Last week was a big week for me, as a digital product project I’ve been bringing back on course finally went live.
The project started almost a year ago and was meant to go live in winter 23/24 but things veered off course for lots of complex reasons. The organisation leading the project brought me in around 3 months ago and in this time I’ve uncovered the challenges, wrapped a whole new structure around the project team, and chipped away at things until we made it to launch!
Here’s a sneak peak of just a few of the things I did to help get the team back on track.
Dug into the detail: I read every document I could, spoke to every single person who would give me time. I left no stone unturned and built a solid picture of what the original goal was and where to navigate back to.
Asked questions: I asked every little question that came to mind. There’s no such thing as a stupid question, especially in project recovery, and the responses were frequently little gems that opened up my understanding of the issues, and provided ideas for resolutions.
Built relationships: Be kind and be honest. Nobody on the project team wanted it to be so delayed and a part of my job is to empathise and listen, while being honest about what could have gone better and how to fix it now. I also built relationships with stakeholders, listened to their needs and concerns, and communicated progress back to them regularly.
Did the boring stuff: A lot of project management is in the repetition, and in keeping things consistent. For example, it’s important to get that meeting structure in place, including keeping the issue log live each meeting, logging and confirming those actions (and ownership!) each meeting and coming back to them week on week until they’re resolved. And of course, making sure those comms channels to stakeholders are kept up-to-date.
Bringing this digital product back on track and seeing it through to launch has been a rewarding journey, with its fair share of challenges for us to navigate. Despite the bumps along the way, the experience has highlighted the value of gentle honesty, resilience and collaboration. I’m grateful for what we achieved together and look forward to seeing the positive impact this project will have!
If you’ve got a project that needs to be unstuck then get in touch for a chat. I always promise: no obligation, no spam!
Third Ground Consulting 
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