It is a fact that there will be many changes during the life of a project that will impact the plan. However, just because there is change, it does not necessarily mean that a change request should be raised to rebaseline a project.

Unfortunately, as soon as it becomes clear that the current plan cannot be achieved,  the first reaction of the project manager and project team is to seek to raise a change request. These requests usually do not face much challenge from the sponsor and are accepted.

While having a robust Change Control Process is an important project management tool, it does not mean that it should be used all of the time to return a project to “Green”. In fact, change requests should only be used when all other options have been explored.

This post is going to share some of the techniques to use to challenge and identify options to return a project to “Green” without having to raise a change request. You will also find a free template download at the end of the blog post that summarises the important points on a single page.

When a project identifies that it cannot achieve the current plan, the following can be used to identify options to return the plan to being on target.

1.     Identify Critical Tasks

This is very important. In any project plan, tasks are not equal. Some will naturally be more important than others. Therefore, it is vital that you identify the critical tasks to achieve the required outcome.

This should be done with the project team and appropriate subject matter experts. Each task should be reviewed, and then a decision should be made if it is required to achieve the project outcome.

The natural reaction of the sponsor and team is that they are all required. However, by asking probing questions, it should be possible to work out what is really critical to deliver the outcome.

2.     Review Scope

It is important to understand the scope of the project, specifically what is required to deliver the project. This will make it easier to identify the critical tasks.

Part of this review may mean that the scope of the project is reduced. If this is the case and it changes the business case (especially benefits), then you will still need to raise a Change Request to formally recognise the change in what will be delivered.

3.     Review Plan Sequence

When you have confirmed the scope and identified critical tasks, it is time to review the sequence of the project plan.

The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a good technique. This allows for the critical path of the project to be identified. Then each of the tasks on the critical path can be reviewed to see if they can be started early, if dependencies can be removed, etc.

You can learn more about the Critical Path Method (CPM) in the post, Overview of the Critical Path Method (CPM in Project Management.

4.     Allocate More Resources

Review each critical activity and determine if allocating more resources to complete the tasks earlier is possible. This may mean reassigning resources from other activities (i.e., the tasks deemed not critical in the task review).

The other option is to add additional resources to the project. However, this will require examination of the project budget. The allocation of additional resources may mean that additional budget is required. If this is the case, then you will need to raise a Change Request to secure more budget.

5.     Work Extended Hours

This is a variation of allocating more resources. In this scenario, teams will be asked to work longer days or even on weekends.

This can be utilised for short periods of time. However, relying on this for longer periods of time will lead to team burnout, meaning they become less productive or even ill.

There may be budget implications depending on the nature of the contract for each employee.

6.     Increase Team Productivity

While the project may have all the identified resources, it is important that the team is delivering the required level of productivity.

If a project has been planned on 7 or 8-hour days (although this is not recommended, as explained in the post, Why You Should Not Plan Your Projects on 8-Hour Days), this requires project team members to deliver 7 – 8 hours of productivity.

Unfortunately, this will not be the case every day. People are unique, and some will naturally be more productive than others.

Where productivity is not as expected, identify the reasons:

  • Team Morale – Is the team demotivated?
  • Organisation Challenges – are there processes and procedures impacting progress?
  • Poor Performance – are some team members just not working hard enough?
  • Skill Gap – does the team have the required skills to complete the tasks in the estimated time?
  • Personal Issues – It is important to be mindful that there may be external reasons (relationship, health, etc.) that may impact performance.

Identifying the root cause of the productivity issues may allow steps to be taken to improve performance.

Summary

It is important to remember that just because a project is moving off track, it does not mean that a Change Request is the first option.

Using the techniques contained within this blog will help explore options to return the project to “Green” without the need to raise a Change Request.

  1. Identify Critical Tasks
  2. Review Scope
  3. Review Plan Sequence
  4. Allocate More Resources
  5. Work Extended Hours
  6. Increase Team Productivity

Adopting these practices should help with the successful completion of your projects to the agreed plan.

Pre-Change Control Checklist Template

If you would like a single-page template of the key points in this blog post, please click the following link to download your copy.

>>Pre-Change Control Checklist Template Download<<