How To Manage Project Delays

Project delays are integral part of day to day deliveries, however not affordable.

Parkinson's Law, speaking to effort, tells us that "work expands to fill the space allotted".
Murphy's Law, speaking to uncertainty, tells us that "whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and most likely at the worst possible time".

Such realities are faced by all project managers. No matter how much time you have for a project, it will likely be consumed, and no matter how well you plan, eventually you will always be faced with the "unexpected".
So, if work always expands to fill the space (time) allotted, and whatever can go wrong will go wrong, the only thing you can do is to Be Prepared. 

This post will try to highlight few techniques to Prevent Delays (Before Delay Occurs) and Fix Delays(Post Delay Occurs).

Preventive: Technique to Prevent Delays:

Catch It Early & Track Vigilantly

• Unless you have some magic, ideal way to handle project delays is to predict them happening and countering whatever may be the cause, avoiding any interruption altogether.
• Keeping yourself constantly aware (Have Daily Team Meetings) of the project schedule and keeping in close contact with your team will enable you to notice a delay as soon as it happens.
• Keep a close eye on upcoming deadlines and priority assignments. If you notice that some deadlines are falling behind or a specific task is not as close to completion as it could be, ascertain what is causing the holdup and resolve it quickly to avoid any further setbacks.
• Keeping quick attention and prompt action will get the project back on track as close the original deadline as possible.

Prioritize

• Review tasks & priorities assigned to team members. 
• Project Risk are always high during the start.
• Thus always prioritize project assignments, moving any that are especially time sensitive to the top of the list. 

Record Changes or Scope Creep

• Obtain final requirements & get a sign-off on the functional specification before starting construction
• Never accept changes unless you have done a complete impact analysis on each of the baselines – Time/Cost/Quality
• The best way to do so is by creating a change control plan that outlines the proposed changes, review, approval and implementation.
• Any change impact causing project delays should advance project delivery timelines or reduce in scope.

Predictable Delays - Document Project Delays Risk & Have Mitigation Plan Ready:

• Predictable delays (those deemed likely by circumstance and experience) can be factored into the project via a documented risk management plan. 
• When Risk plan is prepared, risks can be identified and evaluated to determine probable delays, and potential mitigating action.
• If risk is realized, the risk management plan will provide a pre-planned course of action.

Un-Predictable Delays - Document Project Delays Risk & Have Contingency & Management Reserves Ready:

• Unexpected delays are those that were generally not foreseeable, and plan them in risk management plan to reserve Contingency & Management Reserves

Corrective: Technique to Fix Delays & Bring Back on Schedule:

Plan Additional Work / Resources

• Once you realize that there is a delay, organize a team meeting.
• Inform everyone working on the project about the delay, including details such as factors contributing to the holdup and how far it has set the project back.
• Ask for input and ideas on how to get back on schedule, and plan a course of action moving forward.
• Decide whether you need additional work from team members or supplementary resources are required.
• Also asking for volunteers who are willing to take on extra tasks as needed is advisable, as well.

Cut Any Fat (Lean Thinking)

• Determine whether there are any assignments that can be trimmed down or done away with completely.
• Scaling back on unnecessary tasks will not only get you closer to your schedule but also ensure that your team has the time needed to produce quality work.

Notify Stakeholders

• Keeping project stakeholders informed and up-to-date when there is a delay is a good practice.
• If there is a holdup, it is better for them to hear it from you than to get wind of it through the rumor mill.
• Your transparency will re-assure them that you are well aware of the causes of any project delays and that you have everything under control.
• At times, updating stakeholders on end date changes allows them to plan accordingly, as well.

Notify External Dev/Testing Teams

• Get in touch with external teams is also important.
• On the other hand, you might need to ask a contractor if they can have their part of the project completed even earlier in order to put other tasks on hold.
• You may need to let some of them know that you will not be needing their services until a later date (and save project cost), if their role in the project has been moved back due to the delays.
• Either way, keeping the lines of communication open can eliminate potential problems that would only cause more delays.

Finally, step away from the project briefly. Give yourself time to catch a breath and process all of the readjustments.
Then you can head back to the tasks at hand with renewed perspective and focus on what is yet to be completed.
Doing so ensures that you are able to give the project your full attention without risking the quality on which you have built your reputation.

Hope this helps!!!

Liked reference: https://www.ittoolkit.com/how-to-it/projects/manage-project-delays.html

Arun Manglick
(AWS-ASA, SAFe Agilist, PMP®, PMI-ACP®, PRINCE2® Practitioner, CSM®, MS-Project, CSSGB, ITIL V3, MCPD, MCTS)

How Project Manager Start/Manage Projects

Project managers need a broad range of skills. Here is the complete DNA/guide to know 
- How to Start a Project, 
- How to Execute Project and 
- How to Monitor and Control Project &
- How to Close the Project

Process Group Wise Details as below: 

1). Project Initiation - Link

• Understand Business Case
• Create Project Charter/ PID
• Formally Outline What/Why/Who, How & When
• Prepare Project Purpose/Objective/Business Case
• Prepare High Level Requirements
• Prepare High Level Estimates
• Prepare Conceptual Level Design
• Prepare High Level Initial Risk/Assumptions/Constraints/Dependencies
• Prepare Inclusion/Exclusion from Scope
• Project Manager Selection
• Identify Stakeholders
• Specifically define what stakeholders need and expect from the project
• Formally present the Project Charter Details and Gain Acceptance with Business for further Planning & Execution.

2). Project Planning

• Collect Project Requirements/Scope:
• Detailed Requirement Gathering – Functional Specifications & Use Cases
• Define Scope & Scope Breakdown(WBS)
• Define Activities & Micro Estimation 
• Estimate Activity Durations
• Estimate Resources – Same 
• Determine Project Cost/Budget – 
• Define Project Cost & Budget – DRCP
• Consider a variety of cost alternatives when developing my original project budget plan.
• Consider & include extra funds in the budget and hope that project run under cost at the end
• Create Project Plan & Project Schedule
• Formally create a Project Plan having all the details - Project Background, Objectives, Scope, Constraints, Assumptions, Dependencies & Impacts, Issues & Risks, Methodologies & Strategy, Controls - Scope/Time/Cost/Quality, Resources, Communications, Schedule of delivery, Team Charter, Performance Measurement Metrics, Benefits Realization.
• Prepare a specific timeline and sequence of activities, and use this schedule to manage the overall project to ensure its timely completion
• Plan Quality
• Identifying Quality Requirements and Quality Standards for the project and product, and documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance – i.e. What work will be done to meet the standards. 
• Identify Risk
• Identify as many potential project risks, their Probability/Impact, Response Strategies, Mitigation Plan, Contingency Plan/Reserve, Management Reserve, Residual Risk, Secondary Risk etc.
• Plan Approval
• Formally discuss Project Plan, Estimates, Schedules, Delivery Timelines, Project Status Reports Formats, Project Plan with Business before moving to Execution Phase.

3). Project Execution

• Execute Project According to Project Plan & Project Schedule
• Communicate what needs to be done by what deadline, and expect the people to whom I assign the work to be responsible for breaking down the work packages into smaller and more manageable pieces
• Outline clear expectations for the project team, and I manage their individual and collective performance as part of the overall project evaluation process
• Give people a deadline to complete their project work, and then I expect them to coordinate with others if and when they need to.
• Conduct Daily Team Meetings to tract work and Impediments
• Plan Interim Demos and Release and Gain Early Acceptance with Business
• Handle Change Request, if any
• Take Preventive/Corrective Measures to Avoid/Fix Project Delays - Link
• Routinely monitor and reevaluate significant risks as the project continues
• Keep all project stakeholders informed and up-to-date with regular meetings and distribution of all performance reports, status changes, and other project documents.

4). Project Monitoring

• Monitor & Control Project Delays & Schedule
• Monitor & Control Project Scope, Cost & Budget
• Monitor & Control Project Risks
• Monitor & Control Third Party Vendors, if any

4). Project Closure

• Gain formal acceptance of the project/product
• Create Lessons Learned
• Handover, if any

Knowledge Area Wise Details as below: 

Project Integration 

• Develop a solid understanding of the project's goals.
• Start by producing a Business Requirements Analysis, and then develop a comprehensive Project Initiation Document, which covers the basic project needs and outcomes, so that everyone can understand the project's goals. 
• To prepare this critical, high-level document, you need to understand the phases and processes of project management. This overview will help you become better prepared for what's ahead.

Scope Management 

• Projects have a nasty habit of expanding as they go along, making it impossible to hit deadlines. To control this “scope creep,” it's essential to define the scope at the very start of your project based on the Business Requirements Analysis, and then manage it closely against this signed-off definition. 
• For more on how to do this, see our article on scope control.

Time/Schedule Management

• A project's scope can easily grow, and so can the time needed to complete it. 
• For a project to be completed successfully, despite all of the unknowns, it's important to clearly define the sequence of activities, estimate the time needed for each one, and build in sufficient contingency time to allow for the unexpected. 
• With this information, you can develop a Project Schedule and then begin breaking it down into very specific pieces of work using a Work Breakdown Structure. 
• A schedule often isn't enough. To keep track of the various activities, Gantt Charts and Critical Path Analysis are often helpful.

Cost Management 

• To determine what a project will cost, you must be systematic with your estimating, budgeting, and controlling. 
• Also, be aware that many project decisions will have an impact on cost. 

Quality Management 

• To achieve quality, ensure that you actively manage project benefits. By continuously referring to the benefits that the project will provide, you keep client quality at the forefront – and you won't waste precious time and resources trying to achieve an inappropriate level of quality. 
• An effective project manager knows the importance of checking that project outcomes are consistent with needs. The Deming Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) and Business Testing are important tools for this, as they both force you to consider the needs of the end users. 

HR/People Management 

• Right mix of interpersonal and political skills is just as important as the right technical skills. 
• To help your new team start working together effectively as soon as possible, develop a Team Charter and outline performance expectations. 
• Use well-informed task allocation and appropriate team management skills to keep the project team on track and working productively. 
• And be prepared to help people through the Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing stages that so many teams go through.

Communication

• As with most situations, effective project communication means communicating with the right people at the right time and in the right way. 
• To do this, Stakeholder Management is essential. When you analyze your stakeholders, you identify who must be kept informed in full, and who needs less intensive communication. This can save you a lot of time, and helps you maintain good relationships with people involved in the project.
• Project Dashboards are great for presenting project updates in a way that people can quickly understand. For longer projects that require periodic status reports, Milestone Reporting is effective for capturing the essentials of a project's status.

Risk Management 

• Project managers must understand which of the risks to their plans are significant. An Impact/Probability Chart will help with this. 
• From there, develop a plan for monitoring and controlling the major risks involved in your project. 
• Using your Risk Analysis, develop options to reduce risks, prepare Contingency Plans, and decide who is responsible for which parts of risk response.

Project Procurement 

• Unless your project is in-house, external suppliers will generally have a large impact on your costs. Suppliers will also affect whether the project delivers on time and to specification. 
• Take the time to define your needs in a Request for Proposal document, and then use an appropriate Procurement Management approach to select the best supplier. 

Hope this helps.

Arun Manglick

(AWS-ASA, SAFe Agilist, PMP®, PMI-ACP®, PRINCE2® Practitioner, CSM®, MS-Project, CSSGB, ITIL V3, MCPD, MCTS)