Let’s Figure Out Why Your Project is Really On Hold
Whether you manage, design, or build projects, you will find yourself in situations where a project gets put on hold — officially or unofficially — for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s obvious why it’s on hold, and sometimes there’s a misunderstanding that needs to be resolved. Whether it’s a prioritized project that must move forward, or a pet project that you want to advance, this two-step approach will help you and your team get it going again.
● In this post, we’ll discuss how to uncover a project’s underlying challenges and early steps to address them.
● In a follow up post, we’ll share six specific strategies to solve those problems and give projects more momentum.
Are you motivated to advance the project?
Have you ever been on a project that you just knew would be useful to your company or your customers and yet, it kept stalling and was never finished? Many projects — great, useful projects — will stall out for various reasons. Yet, our excitement can help keep them on the radar.
However, what if you aren’t excited about the project? Often you will have to help drive a project forward, not because you are passionate about it, but because you are responsible for it and it’s your job. Fortunately, you can use the same techniques to help figure out why the project is stalled, how to move it forward, and when you can check it off your list.
Determine why your project is stalled
Perhaps the project is overly complex, no one is championing it, or the budget is unclear. The longer your project remains on hold, the more likely it is to have multiple problems.
Look out for these common roadblocks and identify which ones are most relevant to your project:
What if it’s simply a bad project? Maybe it was a bad idea to begin with, or perhaps circumstances have changed so much that the project is irrelevant now. If this is the main reason it’s stalled, consider whether there are parts you can and should still salvage. Otherwise, officially close the project, and move on.
Look with fresh eyes; is there an obvious solution?
Let’s use this common problem as an example: “we can’t afford this project”. First, do a little detective work to determine whether you have accurate, up-to-date, and complete information about the financial problem.
● In Project A, let’s pretend you do have accurate, up-to-date, and complete information about the financial problem.
○ This problem will actually be tougher to solve. For example, if you discover that the original estimate is still accurate and up-to-date, you have exhausted other means of funding, you confirm the project can’t be de-scoped, and that it can’t be produced more cheaply elsewhere, where do you turn next? The project is blocked for a legitimate reason that still needs solving and it has no clear remedy (yet).
○ Since there isn’t an obvious solution, you will need to change something substantive about the project, its requirements, or how you execute it in order to move it forward. Solutions may exist, but they are unclear or hidden at first, and you’ll need to dig deeper or make underlying changes to unblock them.
○ Read part 2 of this article to learn some strategies you can use to help solve problems outside of your immediate control.
● In Project B, what if you discover that you have inaccurate, out-of-date, or incomplete information about the financial problem. This is great news!
○ This type of problem is usually easier to solve. For example, you may have discovered that the original estimate was hastily written and was unrealistically high, or there is a new source of funding you can tap into, or stakeholders are willing to de-scope the project’s requirements, or a new manager will outsource the project at a lower rate.
○ Any one of these new discoveries could point you to a new, obvious solution that will help unblock your project. Pursue it and see if that solves your problem.
Channel your passion towards constructive tasks to move the project forward
I get really passionate about projects I believe in, and I think that’s mostly a good thing. Still, we have to balance our excitement with meaningful actions if we want our projects to succeed. Be sure to:
● Advocate for the project in ways that will be taken seriously and seen as constructive.
● Remain objective. Listen to others’ concerns and back up your opinions with proof and concrete solutions.
What types of problems put your projects on hold? In our next article, we’ll share six additional strategies to move any project forward and help you get them unstuck.
