Chapter 5: Plan B is an Integral Part of the Project Plan

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Overview

If the goal of your project is to plant a cherry tree in your front yard, before you stick that shovel in the ground, do you pause to consider these questions?

• Am I digging in the right spot?

• Do I know how big the hole needs to be?

• Is this shovel the right tool, or do I need a backhoe?

• What if I hit a big root, underground utility line, or septic tank?

• What if the shovel breaks?

• What if I get blisters?

• What if the tree dies a week after I plant it?

If you are like most people, you generally think positively about the outcome of each project you undertake. We downplay the probability of mishaps because if we were convinced in advance that too many things will go wrong, who would get out of bed in the morning? In the project world, however, things can and probably will go wrong, so you want to flag the likely points of failure and be ready with a fix or a workaround should they transpire.

Of course, you cannot anticipate them all. We once had a truck with several hundred computers hijacked during its three-block journey across town. It took us 4 days to verify that the truck had been stolen, ^[1] and 2 weeks to get the personal computers (PCs) replaced. We took a lot of good-natured ribbing for this, but in truth the 2-week delay was nearly catastrophic. Did our risk plan address highway robbery? No, it did not. Did we ask Security to protect all subsequent shipments on this project? Yes, we did.

Nor can you avoid every dire consequence you did acknowledge as a possible project event. There is also a people side to this, as would be the case with unproductive or disruptive team members. Personnel issues normally do not have easy fixes in the current laissez-faire environment. Team management is explored in complete detail in Chapter 12, but is mentioned here to further illustrate the far-reaching effects of the project risk virus. Planning for things to go wrong is part of the job, so that is what this chapter is all about.

^[1]Do not ask!

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