Executive's Guide to Project Management: Organizational Processes and Practices for Supporting Complex Projects

Project Maturation Process

The project enters the maturation process on the first day it becomes an active project. The successful conduct of a complex project is fraught with all sorts of challenges.

A selected project is active if it has received its funding authorization and is open for work. At this stage, the PM is authorized to proceed with the recruiting and assignment of team members, to prepare the final work schedule, and other activities associated with launching the project.

In a complex project environment the SMT needs to maintain control while being flexible and adaptive at the same time. Here are my suggestions for your consideration.

Understand the deliverable schedule and expect exception reports only. For myself, reports such as:

• Everything is going according to plan.
• There are some minor variances from plan but I have a get well plan in place that will bring the plan in compliance by the next report date. The details are attached for your information.
• There are major variances from plan and I need help implementing a corrective action plan. The details are attached for your action.
• The project is heading for failure and I do not have the authority or knowledge to restore the project to plan. The details are attached for your intervention.