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How to manage projects in difficult conditions and during a financial crisis?

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Question added by Deleted user
Date Posted: 2013/05/06

Aside from all the technicalities, you should definitely plan ahead by breaking big goals into smaller achievable ones and then following your plan and sticking to it at all times.

From experience of managing projects in crisis situations, especially turnarounds, an approved project in such a period would mean such a project is a key to the well being and survival of an organisation and it is believed that it would have a great return on the target company.
As such, we shall assume it is time bounded, and constrained by a budget, which leaves the project scope and quality under significant risk of being compromised.
A key aspect of mitigating such risks, which would affect the project success, proper planning of activities shall be initiated, which needs to include the technical teams and vendors (whenever3rd parties deliver certain aspects of project), and work on both a high level plan, and detailed level plans to activities.
Rest assured, time will haunt you, and you cannot get the perfect plan on time, and that is fine, as long as were not overly optimistic in planning activities, and that you included appropriate buffers, and made sure the team is committed to the delivery of scope activities, and agree on their durations.
Most project managers believe by then, most of the work is done, and they only need to monitor the activities progress, budget, risks, issues, and prepare the frequent progress reports, yet, there is a fundamental role of communication, even though the project is underway, it is improbable that you included all stakeholders in the project planning, and that the project is perfectly placed to best serve the organisation, even with the inclusion of a change manager or change agents, the project manager will need to see how this project will impact end users, and change whenever needed (to a certain extent, as you don’t want to include more tasks, and end up with a different scope).
Get everyone on board, if you can’t, state it (seems obvious, but from experience, some underestimate the impact of parties, as their stakeholder map says they don’t have enough influence).
With all what you have done, you have limited control, you will put all aspects to control the project, but you are limited on time and resources, thing could go wrong (re-work needed, activities may have been overseen, etc...), try to be with the team, try to buy them into doing their best to recover, and remind them that its the TEAM plan, and success means so much to them, but in the end, you need be honest, don’t try to crunch the rest too much (you need to do that to a certain aspect), communicate the need for additions from project sponsor, better sooner than later.
Remember, you did your best, especially on the human side, as showing empathy is more likely to be reciprocated, your team is more likely to do more if you show more interest to them

Yahya Moosa
by Yahya Moosa , Technical Project Analyst , M/s MAYO Engineering Services

1.
Need to control operational resource cost, minimize the resource cost.
2.
Divide resource in different groups.
3.
Assigned project tasks to groups.
We can use these resource group in different project to control the financial problem

Binod Timsina
by Binod Timsina , Human Resources Business Partner , CG Corp Global │ Chaudhary Group

divide your work to your co-workers and use more time in less amount.

Difficult conditions and Financial Crisis - that speaks directly to the Return on Investment (ROI) of the project.
Therefore: Business support is your most essential asset.1.
Re-evaluate the main functions.2.
Check the business believes there is value in every aspect and that there will be a return from the project that makes it valuable.3.
Be ready to trim or defer functionality that does not have complete business support.4.
Ensure that your Project Board has gone back to the Executive to report on business outcomes and support, so you have Executive 'buy in'.5.
Once your project is properly recognised as essential to the organisation as a whole, then you have the mandate to continue.
If it is not - then be prepared to shut down what you can.6.
Be open and clear about the costs - no surprises.7.
Where you lose access to personnel or resources, ensure you recalibrate (and communicate) your new delivery dates - management decisions can be made in good faith without understanding the delivery consequences.8.
Do not kill your team - you will be under pressure to fill the original scope and schedule with fewer people and resources.
People burn out, and then you are worse off than before.9.
Check that other teams that you are dependent on (e.g.
DBA) can still fulfill their function according to your timetable - they may have been trimmed.10.
Be prepared to show how you are going against budget without warning.
Crisis meetings happen in an instant.11.
Understand where the value for business is in your project.
There is a reason for the functionality - make sure you know the business reason, not just the technical reason, so you can defend the important parts-and have business back you up...
but then you sought their re-support in point1 &2 didn't you, and have the documents to show it.12.
If your project has the support of Business and the Executive - motivating your team is so much easier.
Without that support ...
your team will be lost.

Yazan Abu Al Rous
by Yazan Abu Al Rous , Business Development Expert , Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism

In these difficult times, it is highly important for a project manager to keep the team members motivated and focus on a goal, if the project had a small budget or is taking long periods of time to finish, it is easier to start by breaking it to smaller phases and intervals, at the beginning of each interval you set some objectives and goals for the team members to see, once they are achieved in that phase you can celebrate your small victory with the other team members, it will keep them interested and with eyes focused on the ultimate goal without losing their motivation.

eyad Mohmed
by eyad Mohmed , مدير عام الشركه , شركة مواقع للتجارة والمقاولات

 

Is Impossible equation: Lack of resources - time and implementation of good quality - lower costs But in this case

  1. you must specify the stockholder iinterest
  2. sort priority
  3. right plan according above factor
  4. follow up your plan
  5. strong risk plan , and risk management plan
  6. asking good to be a success

 

Muhammad Nadeem
by Muhammad Nadeem , Business Manager , Ahmad Saad Malfi Al-Rashidi Est.

Please be professional while responding to questions, as it mattes your worth.
Thanks.

Mohammed Thiab
by Mohammed Thiab , Founder / Chief Consultant , MV Consulting

Project Management and Crisis Management are two independent issues.    Project Management's focus on delivering what has been signed off in the project charter within time, cost and quality pre-agreed conditions remains the same regardless there is a financial crisis or not However, during financial crisis, there is usually higher risk of the project getting cancelled, frozen, postponed or modified to fit smaller budgets and possibly less deliverables.   Project Managers need to be prepared for such alterations if/when they happen but keeping project management good practices in consideration ... so as not to violate any of the three pillars of time, cost and quality

احمد مجاهد عبد الصمد يونس
by احمد مجاهد عبد الصمد يونس , ضابط شئون ماليه , القوات المسلحة المصرية

By raising the morale of the workers and employees by increasing their loyalty to the work and study to increase production in the same employment or reduce employment (steady production and less labor)

Saurav Chakrabarti
by Saurav Chakrabarti , Assistant Vice President , Tata Sons

I feel it may be useful to divide the project tasks into must-haves and good-to-haves with the customer's perspective in mind.
When faced with a financial perspective, we can take up the must-haves and later time and budget permitting focus on the good-to-haves.

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