Not every project can be a success, but losing a project is always costly in terms of both time and resources. While sometimes the best thing you can do is pull the plug, it’s not something that you should do without putting up a fight first.
If you see a project failing, rather than immediately calling it quits, think about what you can do to save it, first. Of course, there are many reasons why projects fail—but there are also many ways to salvage them, too. Here, we’ll present 5 tips on steps you can take to rescue a floundering project and make it valuable for your organization.
1. Frame it as a problem
There is no way to sugarcoat it: a failing project is a problem. The first step is coming to terms with that fact. The second step is to diagnose what kind of problem you are facing. This is what cognitive psychologists call problem framing.
By definition a problem is a situation where you have A) a starting state (where your project is right now), B) a finished state (the recovery of the project), C) a set of obstacles that prevent a change of states (the condition that puts you in your current situation), and D) a set of possible behaviors that help you overcome those obstacles.
A problem is considered well structured when you have defined in clear terms the 4 elements mentioned above. On the other hand, if at least one of the elements is missing what you have is an unstructured problem.
Well-structured problems are more likely to be solved, on the basis that by defining each element you are already strategizing. Most problems, unfortunately, aren’t as structured as you’d like.
In some cases, you might be missing key information, while in others you may be assuming that a piece of information is more or less relevant than it is. Instead of jumping prematurely to a solution, you need to assess the situation as objectively as possible.
Sometimes salvaging a project may seem impossible. This happens most often when you focus on the end goal. It’s like trying to lose weight—taking off a few pounds seems more likely than losing a hundred pounds. But if you do it piece by piece and break the weight loss strategy down into manageable components, the end goal becomes more manageable and realistic.
Instead of calling it quits, try to frame the problem with your team as a series of smaller steps. This is called climbing the mountain.
Think of a mountaineer trying to reach the peak of Everest. They don’t focus on the peak, but rather on the road ahead. Climbers are tacticians, they are constantly making decisions about which route to take. They know for a fact that some routes are safer than others, even if they take longer or require retreating from the mountain.
And that’s ok. As long as you end up in a closer place (or one that will help you get closer) to the peak, then you are doing great. Take that lesson to heart and apply it to your project. Ask yourself what’s the immediate obstacle, solve it, and then look for the next obstacle.
The long way around might entail missing a deadline, but that’s an acceptable loss when the alternative is scrapping the project altogether.
2. Restructure Your Team
Sometimes a team’s skill set just doesn’t align with the nature of a project, even when that same team might have successfully met its goals in the past. Maybe their methodology isn’t turning out the expected results. Maybe they lack the technical skills. Or maybe they don’t have the right leadership for the current project.
Whatever the case may be, restructuring a team is a solution, but one that can’t be taken lightly. While restructuring doesn’t necessarily mean firing (regardless of the bad rep the word gets) it does entail a change in the team’s dynamic, one that can cause more harm than good.
Restructuring can mean anything—bringing fresh blood to the project, reshuffling the workload, a change of leadership, or even downsizing. How do you go about restructuring your team?
That’s a complicated topic, as different issues will require different restructuring. To decide you need to make a diagnosis, trying to find the fundamental issues behind your failing project. Techniques like Ishikawa’s fishbone—causal diagrams that attempt to uncover the reason why events occurred—are excellent tools that can help you get a better grasp of the situation.
One piece of general advice though: rely on your team, and interview them. The people who are closer to the project have an insider perspective that will help you see the issues in a different light. They can help you uncover the problem and potential solutions. Find the balance between what you are seeing from the outside and what they think is happening.
Restructuring is always a risk. Depending on the person, adapting to a new workflow can be a challenge in itself. If you choose to restructure make sure that your team understands why it’s happening, and try to make the process as gradual as possible. Also consider short-term solutions, such as bringing in outside talent via staff augmentation or freelance models. They can help you fill in the gaps.
3. Consult
On that note, a full restructuring of the team might not be necessary if a few key changes can get the project back on track. Sometimes an expert can bring perspective to a team that’s struggling with a project.
A consultant is a tremendous asset when your team lacks the skills and or knowledge to meet your project’s goals. They can provide insights and expertise, facilitating your team’s workflow and helping them grow and expand their skill set.
A team having trouble adapting to new technology or having constant questions about the nature of your business are both clear signs that you should consider hiring a consultant.
In contrast to restructuring, a consultant is a relatively innocuous solution, as their impact on the team’s dynamics tends to be rather small in comparison. The consultant’s job tends to be relatively short-lived, since the more the team grows, the less they are needed. They might provide training on a specific tool or give you fresh insights based on their experience with your market. For example, perhaps there is a step you’ve always taken simply because this is how your organization has been doing it for decades. The consultant could help you see that it’s unnecessary.
If the team requires the consultant’s help for long periods, consider the investment—in the long run, it might be a better solution to restructure.
4. Outsource the Project
Sometimes you just have to know when to call it quits, and no, by that we don’t mean killing the project but rather putting it in other people’s hands. Outsourcing is a powerful solution that can help turn your project around.
It’s ok to accept that sometimes a team isn’t up to the task. As we said before, even the best teams can meet projects that they aren’t fit to tackle. In these cases, the best choice is to look for outside help.
There are 2 ways to approach this, either have the 2 teams working alongside one another (which is by far the best-case scenario) or relegate the whole project to your outsource solution. The latter model is best suited to projects where you lack the time, resources, and/or specializations.
If you are going to hand over the project, make sure that the new team has adequate time to interview the previous team and go over what’s already been done. This transitional period is extremely important as it will make the job easier in the long term.
Yes, outsourcing will take its time but, thanks to modern technology, including state-of-the-art AI prediction models, outsourcing firms can build a team in record time from their candidate pool to take over your project.
5. Prepare for Anything
You can start seeing the sign of a failing project before it becomes unwieldy: small delays, lack of communication, lack of clarity, and buggy deliveries. These all may point to the fact that things might not be going as well as you would like.
Create contingency plans from the get-go and keep in constant communication with your teams, then start to tackle issues before they become a full-blown problem. The best way to save a failing project is to avoid getting to the point where you need to rescue it.
Of course, we can’t always predict all worst-case scenarios. Businesses could not, for instance, anticipate the pandemic and how it would affect their operations. But you could still see signs that things were changing, such as the fact that digital commerce was on the rise, while brick-and-mortar stores were steadily losing appeal. This is the kind of scenario you can plan for, so when the worst happens (such as having to shutter your stores in light of a catastrophic pandemic), you’ll still be able to pivot your strategy to the digital realm.
Revitalize That Project: Summing It All Up
It’s true that not all projects are worth saving. And in some cases, try as you might, it may not be possible to breathe new life into failed initiatives. But in many instances, you may be abandoning projects that are salvageable. When you do the necessary work and embrace your problem-solving skills and strategies, you may very well find that that project you thought was going to be a waste of time and resources will ultimately succeed.
