{"id":11412,"date":"2013-03-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.argonandco.com\/news-insights\/articles\/for-project-management-cliches-sandy-springs-atlanta-ga\/"},"modified":"2020-12-17T19:41:13","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T19:41:13","slug":"for-project-management-cliches-sandy-springs-atlanta-ga","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.argonandco.com\/us\/news-insights\/articles\/for-project-management-cliches-sandy-springs-atlanta-ga\/","title":{"rendered":"Helpful clich\u00e9s for project management"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some familiar phrases that may help if the going gets tough on a project.<\/p>\n

Are you getting ready to start a project that will bring significant improvements to your current operation? If so, lots of luck! But, remember to keep your eye on the ball: that is, firmly focused on the ultimate goal: to support the company business, without interruption.<\/p>\n

Every once in a while, as a project nears completion, the going gets tough. Of course, we always start with a solid, workable plan that is a necessary prerequisite to successful implementation. But, as the old adage says, there’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Some of those slips are a result of changes in the business environment that catch our project halfway through. For example, a higher priority project may need to borrow some of our budget — rob Peter to pay Paul<\/i>, so to speak. Or, an acquisition or consolidation may change the throughput requirements dramatically.<\/p>\n

These changes are likely to require what I would call mid-stream re-engineering. When the project was conceived, alternatives were developed, refined and compared. One was selected, perhaps by the slimmest of margins. A new situation may make it appropriate to re-visit elements of some of those original alternatives. This is no time to cling to our old favorites. There is always more than one way to skin a cat. Have an open mind to those options that will keep the business on course, but DON\u2019T get so radical as to stop and start over. It’s not a good idea to change horses in the middle of the stream<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Be prepared to compromise. This might take fresh eyes from someone outside the project to keep the discussion objective.<\/p>\n

Schedule and budget are important, but not at the expense of a functional solution. No one likes overruns. And that is why we spend so much effort to get it right at the beginning and why we try to maintain a contingency that is proportional to the expected risks.<\/p>\n

However, it is sometimes better to suck it up, beg forgiveness, eat crow and ask for a little more money than to throw out the baby with the bathwater<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Budget changes may make it necessary to postpone a portion of the project. If so, how DO we choose what to keep, and what to defer? Eat the elephant one bite at a time. We might consider choosing the project segment that:<\/p>\n