How to Save a Failing Project

5 Creating the Plan

Creating a plan can be an intimidating task if you’ve never done it before. You may find yourself defining processes you’ve never used before, using tools like the product breakdown structure (PBS) or work breakdown structure (WBS) for the first time, and fighting internal or external pressure to begin the project work before completing the plan. (How many times have we been encouraged by our managers to get going on “real work” and stop spending time planning?) If your project is in trouble and you’re replanning it, the pressure can be even more intense. In addition to the challenges noted above, you may be fighting to overcome the negative stigma of the project’s initial missteps. The project is probably already over budget ...