Having to inform other managers, and possibly even the board, when a project has gone off the rails is not the easiest task in any IT professional's career. But reports advise of the importance of open communication in these circumstances.
Richard Harris, vice president for Asia Pacific at industry analyst Gartner, also emphasises the importance of informing people as quickly as possible if something goes wrong.
"Make sure the business knows about it as rapidly as possible, so at the very least you don't present a nasty surprise for someone senior up the line," Harris advises.
He also believes that it's important for IT departments to have business sponsorship from the appropriate business line executive from the outset of a project--someone who has a stake in the project from their perspective.
If this sponsorship, or buy-in, is not in place, senior management often blame the IT manager or department, according to Harris.
"There's an environment which says any investment in IT these days has to have a fairly cast-iron business case," he said.
And if things do go wrong?
Issue diagnosis, along with the rapid establishment of a taskforce to get to the heart of the problem, are two suggestions Harris makes for minimising issues.
"Do the diagnosis very rapidly and very objectively," he said. "[Come up with] recommendations of what needs to be done and then take that to the appropriate senior business person."
He said that the higher the profile assigned to a project, the more likely it is that jobs will be in jeopardy if the project derails. However, on smaller projects, or with less senior staff, job losses resulting from failed projects were less likely, said Harris.
According to Harris, a risk management approach, including an initial risk assessment, can help prevent a project from reaching that type of situation. "We're seeing with most organisations now, a much more sophisticated, and a much more thorough approach to understanding what the risks are," he said.
Likewise, IT consultant Jeff Kempâ€"-who has also spent several years in senior management and CIO roles--believes it's important to focus on the problem, not the individual.
"Project management and solid communication within the project team are essential for any project," Kemp said. "The earlier a potential problem can be identified and steps taken to mitigate the impact, the more beneficial for the project."
Kemp advises that if a problem is significant, then management needs to be made aware of both the problem's existence, and details of how the problem could be mitigated.
"If you are at the stage of implementation and problems are significant, it is more important to address the problem first and reflect on the cause later," he said. "The people involved in the implementation will already be stressed enough and need leadership, rather than potentially destructive conflict. You need to keep management aware of the situation but minimise the pressure on the team performing the implementation."
Kemp said that he's found it can often be beneficial to run a project review after a tough project. He suggests doing this in two parts. "The first part is with the IT team, with the aim [of driving] out the issues as they see it. This allows a lot of steam to be let off by team members. In the end all the noise is removed and the real issues, as seen by the IT team members, are identified and debated."
After this has been carried out, a second meeting can be held with end users so that they can express their concerns and issues, Kemp said. IT should also attend this meeting so that they could voice their concerns and issues in a constructive manner, he added.
"The end result should be an honest and open debate of the issues that have affected the project, which are then captured for reference by management and future project teams."
"If there is a problem, the best action to take is to deliver the message in a timely manner--no matter how unpleasant it may get," Kemp said. "Delivery of bad news with a constructive plan to eliminate the problem will gain you respect."
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