Critical Chain Success Tip - Prepare for successful project delivery

A key failing of effective project management is down to poor preparation prior to launching a project. This lack of preparation is normally due to insufficient time as all resource is too busy executing tasks on other projects. Also there is constant pressure from clients and other project sponsors to show tangible progress is being made.

We are all aware of the link between good preparation and effective execution but the question is:

How do we ensure our Project organisation consistently prepares well for projects?

Our Critical Chain implementation tip to kick start the ‘preparation discipline’ is simple, but requires strong leadership. This approach requires resources to be freed up in the short term to conduct all the necessary preparation tasks. This is achieved by temporarily ‘Freezing’ a portion of the project portfolio. The frozen projects are then prioritised and once the preparation activities are completed the projects are released back into execution.

Freezing projects to improve the speed and effectiveness of your project organisation can, to some, seem counter intuitive. Successful Critical Chain implementations have shown immediate results in terms of project effectiveness and lead-time reduction by taking this step.