The document discusses how project managers can prepare for unexpected issues on projects. It recommends that project managers build contingency into project schedules by adding buffer time or overestimating durations. It also suggests keeping additional resources available and creating a "playbook" of plans for how to handle potential problems like delays or defects. Reviewing past project histories can help identify common issues and better ready managers for the unexpected. Preparing for uncertainties in these ways helps ensure projects can still succeed even when unforeseen obstacles occur.

1. Being Prepared for the Unexpected
By Kenneth Darter, PMP
One of the joys of working on projects is that
you will never grow bored. All projects are
different, and each has its own issues and
unexpected occurrences. Even if the exact
same system is implemented a second time,
the project will be different: the customer will
have different ideas, the technology will have
changed or the project team members will have
different ideas about the system. Whatever the
project is, the project manager should always
be prepared for the unexpected on a project.
No plan is fool proof, and there are always occurrences that were not thought
of before the project was started. These unexpected problems can quickly turn
a project from "green" to "red", slowing it down and in the worst case stopping
it from moving forward. While project managers cannot create policies and
procedures for every eventuality that might occur during the project, they can
plan for most of the possible contingencies and create processes and ideas for
how to deal with those unexpected issues. The following are some ideas and
guidelines for project managers to keep in mind when preparing for the
unexpected.
Build Contingency Into the Schedule
The first step to dealing with the unknown occurs before the project even
starts. When the schedule is being created, there should be enough slack in it
to account for contingencies that happen during the project. A project manager
can add a buffer at the end of the schedule or during each major phase, or the
project manager can over-estimate task durations. This sort of contingency
planning in the schedule will help everyone deal with unexpected problems or
issues during the project execution phase. The project manager might even
need to put a contingency buffer in the scope and the budget in addition to the
schedule.
Keep Resources at the Ready
With contingency built into the schedule, the next step is to determine what
people are available to help with unexpected issues. Of course, these people
are not sitting around just waiting for something to happen. Some of these
people will be assigned to your project and some will be assigned to other
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2. projects. However, it is still important for project managers to understand
ahead of time where they can pull people from to handle problems with the
project. Identifying these people and how they can be utilised on the project
will help the project manager deal with problems down the road.
Use a Good Playbook
Like any good coach, a project manager needs to have a good playbook. What
happens when a key leader on the project leaves the company, what happens
when the customer rethinks the proposed solution, or what happens when
testing runs over the allotted time or too many defects are found? All of these
general problems can and do occur on projects, and the project manager needs
to know how he is going to handle it. Will he look to the customer to delay, will
he assign more resources to the project or will he rely on executive
management to work through the problems? Creating a great playbook will
help a project manager be better prepared when problems happen.
Look at History
The project manager should also be spending a great deal of time looking at
what happened in the past on other projects. Seeing the problems and issues
that happened then will help the project manager be ready for the unexpected
problems that can occur on the present project. Understanding what worked
and what did not on the other projects will help make the case for the
scheduled contingency and will help the project manager build up his own
playbook and handle the unexpected.
In conclusion, project managers cannot create policies and procedures for
every eventuality that might occur during a project; however, they can plan for
unexpected problems. It is important to include some contingency in your
schedule, identify people who can help in the case of problems, create a great
playbook and review and act on the lessons from past projects. Being prepare
for the unexpected will ensure you know how to react should any problems
arise.
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