5 corrective action for project delay.docx

During an interview I was once asked, "What are 5 corrective actions for a project that is showing signs that it may be completed late?" What would your response be? I know that it may depend, this is all the information that I was given. 19 days ago

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Narayanan R, Patricia R. Malone and 18 others like this 88 comments • Jump to most recent comments

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Kiron Bondale, PMP, PMI-RMP • Chris Assuming a late completion is absolutely unacceptable (i.e. schedule is a fixed constraint) or can't be negotiated, four choices are (in no specific order of priority) if you are confident that you will in fact complete late are: 1. Reduce scope 2. Crash the schedule assuming additional resources can be assigned 3. Jettison all unnecessary (as decided by the appropriate decision makers!) delivery processes 4. Optimize the schedule by looking for opportunities to overlap activities Kiron 19 days ago• Like

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Sylvain Costy, PMP • Hi, You should identified the reason for the late. Ressources skills, requirements continuously changing... Once identified, you can put in place corrective actions on scope, hr, budget... Regards 18 days ago• Like

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Stephen Wall • There's always throw more money at it to increase resources. 18 days ago• Like

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Chris Baeckstrom • You can reduce quality, such as less testing. Not recommended but it's an option. 18 days ago• Like

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Jim Ward • The book (PMBOK) answer is, in order: 1. Fast tracking 2. Crashing 3. Reducing scope If those don't work, 4. extending the schedule (even if unacceptable to management) 5. If the project is virtual, you could try co-location. As the question asks about corrective actions, I did not discuss root cause analysis. There are many potential reasons why projects are behind schedule, but there are few viable corrective actions available. 18 days ago• Like

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Steve Blais • Thinking out of the box and facetiously: 1. Negotiate a later deadline 2. Hide the signs so no one else can see them 3. Redefine the project as agile since the agile proponents claim you can never be late when you are using agile 4. Pick up a day by moving your project team to another time zone 5. Make a list of all the people you can blame if the signs are right, and in the meantime assume the signs are wrong 18 days ago• Like

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Adrian Lamond • @ Steve, Sounds like some CEO's I have met, but seems a wee bit cynical to me. 1. Redefine priority work's - what don't you need to complete on schedule. 2. Find the bottle neck - Who (Most of the time) or what is causing the delay 3. Remove said delay from equation. No need for 4 and 5 - If your not on track by now, then you have missed your deadline. 18 days ago• Like

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Geoff Anderson • Some interesting perspectives! 18 days ago• Like

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Beri Lainjo • Chris B. The thought of recommending quality reduction on the project we are working on right now truly makes me cringe! I would really tread very lightly on that recommendation. 17 days ago• Like

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Jim Ward • Reducing quality invariably extends, not shortens, the project schedule. As Jerry Weinberg has written: "The number one reason for late delivery is poor quality. The number one reason for poor quality is rush to delivery." 16 days ago• Like

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Tahir Hussain • In my opinion, following actions merit consideration: 1. Identify bottlenecks and clear them 2. Revisit scope and key milestones, prioritize them 3. Augment additional resource, if it can make difference 4. Involve team members, seek their input to devise fast tracked execution plan 16 days ago• Like

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Muhammad Naveed Saeed, PMP • 1- Check Cost Perfromance Index (CPI) 2- Check Schedule Performance Index (SPI) 3- Perform Schedule Compression (Depending on CPI & SPI) 4- Perform Fast Tracking (Depending on CPI & SPI) 5- Perform Risk Management while Fast Tracking & Schedule Compresion 16 days ago• Like

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Hussein Abu Hamad , BSc, PMD • 1. try to overlap the activities and close attention should be on critical path tasks.

2. improve the productivity for the labors and staff by giving some incentives. 3. increase the resources if the delays damages are more than the add. resources to avoid LD. 4. start working and focus on building a strong case, as this should be done even before, for extension of time claim (ETC), revise the programe and proposing new completion date for the project by proper, good documents and records. 5.sub-contracting part of the work. 16 days ago• Like

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manchala jayaraju PMP • First you shall ask the interviewer whether your appointment is from the start of the project or from the situation you are provided with.Then you shall answer 1) If i was from the start of the project then I shall start by saying I would not have let it happen except for the factors beyond my control i.e. acts of gods(this statement may show your confidence).I will analyse the situation from our side i.e reasons for the delay and then shall inform the client about the delay if the client accept for the delay then there shall be extension of time.otherwise we will be left with options of "fastracking" & " crashing" resulting in adding extra resources leading to extra cost for the activities on critical path. 2)From the stage where the project situation is provided then you shall answer that I should first check the schedule i.e.whether the schedule was done with any buffer attached to it otherwise then I will follow the same as said in point 1 from " I will analyse ........ and so on. 15 days ago• Like

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Oliver Williamson MEng • Another thought - if the project is part of a larger portfolio, and assuming the project in question should take priority, redistribute and change the timing of resource allocation (technical, facilities etc as well as heads). If there are any limiting resources that are being demanded by projects outside of the portfolio but within the same company, this could again be applied; however this would require buy in from portfolio/programme managers and would not be likely to be a successful suggestion without very senior backing. 14 days ago• Like

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Chuck Lane • I'm going to endorse the early reply of Sylvain Costy. Many of the other responses in the thread are excellent activities - if you know WHY the project is showing signs of late delivery. The first action item is to analyze the cause - were bounding assumptions incorrect, did the requirements change, was the technology inappropriate, has the organization itself changed? Without answering these and a few other questions, you really can't say whether fast tracking, descoping or another response is truly appropriate. 14 days ago• Like

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Howard Wiener, MSIA, PMP • I also have to endorse what @Sylvain has recommended with a heavy emphasis on identifying and addressing the cause of the project's running late. Trying to fit a one-size-fits-all prescription to an open-ended situation, however, isn't doable. Every feasible solution to the set of scope limitations, cost saving modifications or acceleration options that will result in a completed project on time or budget with the maximum possible scope (and good quality) falls somewhere in a preference range that differs from case to case. The best answer accounts for the sponsor's constraints, needs and preferences. What is most important is early recognition and action! Making a moderate course correction early beats having to make a severe one later in the project on almost any measure. At a minimum, communicating and resetting expectations as soon as a problem is recognized, however painful it might be at the time, can do a lot to minimize dissatisfaction with the process of deciding on and making the necessary modifications. No one likes negative surprises. 14 days ago• Like

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Benjamin Piper • Considering the question came up during a job interview, I recommend text book responses like crashing and fast tracking. But, more importantly, I would emphasize my ability to identify the problem, potential solutions based on past experiences as a PMP and consider "internal options" that are not impacting cost, notifying customer (yet), etc and getting the project back on schedule. Some examples are internal resource reallocation, internal SME to resolve technical issues to save time, re-evaluation of buffers and contingency resources, etc. 14 days ago• Like

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Benjamin Piper • Considering the question came up during a job interview, I recommend text book responses like crashing and fast tracking. But, more importantly, I would emphasize my ability to identify the problem, potential solutions based on past experiences as a PMP and consider "internal options" that are not impacting cost, notifying customer (yet), etc and getting the project back on schedule. Some examples are internal resource reallocation, internal SME to resolve technical issues to save time, re-evaluation of buffers and contingency resources, etc. 14 days ago• Like

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Rajani Boyapati • If i was in your shoes, i will pick these 5 corrective actions in this order: 1) Document late delivery as risk and proceed with risk assessment 2) Review Baselines, actual status and update forecasts 3) Inform key stakeholders of the risk impact and mitigation options 4) Focus on mitigation option they selected and track delivery - could be fast tracking or crashing 5) Track the risk on weekly basis and identify alternate mitigation options 14 days ago• Like

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Cat Huang • I agree with Howard, and my reply as below: 1. Find out the cause/root of project delay. 2. Find out the solution, reset the milestone, review the cost, and ensure all the reletive parties well understand the situation and know what's next and how to do. 3. Impletment the solution/alter plan (inclusive re-training, recurrent, OT, plan adjustment and new tech). 4. Keep mornitor the process, cost, activities ensure all under order and control. 5. Keep scanning the project activities and anticipate any problem will be occured, make adjustment to avoid the problem happen. Thereare all kinds of problems and causes/roots caused the project delay or even fail. However, the real challenge for project managers, not find out and record the problem, but anticipate problems, control and solve problems. 14 days ago• Like

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Jay Roberds • Excellent open ended interview question. From the answer, I could see if the PM would simply identify problem and ask for a change in constraints (and expect future problems), or truly understand the balance required in managing a project. You could be tempted to say, "I don't know, I've never had a project delayed." (followed with a really big grin) Or, you could lead in with the typical causes behind delayed projects: vague requirements, changing sponsor priorities and requirements, bad estimates, competence shortages, poor planning for internal / external dependencies and lead times, ... and then follow many of the earlier posted comments of communicating, identify problem, discuss alternatives, review your plans for future problems, agree on direction, and doing a better job yourself. O, that's six, but a little humility at end never hurts. If you follow too much of a stock PM textbook answer, my next interview question will be "As the PM, why were you not already doing those things?" 13 days ago• Like

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Malcolm Peart • Projects are/can be/will be complicated. Why oh why do we expect that an aspirin (or five) will fix things! 13 days ago• Like

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Rick Robson • I agree with Sylvain. First you must know why the project is behind schedule. Analysis first: scope, resources, budget, schedule, risk. Then you can recommend corrective actions. 13 days ago• Like

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Michael J. Goddard • I'd answer the question with a question - "Do I have unlimited funds to correct the schedule?" Or "do I have enough ancillary budget to make the necessary changes to hit my firm end date? If yes, then... It's OT and crashing the schedule, working the weekends, 12 hour days, overlapping the tasks, etc. Of course - it's a trick question...if you're the PM and keeping an eye on your project, it shouldn't result in any earth shattering response unless you've overlooked the analysis of an extremely surprising risk not previously foreseen or experienced in similar prior projects. Otherwise, the PMBoK is pretty reliable. 13 days ago• Like

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Dimuthu Fernando • endorsing the early reply of Michel, if a late completion is unacceptable, I would ask the interviewer whether I have additional funds to correct the schedule without affecting the other key constraints. If money is not available I will have to negotiate for reducing scope or cut down on quality which is not recommended and if funds are available I would go with crashing, fast tracking, optimizing the schedule in critical path and also analyzing the reason for late completion. 13 days ago• Like

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Omar Ali Beg, MS, PMP • Enough number of possible steps have been enumerated by various participants to tackle the above issue. I would only add that it is a situational question. First of all the core problem that is causing delay must be identified. Our response dependes upon the core problem and its level of impact. Because question being asked is about the corrective action, therefore, core problem must be addressed. Secondly, all the corrective actions that we take, their order (i.e. sequence) depends upon the priority order of the constraints i.e. time, cost, scope, quality, customer satisfaction, risk and resources. A good PM must already have this order on his table through proper commuincation with stakeholders. 13 days ago• Like

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Hilde Weisert • This is a great topic! The one recommendation I'd be wary of - adding resources to a late project can, we know (from experience, not just from The Mythical Man-Month), make it later. 12 days ago• Like

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Mark Heminway • Great interview question, as it will separate the technocrats from the people who can think strategically. I agree with those that say the first response to the question is why is it late? Many responses above look at the project plan itself or the technical aspects. But what if the answer is the project has lost its sponsorship, or budget, or is no longer practical in the original form, or the original specs weren't complete, the business model changed, etc.? Maybe the idea isn't about catching up, but maybe its about reevaluating it from the beginning? Are you able to do that? Or maybe the best answer is killing it gently, while saving the face of the senior execs... 12 days ago• Like

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abhimanyu Nowbuth • In pratice, adding resources to a late project is not a good idea. Very often, the resources do not know what needs to be done and it takes time to train them to achieve required results. The end result is the project gets late for sure. That's why, when managing project, we need to always on alert. Following are few things that I do to ensure on-time delivery: 1. Daily 5-minute meetings twice a day (one in morning and one late in the afternoon) with my team to ensure that a ) everyone knows what actions needs to be completed for the said day b ) I'm aware of any issue/obstacle so that corrective action can be taken promptly c ) everyone knows that I'm around to provide any required support and push to complete the assigned task (that's a very big motivational aspect for the team!) 2 Regular feedback from resources on the complexity of the tasks for future planning and raising of alerts in case I sense we might get late on delivery deadline 3. Assessing the progress of activities through project management tools such as Ms Project Management and Excel document (... and soon sharepoint)

4. Using QC and trac (an open source site) to track defects and their completion 5. Regular follow-ups with clients and resources on. 6. Compliance with company policies on leaves and use of time in a professional manner. Of course, there are more to it but it depends on projects' contexts also. 12 days ago• Like

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Hilde Weisert • Re (1) and (3) in Abhimanyu's post: a good collaborative pm tool where everyone on the team can see and update task completion, make status notes, etc (and is expected to do so) - vs a project plan that resides with the PM only - can save a lot of those daily meetings. For projects that aren't huge, I'm a big fan of Mindjet with web collaboration - flexible, visual, provides alerts to everyone, and allows having meetings focus on what you really need to talk through and not just status. 12 days ago• Like

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Michael Ballenger • How about an academic answer- If your 3 factors are time, cost and scope, you can only decrease your time by increasing cost or decreasing scope. SoCost- Crash the project, look at overtime, consider additional resources (hire temps or do a few short term contracts) Scope- Are we already experiencing scope creep and need to eliminate tasks that were not in the original agreement (or do we need to re-negotiate for additional funding or time)? Can a non-essential be eliminated? Finally, given the scope, did we just underestimate the time (and probably the cost) required to do the project? Are you willing to go before the management and say "I made a mistake"? 12 days ago• Like

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Oludemilade Adewumi • as stated by many already Crashing the schedule seems the obvious choice although root cause analysis may show more causes of delay which is not defined in the question. Fast tracking is also advisable and the old. Consulting the resource calendar to see if more resource allocation is possible. I wonder though if at such a stage Scope management practices to re-allign requirements can be applied? 12 days ago• Like

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David Hudson • I would add fast tracking to Kiron's original response. 12 days ago• Like

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Ali Kocanci • 1) identify problem with the team & stakeholders, document it, inform the sponsor (it would help cover ass later on) 2) Improve efficiency, increase working hours. follow everything closely, bring everyone in the team to the same page. make everyone aware, what is the problem and the requirements. Prevent any efficiency leakages and scope creep. handle&dismiss nonbelievers and saboteurs 3) Reduce scope (reduce quality with risk management knowing the fact, it's a risky path. dump anything unnecessary and small gain/cost ratio. try to convince client for a partial handover) 4) Fast track, crash schedule 5) Do contract management; exploit client's past actions to obtain a EOT 12 days ago• Like

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kesentseng moipolai • checking scope of work if it can be reduced or ,standard of machines or equipments /regular inspections ,budget also is involved and consider extending project end date .But reducing quality is can lead to rework even more damage or not up to standard work even more delay 12 days ago• Like

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Ali Kocanci • u're completelly right Kesentseng. But it is also a fact of life. it's practiced most of the cases. 12 days ago• Like

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Linda Sanner • Excellent thread - and something to think about. I agree with Silvain but would add one more component to the evaluation. Once you have the root cause(s), the team needs to re-evaluate their initial Risk Assessment and Risk Mitigation Plan to determine 1) Did they identify the risk in the first place? 2) Did they score it appropriately in terms of its potential effect on the project? 3) Was the Risk Mitigation Plan well designed? and if so, what went wrong during the execution of the Risk Mitigation Plan? 4) What could they have done differently during the planning phase of the project to avoid this in the first place. Too often I see projects taken to implementation but then it stops without an adequate post-evaluation of the project to capture those nuggets of wisdom that will make the next project run much more smoothly. 11 days ago• Like

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David Pope • A very simple answer, if you are asking the question and expecting an exact answer then I am being interviewed by an organisation that potentially has a culture in which I do not wish to work. Too many variables to give a precise answer and all of the above are correct. The only answer..it depends! A PM is qualified to be flexible and to improvise as needed to remedy any situation on any day and the decision will be made based upon what happens on that day. if you are at an interview then the chances are you have limited knowledge of the actual workings of the project. Until you have a better understanding of the real situation in totality....how can you answer accurately.

DP 11 days ago• Like

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Dorai Pichaiyan • There is no single answer to this puzzle as it varies from place to place and project to project. Here is my guidance though. 1. Current state - Assess progress to date, issues, risks impeding successful completion (on time and budget) 2. Chalk out action plan - Identify the corrective actions to get to the future state. Categorize them clearly as people, process, resource, scope, schedule etc. and assign/identify clear ownership. Gain management approval. 3. Communicate and gain consensus with the team and formulate specifics of execution. 4. Execute the action plan, stay tracked, adjust as necessary, recognize achievements and motivate them to rally around your plan. 5. Keep the senior management apprised of the incremental improvements so they are assured of eventual success. 11 days ago• Like

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Willis Carroll • 1. Reschedule the project using the CPM method 2. overlap activities 3. use float days if the lproject is late due to additions of the client then an extension of time should be granted without penalty 11 days ago• Like

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GRAHAM DAVIS • Stop the project on the finish date whilst confirming that all outstanding works are indeed additional works and issue claim for extensions. 11 days ago• Like

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Peter Bourey • If it were a government project expect be able to address this on an almost regular basis. With those types of contracts my first efforts would be at resetting customer expectations. Nearly every government contract I've been involved with changed scope because other agencies within the entity I was working for changed scope because their needs changed. If scope changes are due to the end user I am usually successful at resetting dates. So to agree with many the root cause of the delays must first be addressed before you can look at crashing your schedule or throwing more resources at it, which by the way affects the bottom line. 11 days ago• Like

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Sean Atchison • Well, I always go back to my holy triangle; you have scope, resources, time on each side and in the middle you have quality. Adjust one and it affects the others. Understand what the signs are saying and how each element is effected then make your trade off decisions. 11 days ago• Like

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Mario Civello, CMA • the most important step would be to communicate with the sponsor to explain issues, this will drive what your next 5 steps will be and you get better buy in from the team if they know the sponsor is in the loop. Far too often, I seen the next 5 steps implemented without any sponsor involvement. 11 days ago• Like

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Lee Josselyn • 1 Go back and verify that “show signs” is a legitimate delay (on the critical path) and by what magnitude 2 If legitimate, do to differing conditions out of your control, then seek change in cost/schedule 3 Look for opportunities to accelerate work (on the critical path) 4 Look for opportunities to overlap work activities (on the critical path) 5 Look for opportunities to change scope and/or method to shorted durations (on the critical path) 11 days ago• Like

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kurugodu vaadiraaju • First to identify reasons for the delay. Secondly check whether there is overlapping of activities. Thirdly check about the resources at your disposal like manpower, funds,materials and clearances from clients/ consultants and take steps set right and work in day and night shifts speed up the project 10 days ago• Like

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Adrian Iacomi • 1. (Try to) find why is going wrong 2. Damage control (and worst case scenario creation - if the perspectives are really gloomy) 3. Re-prioritize goals 4. Re-allocate resources 5.1 - Best case scenario - get back on track, and everybody is happy 5.2 - "Not so good" scenario - achieve the main goals, and re-schedule the secondary ones 6 (bonus): Analyze the why, when and who from the crisis, so a similar situation can be avoided. 10 days ago• Like

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Adnan Ahmad • 1.check what factors are can potential cause of delay. and then calculate amount of delay / deviation.. 2. meet with internal stakeholders meeting to reprioritize the goals n define action item 3. calculate project plan in light of decisions made and start implementation...

4. keep the followup and a have a check on progress 5. keep taking corrective actions where and when needed based on progress.. 10 days ago• Like

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Kang Karen • good topic. My inputs: 1, Trouble shooting: Identify the root cause of the delay, update project plan to better manage these potential issues to guarantee new plan can be secured. 2, Risk management: analyze current situation and update risk management plan with accurate risk score and mitigation plan. 3, Communication management: Analyze the impact of the delay, communicate with stake holders on the situation, best solution (tradeoff between schedule, scope and resource). 4, Fast tracking: keep close tracking on the project process at weekly base and communicate with all parties on any required supports. 9 days ago• Like

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Jim Ward • Regardless of the root cause of delays, there are a limited number of options that can be applied to getting a project back on schedule. All of these involve changing the relationships in the triple constraint. 9 days ago• Like

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Ian Guthrie • I would most closely endorse Rajaji's response in the circumstances of the question; most of the discussion here is about the mechanical tasks a competent PM should be doing in any case. Any prospective Employer is going to want to know that a potential employee will look after his and his client‟s interests first and not implement unwanted actions or a „cover-up‟. To a competent PM running late should not come as a shock and reasons for delay need to be understood and explained to stakeholders progressively. Given that „shocks‟ do sometimes occur, beyond the PM‟s normal balancing act (i.e. his basic commission), project appropriate corrective action options must be documented and put to the Stakeholders for their endorsement or you may find yourself wearing the costs associated.

9 days ago• Like

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Juan Carlos Romero • Excelentes sugerencias, tratando de ordenarlas: 1.- Diagnóstico 2.- Diseñar un Plan correctivo centrandose en los cuellos de botella detectados 3.- Mejorar el capital humano participante en el proyecto 4.- No se pueden modificar ni el presupuesto final del proyecto ni la fecha e entrega 5.- Eficiencia, eficacia y efectividad 9 days ago• Like

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Tang Hui • It is very common for complicated projects and for most of the time, the scheule should be corrected from time to time. For a fixed deadline, the corrections should include: more resources to put; more overlapping links to find out; higher efficiency teams to employee. Anyway, it means more money to be invested. 9 days ago• Like

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Stephen Reade, PMP • This is a GREAT question! Often, a lot of time that can be squeezed out of the tightest schedules. However, you need to answer two questions: 1. How do you know you are running late? Are you looking at the CP (critical path), EV (earned value) or RedYellow-Green Zones (Critical Chain)? 2. How much time do you need to deliver on time? Without a solid target, you won‟t know when you‟ve squeezed the schedule enough. (ALL of these recommendations presume you are working with tasks on the Critical Path (CPM) or Critical Chain (CCPM). 1. Did a vendor or external service provider deliver late? Go after them for some form of compensation. It could be a discount or refund – if so, you‟ve got more money in your budget to pay for additional help to speed-up the project.

Alternatively, they may offer their services (installation, eg) that you had planned to provide on your own. 2. Check your Risk Register: Risk is frequently offset by time buffers; if you have taken delivery, or delivery will come on time, you have just clawed-back some buffer time. As the project develops, many risk estimates can now be evaluated much more accurately, freeing-up more time. 3. Check your EV for budget performance. If you‟re under-budget, you‟ve got extra money to pay for extra (or more experienced) resources. Check the Contingency reserves; if the delay IS one of the identified risks that has now become a risk-event, the funds can ethically be used to acquire additional resources that could speed your project. 4. Look for people “on the bench”; that is, between tasks or otherwise idled. Even if they have inferior skills, they can off-load some work. Call-off all personal time, delay vacations, pull people out of training – it‟s an emergency and everyone must pitch-in. Stop ALL multi-tasking on any remaining CP/CC tasks. Multi-tasking is very inefficient, and you can‟t afford to lose any more time on the CP/CC. HOWEVER, initiate multi-tasking on non-CP/CC tasks as – by definition – they have time to spare and can tolerate inefficiency. 5. Change your task management methodology: ask, “how much longer until you finish?” NOT … will you make the due-date? Any saved time should be immediately passed-on, not lost by holding-back until the due-date. BONUS SUGGESTION: contact other PM‟s and do some “horse-trading”. Offer some of your “on the bench” staff in exchange for one or more of THEIR staff to augment your team. Or ... just ask to "borrow" someone on their staff for enough time to set things straight. 9 days ago• Like

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Cetin Keskiner • Dear Chris, My answer and action would be: 1-Make an emergency meeting (not regular!) with the Project Team. Share and communicate the signs with them as quick as possible. 2-Figure out corrective actions and decide on alternatives with the Project Team. (All actions must be about shortening critical path. It may be anything; reducing scope, adding extra contractors as resource, rescheduling, repriroritize the goals to accelerate and overlap the work activities etc.) 3-As soon as possible, Inform related stakeholders about the approaching problem, solution alternatives and main decision. 4-Execute! 5-Follow the progress! 9 days ago• Like

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Bob Shaw • Right on Chuck (Lane) and others. You can't really propose meaningful solutions without knowing the problem. Why is is late? My first answer to most questions is "it depends." Asking followup questions to better understand the situation, environment and overall problem space. 8 days ago• Like

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Hussein Abu Hamad , BSc, PMD • I agree with you Bob, we need to know first why is it delay and who does cause the delay.Since if the delay from the contractor side, the solution will different than the delay caused by the client or consultant sides or any other stakeholder of the project. It is important to know from which perspective and on which seat you are looking to the problem and frame the solution accordingly. 8 days ago• Like

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Peter Johns • There not saying its late, they are saying it MAYBE, so its at very early stage, my first instinct would be look at the schedule and analise what stage we are at compared to the schedule. Depending on the out come of the over all look ahead of the project 1: long lead items 2:Shift rotation 3:overlapping with out cauesing congestion 4:Stand over monitoring work activities 5:In crease work force All in all as i mentioned it would depend on the reason why it maybe late 4: 8 days ago• Like

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Stephen Reade, PMP • Bob: I'd be very careful with this question. I believe that ... in the real world of PM ... your answer is absolutely correct. However, the scenario is the job-hunting world, and the interviewer wants to know what solutions YOU can come-up with ... not your team, not the stakeholders, not with further clarifications from the interviewer. I see this as an attempt on the interviewer's part to find-out what specific approaches - management tools - you would potentially use, or, better yet, HAVE USED in previous PM jobs. The expectation, the reality is that ALL PM's will run into scheduling trouble - most projects are delivered late. All PM's must be able to draw on tools - a bag of tricks if you will - to turn things around without running back to "Mommy". You have to demonstrate you can stand on your own in the face of set-backs. Turn it around: YOU are the interviewer and have asked this question of two (or more) candidates. Who would you hire - the candidate/s that said, "I don't know, but I'll ask someone (a) you, (b) someone who might know, or (c) just ask more questions and hopefully get an indication or inspiration that might solve the problem?" I know I would hire the person who took the initiative, and had the personal experience or resources to say, "Here's options #1 - 5, I would immediately consider." or - better yet - "Here are solutions #1 - 5 that I have SUCCESSFULLY used on other assignments. Would you like an example or two showing how successful I was using them." Style-point here: " ... how successful I was using them" vs. " ... how successful they were." It's a turn-of-phrase that makes a BIG difference: " ... how successful they were" sounds thoughtful, considered, analytical, but I believe that the interviewer is hiring a PM, not "how successful THEY were". He/she/they want to know what YOU did, and how YOU did it; you need to inject your ego into this and OWN the outcome, not just speculate on possibilities ... or "options". Proven beats "possible" everyday. STRUT YOUR STUFF! Further, the "I'll ask another question" approach pretty much ends the conversation or - at a minimum - gives control of the interview BACK to the interviewer who might offer some additional information, or simply go on to another topic. You give up the chance to highlight your accomplishments. However, answering with specifics helps you keep control of the interview, and gives you the opportunity to showcase your thought process or previous successes. You keep the initiative (at least for awhile). Your response will be more confident, richer and immediately differentiate you - very positively from your more tentative or timid competitors. Let's face it; your boss wants as little involvement with the project's issues as possible, esp. negative issues. He/she/they want you to solve THEIR problems, not cart them back for help. Your call ...

From: The Project Manager Network - #1 8 days ago• Like

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Bob Shaw • Stephen - I agree. In the context of an interview, which is how this thread started, the interviewer wants to know what tools/techniques the candidate has at their disposal. "It depends based on..." should be followed with any number of the items others have listed in this thread. An answer like this would accentuate the fact your a thinking person and would start a dialog with stakeholders, leverage the team's knowledge AND have tools and techniques for addressing common causes of schedule issues. Good point Stephen. 8 days ago• Like

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SURESH KOPE • I WOULD TRY TO FIND OUT THE CAUSE OF DELAY.DELAY FROM CLIENT/CONTRACTOR/VENDOR ETC. ACCORDINGLY ACTION IS TO BE TAKEN TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. MANPOWER, EQUIPMENTS ETCRESOURCES TO BE INCREASED IF REQD. ALL DISCIPLINES TO BE CONSULTED AND MEETINGS ARE TO BE CONDUCTED WHEREIN EVEN THE FOREMAN IS ALSO TO BE INVITED. EVERY WEEK DELAYS TO BE REVIEWED AND PROBLEMS SOLVED. PROPER CO-ORDINATION IS A MUST IN SUCH TASK FORCE ACTIVITY.THERE HAS TO BE SUPPORT FROM TOP MANAGEMENT WITH FULL FREEDOM OF ACTION BY THE PM. MKSURESH 3-6-13 8 days ago• Like

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vemula anand • 1. revise your planning 2. revise your budget for more critical delayed items 3. allocate and reallocate more resources like manpower, better engineering options 4. high level communication and empowerment at lower levels.

5. outsource as much as u can and save time buy executing the jobs under different groups like contractors .. 6. break the jobs into bits and pieces 7. follow clients requests ;) 8. removing as much biasing as possible 8 days ago• Like

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Isaac Moalosi • You start by identifying what caused the delay and then come up with remedial actions 8 days ago• Like

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Rafael Kalicinski • I think that Chuck Lane in an earlier post had just the explanation I was about to write myself. Before taking any greater actions we must understand reasons to the possible delay (but it doesn't mean starting a vast investigation) and it's expected impact. I would as well be very open and communicate my findings with project stakeholders, it may actually end up that the slight delay in the project delivery can be accepted. But actually, my acting will most probably be affected on were my project is weighted according to the iron triangle. 7 days ago• Like

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Daniel Choi • a general answer for a general question: action 1: gather your project team, express your concern, identify the potential delay, get everyone to work together to try to fix the problem. if not, take action 2: analysis the time left to completion vs. the works to be achieved, squeeze the durations of the successing works and see if the delay can be mitigated, if not, take action 3: be frank to the client, tell the truth, expose the problem and seek for external assistance, or seek for understanding from the client to reasonably extend the schedule. (be careful not to put anything on paper, just talk.) if not, take

action 4: bring it to the senior management who do nothing but scratching their balls all day long, it's time for them to do something. you will be surprised these big cheese can really do something that you cannot do. Afterall, they are sitting there for a reason. If not, take action 5: bring in your contract consultant or legal advicer, gear up and start preparing for a litigation. In most cases, when it comes to this stage, both parties will understand that the legal process takes time and it is not going to benefit either side in the end, both parties will compromise and end the story. 7 days ago• Like

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Daniel Choi • Addenda: (1) In action 2, your suppliers and subcontractors will need to be bring in play. (2) I want to send a message that there is no heroes in the construction field, it is all about teamwork. a successful project manager shall be able to make effective use of all resources around him, top and bottom, left and right, at the right time. 7 days ago• Like

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Samuel Gitau • There are various factors that have been overlooked which raises concern to me as well,factors like political interference,changes in market prices(mostly high prices that exceeds the planned budget) and environmental factors(in this aspect it does include human behavior which is unpredictable and other natural barriers).All these combined will greatly contribute the delay of a given project set-up,i stand to be corrected. 7 days ago• Like

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Chad Cooper • Thinking outside the box here - If you think or know your project will be late, you either need to fire yourself, or determine why your "metrics" did not tell you sooner or correctly (personally, I hate the fire myself solution...). In all cases of late projects, each person has suggested the compromises to the project to meet the

deadline. In every case, if you compromise, you have technically failed. So the answer to the question is that its already too late. Manage the risks at this point. You need to fix your metrics that gave you bad advice - whether its estimating, scope, work velocity, etc. 7 days ago• Like

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Mohammed Aftab Hussain • In opinion , if the Project metrics are designed accurately or approximately no project will get delayed unless due to some factors being, 1. Environment issues worst cases. 2. Core Employee resignations. 3. Requirements changing from time to time. 4. Revisions on allocations of resources at crutial time of projects. 5. Worst-est of all would be resources failing to perform. 7 days ago• Like

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Mounir Ajam • Chris whether the interviewer like or not - it depends :) In the question - you said "... project that is showing signs that it may be completed late?" So to me this might be a trick question from the interviewer to see if you answer - just to give a text book answer or you are willing to challenge the questioner? Why I say a trick question? "... showing signs ..." and "... may be ..." so we do not know if this project is late NOW or not or will be late or not. Therefore, my first action is to analyze the project, situation, status, charter, constraints ... to determine where we are. My second action would be - if late or could be late - to determine the root cause of the situation since "late" is not the problem - it is a symptom of something else (or few causes) that are producing the delay. If we treat the symptom - the problem remain - so a root cause analysis is a must! Once we know the root cause(s) we can recommend solutions. Maybe the damage is done and no corrective action can salvage the situation - we need to have the courage to tell management the situation.

Maybe it is simple issue that we can resolve quickly Maybe we will have to add resources if we can - or expedite delivery - or crash - or ... or ... or ... So the bottom line - i will refuse to give an answer directly with 5 corrective actions. 7 days ago• Like

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BARATH RAJ • It depends on When the Project was handed over to you,If you had given at the beginning there is no question of delay, Value of Time and Value of resources are same,To minimize the timing maximize the resources, with better planning and implementation you can finish the project with the given time. 7 days ago• Like

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Stephen Reade, PMP • Metrics only tell you how fast or how far you are going/flying ... off-the-tracks, but not usually the underlying cause. There are two causes that blind-side most PM's: 1. Resource conflict: most PM methodologies assume (wrongly) that resources will always be available; what is called "infinite capacity" in systems lingo. Of course, they AREN'T, but the metrics look fine until the resource is needed and isn't available because it was over-promised: it is still attached to another project because THAT project is behind schedule, or THAT PM has failed to release it, and so on. The PM finds-out too late because he/she can't look over-the-horizon into other projects to see if the same resource is committed to someone else's project ... at the same time. 2. System overload: too many projects will very often cause a wide-spread slow-down or even halt. Any system can only carry a specific load; exceed that load and there is wide-spread failure or slow-down with no evident or localizable cause. The reason is there is too much going-on, the interactions alone consume a great deal of time/bandwidth, raising management overheads, & eating into overall resource availability. Think of a panic or big sale at a shopping mall. Can't all get in or out at the same time, and it's too big to manage conventionally. The reason for the general overload is - usually - that too many people have the authority to launch projects, and no one has the authority to either stop them or force them to fit into an overall schedule. Think of a manufacturing plant and 100

salespeople on the floor all demanding that THEIR order get priority regardless of the production plan. Doesn't work very effectively, which is why there is order-entry & production planning. Both of these situations can be controlled better at the Portfolio or Program Manager's level where he/she can spot excessive resource demand and some authority to limit projects going into project management system.

From: The Project Manager Network - #1 Group for Project 7 days ago• Like

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Suhail Halai • It amazes me how many times the real problem is just communication bottlenecks. Assuming you still are at the 50% mark in the project's total duration, the practical solution is: 1. Talk to the people that you know can help. 2. Seek help to identify others who can help. 3. Don't talk to the people that are known to waste time. 4. Do not waste time in lengthy emails and pointless meetings. Get in their face or on the phone. 5. Demand/Justify/Reward so that the critical employees/resources can give the project more hours and attention in a day. Rather than hiring more bodies, ask the existing resources to commit extra time, and make sure they are rewarded for it - e.g. a trip to Hawaii or a bonus. 6. Ask your resources "How would you speed this up?". 7. Start preparing management and leadership for the worse, and still work behind the scenes for the best! 7 days ago• Like

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Chad Cooper • Here is my second out of the box answer. Its been my experience that people in a project can sense (we do the math in our heads quickly) whether a project is valuable - that it meets ROI. Projects usually become late because of people, for many reasons, most stated already. If the members of the project think its wasteful or meaningless (like replace out a business process with a more complicated process), they are unlikely to make it successful. This leads me to rule number two - Companies have very sophisticated methods for starting projects, but almost no reasonable methods for killing a project. Most late projects I have been on should have been killed. Some my best successes has been in convincing management that the solution to the late, failing project is to kill it (these were not my projects BTW...) - that there are real reasons for it being late, and its unlikely it will be remedied, without compromise. 7 days ago• Like

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Scott Smith • These are mostly very good responses. My optics lead me to assume most if not all organizations with legitimate ambition and a deliberate viable investment in business and technology programs face a continuous assault of potentially late deliverables and cutovers. It is the inherent risk associated with the pursuit of excellence through bold improvement initiatives in a fluid marketplace. That being said, the first place to examine "hard" is at the leadership level in terms of the business, IT, and 3rd party project management team. It is within this core day-to-day leadership group where the beginning of a problem and the origins of a resolution rests. There are of course a substantial number of other factors that can be forcing the project to vector off line; including the lack of fundamental maturity in terms of a structured PMO, well stood up tools, strong governance relative to change control, no understanding of proper change management, poor financial management, unclear or zero measures, etc, etc, etc. But without a strong unified project leadership team properly representing all major organizational constituencies, and, possessing the experience and intellect to succeed; projects and programs become a "hit and miss" proposition at best. 6 days ago• Like

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Kim C. Arnold, PMP, LEED AP, CMQ/OE • 1. Pull the team together to get clarity on issues that put the schedule at risk. 2. Prioritize for safety, necessary for functionality and what can be deferred to keep the project on schedule, but also doesn't add an unacceptable cost burden. 3. Increase emphasis on quality to manage the risk of making changes on a project that is in progress. You don't have time for rework. 4. Communicate clear actions and accountabilities to the team to align them with the plan and expectations of project executive sponsors to support the team's plan. 5. Measure progress with greater intensity until such time as the schedule stabilizes or the project is finished. 6 days ago• Like

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Mohammad Mumtaz ur Rehman E.I.T • If the following is not followed in letter of spirit Interrogation of project is not completed before of start, Lack of communication skills. Lack of technical skills. team management failure noticed earlier. Over all planning failure 6 days ago• Like

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Suhail Falak • - The first answers would be academic and as PMI says: 1. Fast-tracking 2. Crashing - Next... 3. Look for initial buffers that were put into the schedule. Its time to revisit them. 4. Negotiate a phased delivery. 1st phase to meet the agreed date; whatever scope could not be delivered, bundle in subsequent phases - If everything else fails... 5. Look for reasons why project is behind schedule. More often than not, the customer has a role to play in the delays, and often force-majure where the PM didn't have control on the delays. Communicate, gain acceptance from customer and other stakeholders, re-baseline the project and move on! 6 days ago• Like

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Arun Mishra • 1) Find out the root causes of delay 2) Review Baselines, actual status and update and subsequently forecast. 3) Crash the schedule by enhancing resources and also identify the risks involved 4) Key stake holders to be informed about teh developments and related risks 5) Risks to be reviewed regularly and mitigation strategy to be prepared for teh same. 6 days ago• Like

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Phil Clarke • "What are 5 corrective actions for a project that is showing signs that it may be completed late?" So the project isn't actually running late yet. It just looks like it might. So tighten controls which are already in place. To lessen the risk of late completion, build hidden contingency into a schedule. 6 days ago• Like

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Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo, CDT, CCE, MScPM, MRICS • I only know of four possible "corrective" actions ONCE THE PROJECT HAS BEEN STARTEDFast Tracking- (improve the work process either through logic changes or improving worker efficiency/effectiveness) Crashing- (add resources- more people or more shifts; or work the resources you have longer hours) Descope the work- (delete some portions of the work- "nice to have" features) Surrender- Accept the fact that there is nothing which can be done and live with the fact the project will finish late. There are a lot more additional actions which can be done BEFORE the project gets started, the first and most important being to define REALISTIC duration's for each activity and to simulate the schedule, building in the appropriate buffers or contingency, but once the project is underway, the options are pretty much limited. BR, Dr. PDG, Jakarta, Indonesia http://www.build-project-management-competency.com 6 days ago• Like

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Enrico Carollo • 1. reduce scope 2. hide high-engineered parts trying to keep functionalities (for end-users) in a low-engineered mode and reschedule those parts for a later high-engineered refactoring (depends on a project scope / field) - in short, make things working despite a not performing way to work (again, related to certain project scopes / fields)

3. fast checking and feedback cycles to identify as soon as possible any bottleneck 4. refuse any change, even if requested by clients/stakeholders - or keep the change requests cutting other parts from the list of to-do 5. identify causes and think about how to prevent them in other projects/phasesAll of the above have a drawback: lot of stress and pressure on workers. Stressed workers will bring trembling results. 6 days ago• Like

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Eugen Oetringer • I have only one: Let's identify all the reasons and corrective actions that cause the project to run late. 5 days ago• Like

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Tim HJ Rogers • 1. Identify the key owners/stakeholders and discuss their *needs* and wants 2. Check which is most important: being on-time, on-budget or to-specification 3. Direct resources to achieving the priority at the expense of the other factors 4. Make sure everyone is aligned to the *new* plan, priorities, outcome 5. Update frequently and preferably face-to-face to ensure understanding and drive progress 5 days ago• Like

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Mohammad Mumtaz ur Rehman E.I.T • Force majeure situation like war/ flood/ strike/lockup may cause delay in completion of the project which is not under control of Project Manager The reasons for which project will be delayed and for the same, PM will be responsible have mentioned in my previous offered comments. 5 days ago• Like

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Priya Chanduraj, PMP • Understand if the project is really running late. if yes understand all causes for the project to run late. Then based on results tighten controls, risk mitigation, descope etc 5 days ago• Like

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Kyriakos Chomatas • 1. Stress orders delivery dates 2. Add human capital, evaluate the time that you are short and add it to the project as extra shift. 3. Give additional reports about the delay so everybody in the project have a clear idea where's the project and which actions can minimise execution time. 4. Explore different approaches to the execution plan 5. Never rely on but people usually perform better when they know that they will accomplish a high settee goal