Project Environment Interface Concepts

Project recovery implies that there is a variation in project performance that is significant enough (within a particular project management environment) to warrant special attention by the PMO and probably senior management. At first glance, it would seem that project recovery is needed because of some sudden and massive failure somewhere in the process, in the people assigned to the project, or in the support system, so now the PMO and management experts are needed to "clean up" the situation. Unfortunately, that is always a possibility. However, project recovery is more likely to be needed because of slower and less discernable deterioration in project performance that suddenly becomes apparent.

To instill confidence, the PMO can develop recommendations for ongoing senior management involvement through such mechanisms as project and portfolio management reviews, as a means of monitoring project performance before trouble occurs and project recovery is needed.

The PMO also serves as a resource for project managers, possibly in conjunction with mentoring or risk-planning support activities, helping them to identify critical project performance indicators that can be examined and managed during project execution to avoid the need for formal project recovery actions. However, when project recovery is needed, the PMO can also assist in forming and preparing the specially qualified teams needed to spearhead the project recovery effort, often from among the cadre of highly qualified project managers it has developed.

Similarly, the development of a PMO "project recovery" function also should do as much to preclude its formal implementation as it does to guide corrective actions when specifically needed. The PMO will be able to assert technical influence over projects through development of a project recovery capability. The "project recovery" function uses technical and business concepts based in routine project management activities, only now those activities are performed with more rigor and closer attention to process details. Therefore, much of the project management process and content that is examined and implemented within the context of project recovery can be simultaneously applied as well to project management standards (Chapter 3), methodology (Chapter 1), planning (Chapter 14), and mentoring (Chapter 13) functions, to name a few.