You must have seen these projects at work: the ones where the sponsor has disappeared, there’s a morale problem in the team and the scope, timescale and budget are so wildly different from what you were expecting that there is zero chance that the work will complete successfully.

These are the projects that are failing. And when you are managing one, it’s not a great place to be.

Project managers in this situation have two choices: jump in the lifeboat and paddle away as fast as you can or grab a bucket and start bailing. You’ll have to use your judgement to decide which one feels right to you: try to save the project or cut your losses and walk away? To make the right choice relies on understanding why the project is failing in the first place, so let’s look at that first.

Why Projects Fail

Whole books have been written about why projects fail, so here’s a quick synopsis of the major reasons:

• Unrealistic expectations
• Lack of funding and/or resources
• Poor communication and/or not getting the right people involved
• Lack of senior leadership support.

And you can no doubt think of others. This article on why projects fail looks at this topic in more detail.

So, you’ve had a look at why your project is failing and you think the right thing to do is to give it another chance. It’s good to know that you’ve tried everything before you recommend that a project is closed down. Here are some things to try.

Review the Methodology you Are Using

Best practices are available to use for a reason. Standard project management approaches like the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition, PRINCE2 and others are popular and effective because they work.

If your project has been struggling to get by on best endeavours, without formal processes or guidance, think about implementing some structure. Get a standard project management tool that everyone can use.

You don’t need a Project Management Office to do this: you do need a willingness to take a little time to adapt processes and methods to fit your organization and then work through the cultural change required to get everyone on board.

It’s not a quick solution, and it might not be the sticky plaster that your current project needs, but it will improve success rates going forward for future work.

Train Your Team

Methodology alone won’t help you if no one knows how to use it. Invest in training your project team on how to use the tools and techniques, and how to work through the processes. Again, this isn’t a quick solution, but it goes hand in hand with creating a project management culture that is engineered for success.