Effective project execution — and ultimately, the success of the project — rely on honesty and transparency. Project status should be clear to the entire project team, especially to the project sponsor. If the project pitfalls and challenges aren’t shared with these stakeholders in a timely fashion, it risks further damage to the project. Typically, projects can get “off track” for more than one reason, and symptoms of trouble tend to display themselves immediately. At the earliest sign of project instability, the project team should:
- Revisit the project scope: Go back to the project plan and revisit the scope to see where things went wrong.
- Keep to planned scope: Scope creep is one of the biggest threats to sending a project into cost overrun.
- Collect project activities: Use a work breakdown structure to collect all the project activities that lead to the final deliverable.
- Gather the right resources: Assess the composition of your team to see if you have enough people to get the project done on schedule.
- Prioritize communication: Be proactive, and raise a flag to the project team, leadership, sponsor, or other team member if the project scope starts to shift.
- Create a baseline for your project: A baseline is a snapshot of your project before it begins.
- Create a clear project schedule: Use your stakeholders’ requirements to determine your project scope.
To request consultation for an existing project, contact the PMO directly at researchpmo@unl.edu. Please include the project’s NuRamp form number, sponsor information, and other pertinent information or documents. The PMO will review the information and set up a time to meet with the project team. Based on the services provided and allowability, project management effort may be charged to the project.
