● Required reports arrive late. Requested for documentation is:
● Not sent/ provided
● Not located.
● Challenged by the group asked to provide it/ Report providers being interfered with by their bosses.
● Vital sign information does not exist.
● Incomplete. Not fully disclosed. Declined to answer specific questions.
● Illegible.
● Non-existent.
● Refusing to comment – when a comment is requested
● Sent late/ sent outdated/ inadequate information
● Inaccurate/ inconsistent reporting.
● Misleading/ irrelevant.
● Omitted/redacted.
● Answers are intentionally obtuse/ difficult to understand/ jargon-filled
● Managers spend much of their (and subordinates) time in brainstorming sessions and surveys on corporate culture and attitudes.
● Massive personnel changes/team defections; best people have left/are leaving.
● Complaints by and about contractors intensify.
● No accountability/ responsibility for the project’s deliverables/decisions/issues.
● Dedicated resources are:
● Being siphoned away.
● Insufficient.
● Unreliable.
● Unavailable.
● Customer is (or may plan to) withholding payments to contractor(s), vendor(s), suppliers. Contractor may also be refusing to work until paid.
● Key supporters have withdrawn or are threatening to withdraw.
● Commitments to the “big 4” have been broken.
● ***The project’s scope has been reduced but the cost has increased (or is increasing).
● The team realizes the enormity of the task ahead once the initial excitement wears off.
● Contractors are submitting proposals with considerable statements of protection against unknown details to “cover themselves.”
● Many key features and benefits are being pushed into the next phase of the project.
● Senior management, the project manager/team is counting on a “silver bullet” (single cure) to save the situation such as a:
● New tool.
● New method.
● An expert.
● The budget and schedule is unrealistic and no one has told the sponsor.
● Repeated prototype failures during testing.
● No detailed product/project walk-throughs are being conducted.
● No risk assessment plan exists.
● No project sponsor exists for this project.
● No one knows how much it will cost to complete the project nor when it will be ready.
● The project manager is not given sufficient authority to get the job done.