Are there any signs telling you that your project is heading towards dead end?

Everything in this world lives on positive hopes, and this is true for the same. 

 

If there are any signs like that, like lack of involvement from key stakeholders, deliverables not being delivered with timeliness, lack of cooperation among stakeholders and so many others, effort should be made to bring things back on track.

 

On a positive note, it is the role of the person taking care of the overall progress to monitor things closely and raise concerns and get them duly addressed.

 

Never lose sight of the final objective

There are plenty indicators which can tell you that you are moving to dead end or nowhere...............

a) Changes in political or economic situation of the country.

b) Changes in project design , methodology, basic things etc.

c) Frequent changes in manpower and experts.

d) Resistance by the team or customer for whom you envisage the project.

Other areas were covered by my colleagues.

I am not sure if this is just running against a wall with frustration over thing not going exactly as planned or if it is the end of a contract and your employer has not answered you a question if you will stay on this project or being resigned.

If you do not know if you are staying with the company staying on the project or being resigned ... start looking for a new job..... remember most employers just use you ... it does not matter how good you are or how loyal you are ... they have no second thought when it comes to show profits ...

If it is just being stuck ... take a day or two to collect yourself and get a new fresh start with your team and see if some one thinks outside the box and comes up with a solution which is agreeable for every one involved... sometimes you have to sit back ... let your team come up with a solution. 

 

Sings ...can be coming from the Company/Corporation level ... change of CEO ... pressure by the stakeholders ...  things do wrong all the time with the project ... sales forecast on the product (if this is already established) interest in the project ... timetable problems ....

 

 

 

I am working as a contractor for my current project and I have not received yet any news or signs tells me that my current project or contract is heading towards a dead end. I always feel positive for my accomplishments and feel that I will got a better opportunities later. I always receive a lot of career invitations by emails or phone calls in daily basis and I earned a great experience in my current career in a lot of current new technologies in the field of information systems security, such as; cloud security, Information audit tools, technical writings, and others. 

 

There are definite signs that would indicate end of any project and there is no right or wrong answer. Speaking from experience, there is a number of companies which I worked for as a consultant or direct employee (such  as Walgreens, ADP, Castillo, CompuThink, CBSI) where projects were shelved, stopped-put on hold or total abandoned due to changes on the US economy-bad economy, bought out by another company,  joint ventures or downsizing. For example, one giant company may buyout one of its competitors and shut them down. As for the Gulf Area, the price of oil may have the end of many projects.  

 

Therefore, there is no guarantee of anything except that the sun will raise the next morning with the blessing of God Almighty and we need to be ready for any challenge. We need to take it as it comes.

 

I think there are two type of terminations, one can be non predictable like all force majors and second is the consequences which come up because of  some reasons, for example high cost because of wrong cost estimation or bad risks identification or other areas of planning or controlling that if they are not sufficient we may face the termination,

For all those second category we can see some flags in reports and controlling processes.

Of course for identified risk it is a little different.

If our actual work is not matching with our estimations or planned activities as per our project plan and don't even find nearer to the objectives, a kind of clear sign the project is going no where or dead end.

Need to wake up immediately and find out the things where went wrong and put it in a direction with a revised schedule or plan accordingly. Thanks.

In an utopian world, every project will be a success and meet the project objectives of cost, time and quality. But in the real world, most of us have been in a project which was not a success. Some projects that we worked on have failed or probably are on the verge of failure. Can we find out early on that a project is not going right? Are there clues or signs that can give us an indication that a project can fail? The project manager or the team can look for the following signs which can indicate that the project is not on track and may be headed for disaster - Stakeholders Interest in the project – A project has many key stakeholders and they have to contribute actively if the project has to succeed. If key stakeholders show reduced interest levels in the project or do not allocate requisite resources to the project, it is not a good sign for the project. Lack of attendance in review meetings, not saying too much in meetings or not paying attention to reports, not responding to phone calls or not giving information on time are signs that a project might be in trouble. So, see to it that you manage your stakeholders with elan to make sure that their interest level in your project does not drop. Lack of Management Support – Projects that get management support are the ones that get the maximum attention from different departments and get the required resources. Sometimes projects suffer due to differing management priorities or company politics. The commitment and resources for the project will be lacking if management support is weak and the project will be on a low priority and this can cause the project to fail. Poor Project Management – Project mismanagement can also lead to a project to fail. A project manager who cannot lead the team effectively can be one key factor for project failure. Project managers need a range of skills like good communication skills, team motivation, coordination, planning, replanning, problem solving, execution and risk management. If the project manager is lacking in any of these qualities, the project might fail. Team Weaknesses – The project team is the key for project success. If the team is not right for the project or if the team does not have the right skills or team members do not have enough knowledge, the project might not meet with success. Is your team overworked or scheduled for too many tasks in other projects, then your project might be destined to fail. Poor communication – If the team is not communicating properly or if the client relationship is not direct and transparent, there can be issues in the project. Poor communication can lead to lack of information. Poor communication can also lead to miscommunication and project status might not be shared properly leading to troubles in the project. Slippage in key measures of success – Project success is measured in terms of parameters measuring cost, schedule, scope and quality and revenue. A project manager has to review the project measures regularly. Any of the measures like cost variance, schedule variance is beyond accepted limits, it is a cause for concern. If there are too many bugs in the code or documentation is lacking or process is not being followed, the project can be in trouble. If team members are consistently giving deliverables late and milestones and deadlines are being missed many times, the project has a high probability of failure. The project manager should keep a watch for signs of trouble in the project. If there is not enough management support, he should bring it to their notice and understand the priorities. If the team does not have the right skill sets, he should liaise with the staffing team and ensure the necessary skills are available within the project. The project manager should review the project measurement parameters regularly. He should work towards having a motivated and committed team who will work towards achieving the project objectives. The senior management should select the right project manager who has the capability to manage the project through its ups and downs and the ability to make it a success.

Thanks for invitation 

I agree with previous answers .