwhelm the project?

Risk Assessment: What are the relative costs and benefits of proceeding with the project? What are the costs and benefits of changing the objective and/or scope/schedule/budget of the project?

Revising the Project Plan: Have we identified a course of action for getting the project on track? If so, has the project plan been modified accordingly? If not, what is being done to contain the negative effects while we make a decision and modify the plan?

Contingencies Create Soft Landings: Do we have an option if we decide to pull the plug on the project? If so, is it time to seriously evaluate the contingency? If not, is it time to create contingency options that can be exercised if needed?