Project 2013 For Dummies

Chapter 17

You’re Behind — Now What?

In This Chapter

Scrutinizing plan versions and notes to understand what went wrong

Experimenting with what-if scenarios

Benefitting from more time or more people

Adjusting the timing going forward

Let’s face it: A project rarely proceeds as planned. Every project has issues (situations that must be handled before the project can move forward) and risks (uncertain events that can prevent a project objective from being met). Issues and risks either crop up suddenly or barrel down on you like a freight train coming down the track. Regardless of whether you see risks approaching, at some point you may feel that the floor has dropped out from under you. One day the project is doing just fine, and the next day it’s $75,000 over budget. Or it appears that you’ll miss the drop-dead finish date by two weeks. All the aspirin in the world won’t solve this one.

The first step is to find the cause and then fix it so that you can move forward and try to save the project. To try to save the day when the project rolls off the track, analyze the options and make ...