Table of Contents
Introduction
Irrespective of how well a project is planned, there are different issues which can suddenly arise and cause a project to delay. Therefore, it is imperative to acknowledge that project delays are caused by many reasons and need to be managed efficiently to avoid losses (Wearne, 2006). Besides, different project managers are concerned with how to efficiently manage a project in case of a delay, an issue that calls for re-organization of the schemes. Besides, different theories are suggesting that projects have a lot of uncertainties, hence the need to identify appropriate management strategies to overcome the issue (Tiwari & Johari, 2015). This paper seeks to identify suitable means through which projects can be re-organized to meet the set deadline in case of the deadline to avoid further losses.
Re-organizing a project
In case of delay or an emergency, it is worth acknowledging that project stakeholders can fix the set deadlines by identifying causes and creating practical solutions. Some of the important attributes accomplished in the process include the review of the progress made and understanding some of the issues that have contributed to the stated delay and how they can be overcome.
The first step in the process entails revisiting of the project goals. The project should ensure that irrespective of an emergency, all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the project goals. Therefore, project goals have to be scheduled; analysis of the project scope and expected results to help provided the project team with a sense of direction. Therefore, the project manager has to review the original plan to identify areas that have been affected by the emergency. Results from the analysis need to be shared with the project teams to ensure that everyone has a shared understanding of the problem and possible strategy that can help overcome the challenge to avoid any delay whatsoever (Carroll & Morris, 2015).
The second step is re-prioritization of the remaining work. In this step, the project team has to identify to understand the important work that ought to be done and how it will be accomplished to avoid project delay. This includes involvement of essential clients in the re-prioritization of the project phases. Nonetheless, it is worth appreciating that the project stakeholders have to efficiently understand important issues that need to be accomplished during the step.
Another significant step in the process entails re-doubling communication. Apparently, communication is key to the success of any project. Therefore, to avoid project delay during an emergency, it is critical to engage in effective communication to make all the project stakeholders have a shared understanding of the project progress. However, in the process, the project managers ought to outline issues such as missed meeting and dropped assignments and share essential items that ought to be accomplished as per the schedule.
Furthermore, project delays have been found to be caused by lack of adequate involvement of all the project stakeholders. Therefore, with project delay, it is necessary for the concerned stakeholders to re-engage the client (Arnold, 2016). The rationale for this vital step is to help avoid miscommunication and waste of resources on dropped plans or activities. Therefore, the process requires an effective appraisal of the project goals to keep all he concerned stakeholders abreast of the project progress.
Re-scoping the project is another significant aspect that out to be addressed in case of project delay due to an emergency. Besides, projects are always subject to change ad may encounter un-anticipated changes, an issue that contributes to project delays. It is, therefore, necessary for the project management to engage in effective explanation of the constant changes that have been introduced and how they can be managed to realize the development goals. However, the process requires clarification on the original scope and explanation of the progress that has been achieved so far towards realizing the project goals. Moreover, concerned stakeholders need to indicate the necessary changes that have been embraced to ensure that the project is returned to schedule as required.
It is worth acknowledging that project can make up for lost time in two major ways which include expanding the project team or investing more resources, funds in the plan. To avoid delay, projects ought to introduce more people, an aspect that is often referred to as the crush project. However, the project manager should ensure that they do not overload their resources to avoid losses. For instance, when incorporating more people or resources to the project, the process need to be accomplished professionally to avoid waste of project resources. Moreover, there is need to engage in constant forecasting of project capacity for the respective teams and individuals, an objective that can be achieved through the resource management software.
Reconnecting with the project team remains to be an essential step in project management. Besides, although meetings are understood to waste a lot of project resources and effort, if effectively managed, they have a positive impact on project management. This includes regular meeting to ensure that all project stakeholders have adequate information on the project progress. This include preparation of project agenda, and schedule on how the stet events will be accomplished.
Nonetheless, it worth acknowledging that contingency can make project managers to re-schedule deadline to avoid delay. This includes a review of the workload to accomplish the project and adequate allocation of time that can be used in the process. However, when estimating the new deadlines, project managers need to take different factors into consideration which include workload, budget, project expectations and resource availability which can be injected into the project to help prevent delays. However, the project manager needs to justify the proposed deadline and make sure that the team is set to meeting the new deadline.
Project Gantt Chart
Conclusion
From the study, it is evident that project delay is caused by different aspects, an issue that calls for an efficient re-organizing strategy to avoid delay. However, in most projects, the main approach used includes investing in more people or inclusion of more resources. Although expensive, the strategy has proved effective in the past, an aspect that has been appreciated by different scholars.
- Arnold D., (2016). How to Save a creative Project When You miss a Deadline.
- Carroll, J., & Morris, D. (2015). Agile project management in easy steps. In Easy Steps.
- Tiwari, S., & Johari, S. (2015). Project scheduling by integration of time cost trade-off and constrained resource scheduling. Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India): Series A, 96(1), 37-46.
- Wearne, S. H. (2006). Managing unexpected urgent projects: integrating stakeholders and change management issues. Project Management Journal, 37(5), 97–102.