What do you do if your IT outsourcing project is at risk due to rushing to meet deadlines?

I have a lot of experience in this regard... My advice for those responsible for the project is to immediately hire a consultant with proven competence, experience (above all) and a spirit of sacrifice. Because he will have to live day and night with the Project/delivery team, to bring experience, protection and motivation. A consultant because, as Albert Einstein said, you can't solve a problem using the same brain that caused it. This is the most important thing. All the rest: - Communication with the Supplier - Risk assessment - Evaluation of Partial Deliveries - Replanning - Reallocation of Resources - Quality Assurance - Change Management - Continuous monitoring is in Chat GPT. The consultant will put them in the right priorities.

I like the 7 keys to Success approach. It provides a simple, yet comprehensive list aspects we need orchestrate to achieve the what , when and how (much) is expected. 1. Stakeholders commitment 2. Clear biz benefits realization 3. Realistic and managed Scope 4. Predictable work and schedule 5. High performing team 6. Risks Mitigation 7. Delivery organization benefits realization #1 has to do with adequate sponsorship. #2 and 7 have to do with a win-win game between the economic buyer and the delivery group. #3 and 4 define the what, when and how. #5 are the resources involved and #6 making sure you prepare for the probable deviations. Compare those with the list to the left, and you'll see they answer and complete all concerns

The main article does make very valid points. My go to approach is such cases would be: 1. Realign goals, identify the MVP and improve the drive to get that delivered on acceptable timelines 2. Use the Agile approach. Get into short scrums and have daily stand-ups to ensure there is suitable shepherding of effort to the MVP 3. Re-align resources. Get higher skills to improve the pace of project as much a possible 4. Improve communication overall - Stakeholder expectation management, Testing, Scope freeze for MVP all elements should be suitably signed off with suitable communication

Reach out to stakeholders and increase your understanding of what is truly important. Re-prioritize project tasks based on this insight. Deadlines and milestones can often be postponed if smaller but more critical deliveries are met. Additionally, ensure that stakeholders understand what deadlines and milestones actually mean. It's not uncommon to see a hard push for deadlines that are in fact not as important as assumed. With increased understanding it's much easier to reassess the actual risk.

Most of the contributors' steps taken and listed are very valid and relatively similar. To validate most of these methods, I will take a further step and also question ChatGpt to make sure I got everything important. Use available technology (ChatGPT)!

In this case, I would open the situation with the client to examine the backlog and verify the essential functionality that would bring more value to the business, which would be considered the commitment for the deadline.

First, understand WHY the project is at risk - e.g. a. Project team performance issues b. Expectations for scope/deliverables shifted vis-a-vis original ones c. Lack of cooperation on customer side Such projects are living organisms, so rarely develop exactly 'as planned'. Stay close with the customer and anticipate, anticipate, anticipate..

If you are only noticing it now you have major problems. Your initial risk assessment should have identified the risks. and in my experience they are usually very obvious. For instance not involving the unions/works councils until too late in the day

There are three valid reasons to realign goals. a) Because your original goals were unrealistic b) Because business goals have changed c) Because the outsourcer has identified a better solution and goals There is a real danger that a late degradation of goals will nullify any benefits from the deal

In my experience, rescope, communicate the change with a new value to business transition. This will ensure stakeholder satisfaction and timely project delivery.

If something went wrong in your project, either due to a failure in monitoring, risk management, a failure in communication, or not having the appropriate resources with the desired experience, the best way is: 1- Seek to correct the internal flaws, 2 - Reestimate the work team, as well as deadlines and costs, 3- Negotiate new goals for the project with the client 4- Accept the costs, if they were due to internal failures or share them with the customer, if they have a negative influence on the customer's participation (remembering that it is better to consult the contract and see what is allowed or not in cases of renegotiation).

Avoid Donkey work promote smart concise goal oriented work. Every set target can be achieved if managed & executed properly. Make yourself least dependent on other or third party involved. Focus & rely on self sustainability

Based on the assessment, re-prioritize the project milestones. Determine what needs to be delivered by the deadline and what can be postponed if necessary. This may involve shifting focus to critical functionalities that are essential for the launch and moving less critical features to a later phase.

Una vez identificados los riesgos, revisa los objetivos del proyecto para asegurarte de que sean realistas y alcanzables. A veces, las expectativas iniciales son demasiado ambiciosas, por lo que es crucial establecer metas claras y alcanzables para el equipo externo.

You will fail at realigning goals if you are not in a true business partnership, but instead stuck in old fashioned suppler-customer patterns. In a partnership both parties are willing (and able) to compromise and make ends meet. Neither party will escalate the challenges into a conflict.

it's imperative to realign project goals upon identifying risks. Foster open communication with outsourcing partners. Reassess scope and tailor deliverables to align with the timeframe. Collaboratively establish attainable targets, prioritizing critical needs. Focus on launching essential tasks and features. Vigilantly monitor progress, adapting as necessary for successful project delivery.

Communication is the key to project success. Typically, the Project Manager spends 70% to 90% of his time communicating. Probably a failure to communicate a risk, a professional not qualified for the role, a goal they sold but that would be impossible to deliver, etc., could be crucial to the failure of the project. If there is a problem in the project and there was no associated risk, the problem is in communication. Good communication must contain a weekly status report to present the evolution and main risks of the project to relevant stakeholders. You should also have meetings with the project team daily or at most weekly to monitor progress, blockers and worker difficulties. Frequent communication is a key success factor.

Em qualquer projeto é essencial , a comunicação ter pessoas chaves para cada equipe e um gerente geral que esteja sempre alinhando estas equipes com informações exatas, e assim estar acompanhando cada risco e antecipar desta forma qualquer possibilidade de erros ou prazos.

Often the communication issue relates to your internal communications, especially with Unions/ works Councils but also with the board. I've seen a lot of issues with outsourcing deals where IT hasn't worked in advance to ensure the board and other senior stakeholders are aligned with the expected outcomes.

In IT outsourcing, clear communication is your best friend when deadlines get tight. Regular check-ins, like weekly calls, keep you in the loop. And don't be afraid to ask questions. Early hiccups are way easier to fix than big problems down the line.

7 C’s of interaction with people prove that success and perfection comes with following rules and this approach also helps demonstrating whole team that how important clear concise communication is needed actually

Open communication with the outsourcing partner is essential. Discuss the challenges and the findings of your assessment. Ensure that the outsourcing team understands the priority changes and the reasons behind them. Collaborate on finding solutions to accelerate development without compromising on the quality.

Una buena comunicación es esencial para el éxito de cualquier proyecto. Asegúrate de que haya canales de comunicación efectivos entre tu equipo interno y el equipo externo. Establece reuniones regulares para revisar el progreso y abordar cualquier problema de manera proactiva.

Good communication is honest communication. Share your failures openly, and create an atmosphere of trust and psychological safety. If you can't share everything, take pause and ask yourself why. If the answer is anything along the lines of "it will embarrass the company", then your problem is not this project but a wider problem such as culture or lack of ability to execute/deliver.

To enhance communication with your outsourcing team during tight deadlines, adopt a proactive strategy. Schedule frequent check-ins and establish transparent channels for updates and feedback. This facilitates real-time tracking of project progress and swift resolution of any emerging issues. Embrace a collaborative ethos to foster alignment and commitment to the revised timeline, minimizing the likelihood of missing deadlines.

If an IT outsourcing project is at risk due to tight deadlines, immediately prioritize tasks to focus on critical functionalities. Allocate additional resources to high-priority areas, streamline communication for faster decision-making, and consider scaling back on non-essential features to meet core objectives. Reassess timelines and resource distribution regularly to ensure alignment with project goals and optimize productivity.

Quando percebemos que existem recursos que estão fora do escopo, ou que estão faltando reorganizar o projeto verificando as carências e rapidamente fazer uma reunião das equipes envolvidas, desta forma organizar os recurso adicionar onde estiver faltando ou mudar as prioridades.

Because we all know changing the team when a project is at a critical stage is - a recipie for disaster. Like so much else, if your team and tools are wrong from the get go you aren't going to recover the situation by changing them too late in the day. That will just add extra delays.

1. Resource Allocation Review -Evaluate Current Utilization -Adjust Allocation 2. Enhanced Collaboration Tools -Improve Communication -Real-time Collaboration 3. Skill Matching -Identify Skill Gaps -Deploy Expertise Effectively 4. Increase Automation -Automate Repetitive Tasks: Identify repetitive tasks that can be automated, such as data entry, testing, or reporting. Automation tools can significantly reduce the time these tasks consume, freeing up resources for more critical project elements. -CI/CD Pipelines: Implement continuous integration and continuous deployment 5. Flexible Work Strategies -Adopt Flexible Scheduling -Remote Work Optimization 6. Prioritize Critical Path Tasks -Critical Path Method (CPM) -Dynamic Re-prioritization

Revisa la asignación de recursos para asegurarte de que sean adecuados para el alcance del proyecto. Esto incluye el tiempo, el personal y el presupuesto. Si es necesario, reasigna recursos para áreas críticas y elimina esfuerzos redundantes o innecesarios.

To optimize resources for your IT outsourcing project, consider several strategic approaches. Firstly, reallocate team members to concentrate on high-priority tasks, ensuring alignment with project objectives. Additionally, assess workload demands and, if necessary, augment and "rightsizing" resources by bringing in additional support. Review and update tools and technologies to enhance efficiency; investing in superior project management software or communication platforms can notably improve productivity. By implementing these measures, you can effectively streamline operations and boost the project's trajectory towards meeting deadlines.

Agile is the answer, now what is the question. Get real, it is 2024, we know agile isn't THE answer, and if you have struggled to manage the process in a waterfall way you aren't suddenly going to transform it, in fact you'll just do agile badly. To be successul using agile you already need a high degree of maturity, otherwise it just become a cargo cult.

I strongly recommend implementing Agile methodologies to enhance project flexibility and adaptability. Agile's iterative development approach, with regular reassessments of priorities, enables the project to pivot smoothly in response to changing timelines and requirements. By breaking work into manageable segments, Agile facilitates more frequent deliverables and enables course adjustments without disrupting the entire project. Encourage your outsourcing partner to adopt Agile practices if they haven't already, as it can significantly improve project outcomes, particularly under deadline pressure.

Implementing Agile will only be effective if the variables for it are favourable: 1) The client and the service provider must be conversant with the methodology and buy into it, 2) additional project roles must be assigned (resource structure is different), and 3) project has to be replanned and scoped, with user stories, sprints, MVP's etc. This all takes time, so I am of the view that other measures like optimising the schedule, reviewing and aligning the critical path milestones and resources may prove more effective in the short run if the conditions above for Agile are not true or cannot be met.

Restructure the engagement with Agile by doing the following: 1- Develop your Product Backlog -- list and prioritize all remaining tasks 2- Estimate level of effort for all tasks 3- Determine Sprint duration (for consulting I like 3 weeks or 1 month) and resource capacity per Sprint and then back in to the remaining time needed to complete all tasks. If projected timeline exceeds plan/budget then either add time/budget to the project or de-scope the lowest priority items. 4- Add highest priority tasks to first Sprint based on LOE and resources available for the Sprint. 5- Execute on Sprint 6- Conduct Sprint activities - daily stand-ups, demo days to review work completed/get feedback, Sprint planning 7- Complete remaining Sprints

Transition the project to agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban to increase flexibility and adaptability. Break down the project into smaller, manageable tasks or user stories, and organize them into sprints or work cycles... of course do not forget to allocate time in sprints for refactoring and improving code quality to prevent future issues and maintain the project's long-term sustainability.

If not already in use, implement agile methodologies that allow for more flexibility. Agile practices such as sprints and scrums can help in managing tasks in smaller chunks, making it easier to adjust priorities and track progress more effectively.

Adoptar metodologías ágiles puede ser beneficioso para manejar cambios rápidos y mejorar la flexibilidad del proyecto. Con enfoques ágiles como Scrum o Kanban, puedes realizar ajustes en tiempo real y abordar problemas rápidamente, lo que puede ayudar a cumplir con los plazos.

Establece mecanismos de seguimiento para medir el progreso del proyecto de manera continua. Utiliza herramientas de gestión de proyectos para visualizar el avance, identificar cuellos de botella y evaluar la productividad del equipo. Esto te permitirá actuar de inmediato ante cualquier desviación del plan.

O monitoramento frequente vai te mostrar onde está o gargalo, e com isso te ajudar na melhor tomada de decisão: Ajudará a decidir se deve incluir mais recursos na atividade critica, se transfere a atividade ou grupo de atividades e o risco a alguma empresa ou profissional especializado e assim criar ações para corrigir o problema e trazer o projeto nos trilhos.

A clear and comprehensive SOW backed up with targeted and enforceable SLAs makes a tremendous difference for keeping things on track. As buyers we don't want fee credits, we want the service we've paid for, but SLAs put pressure on the account team to perform. Missed SLAs drive service credits (liquidated damages for value not received) which in turn directly impact the account team's merits and bonuses. That makes it personal, and the personal investment helps assure the right oversight and governance to get things done right and on time for the buying organization.