13.09.2024

Projects need rescuing? Achieve success with us!

Is your project struggling? With Intero Consulting, you can get it back on track!

In project management, professionals frequently encounter a variety of challenges including unclear objectives, inadequate resource planning, poor communication, changing requirements and meeting deadlines. These obstacles can complicate the realisation of projects, and therefore a high degree of flexibility and problem-solving skills is required. Critical to the success of a project is the team's ability to proactively address these challenges while maintaining open, transparent communication. A well-defined project plan as well as regular co-ordination and close collaboration among all stakeholders involved are essential success factors for overcoming these challenges and bringing the project to a successful conclusion.

With our extensive experience in ‘rescuing’ projects, we can quickly and effectively stabilise your project. Our approach focuses first on rapid stabilisation in order to minimise further risks and bring the project efficiently back on track. We not only make use of proven project management methods and techniques (e.g. PRINCE2, IPMA and SCRUM), but also our well-developed soft skills. Through targeted communication, empathy, and team leadership, we can rebuild stakeholder trust, reduce tensions and foster a constructive working atmosphere essential for the success of the project.

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What difficulties can arise in projects?

Resource bottlenecks

Unclear communication project structures

Time pressure

Complexity of requirements and dependencies

Loss of motivation

Lack of expertise

Unclear goals and scope creep

A common cause of challenges in projects is limited personnel and financial resources. Project teams are often torn between daily operations and project tasks, leading to work overload and blurred priorities. Without clear capacity allocation, projects frequently falter under the strain of overburdened teams.

Misunderstandings arise when communication channels are not clearly defined. Opaque information flows and a lack of documentation can consequently leading to a limit the project team’s ability to take action. Moreover, unstructured communication with stakeholders often causes unnecessary concern at the management level, creating additional pressure and confusion in the project that may cause further destabilisation.

In addition to a lack of resources, tight schedules are one of the main causes of project crises. In particular, projects heavily dependent upon external service providers or contracts often face immense time pressure. Achieving a balance between quality and time is crucial; however, this equilibrium is often disrupted leading to suboptimal results.

In large companies with highly interconnected structures, the complexity of a project can easily be underestimated. Dependencies between various subprojects are often unclear, resulting in mismanagement and coordination challenges. There is also often an absence of clear processes to effectively manage this complexity and maintain oversight.

A decline in motivation among project stakeholders can stem from missed deadlines, constant changes to plans, or negative experiences throughout the project. This creates a vicious cycle wherein the team loses momentum, leading to further decreases in performance.

In IT transformation projects, it often becomes clear that companies lack the necessary expertise to drive successful outcomes. This gap in knowledge results in poor decision-making and increases the demand for consulting support and training, which both ultimately drain time and resources.

Vague or poorly defined project goals lead to confusion and inefficiency. Without clear delineation of the project’s scope, project teams tend to take on more than originally planned, resulting in additional requirements and uncontrolled project expansion (scope creep).

How can off-track projects be efficiently rescued?

Project derailments often arise from a variety of interconnected factors, such as differing personalities within the team, unclear responsibilities, or external pressures. To effectively address these challenges, we utilise established personality models like MBTI or DISG to gain a deeper understanding of the individual strengths and weaknesses of team members. By strategically analysing and bringing together the right personalities, we can configure teams able to respond well to complex problems. This approach enables the identification of the optimal team composition and the creation an environment that meets the specific demands of the project. Our adaptable method, grounded in proven techniques and models, serves as the foundation for successful project recovery and allows us to both develop and implement customised solutions for each situation.

Project structure

A well-designed project structure is fundamental to the success of the project. Utilising an established project methodology (e.g., SCRUM, PRINCE2) helps define the organisation of the project team, clarify individual responsibilities, and establish decision-making pathways. The benefits of developing a clear project structure are twofold: firstly, it enhances transparency and allows all stakeholders to understand their roles and act effectively; secondly, it helps prevent silos and fosters stronger collaboration.
Project planning

A detailed and foresighted project plan is crucial for steering the project's progress. A good project plan sets clear objectives, outlines timelines, defines milestones, and allocates resources such as budget and personnel effectively. Effective planning should be dynamic and flexible enough to adapt to unexpected challenges, ensuring the project stays on track and achieves its goals both on time and within budget.
Stakeholder management

Effective stakeholder management ensures that all individuals or groups directly or indirectly involved in the project are identified and considered from the outset. This entails managing expectations, maintaining regular communication, and promptly resolving potential conflicts or misunderstandings. Cultivating strong relationships with stakeholders secures support from key decision-makers and allows for reservations to be actively addressed.
Communication

Open and structured communication is the cornerstone of every successful project. Internally, open communication ensures that all team members are aligned, informed about progress and challenges, and misunderstandings can be prevented. Externally, communication ensures engagement with stakeholders, clients and other concerned parties. A well-developed communication strategy that incorporates regular meetings, clear reporting structures and transparent information flows is a key success factor in project management.
Active project management

This involves actively managing the project rather than taking a passive approach. This includes continuously monitoring progress against defined metrics and milestones. If deviations occur, project management intervenes to implement corrective actions, such as reprioritising tasks, reallocating resources, or adjusting the project plan. A proactive approach ensures that the project remains successful, even during challenging phases.
Change management

Projects mean changes to the status quo; be it due to changing requirements, new technologies or processes. Change management facilitates a structured approach to navigating these changes, embedding them sustainably within the organisation to ensure project success. Effective change management identifies necessary adjustments early on and supports affected employees throughout the controlled implementation, minimising resistance. It ensures that change is seen as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.
Process transparency

Process transparency ensures that all stakeholders can track the project's progress, understand pending tasks, and identify potential risks at any time. This transparency promotes trust and collaboration both within the team and with stakeholders. Regular reports, dashboards, and status updates ensure that no important information is lost and that decisions can be based on the most current data.

Zwei Consultants beraten eine Strategie.

Intero Consulting employs a

structured five-phase approach for the rescue your project.

Status assessment: Analyse why your project is off track
Intensive project management course: Utilise selected tools from the project management toolbox, tailored to address the issues identified in the analysis and implement targeted measures at key leverage points.
Impact evaluation: Assess the effectiveness of the implemented measures.
Adjustments (optional): Make any necessary adjustments from findings from the impact evaluation.
Project stabilisation or successful project completion: Stabilise or successfully close the project depending on the remaining project timeline.

Our quality promise to you to save your projects

Customized solutions
We pride ourselves as a partner who tailors our approach to the unique needs of our clients and their situations, applying methodological expertise in a results-oriented manner.
Extensive experience
In recent years, we have successfully rescued projects for various clients from different sectors - including regulated environments.
Well-established and interdisciplinary team
We put our project teams together in such a way that their individual strengths and specialist skills complement each other perfectly.
Experts in challenging situations
Critical situations require not only methodological competence but also the necessary tact and sensitivity - Interos are experts in communication, teamwork and stress resistance.