12 Signs Your Digital Transformation Project is in Trouble

You don’t need a deep understanding of the project technology to determine when something’s wrong—and what to do about it.

How well is your digital transformation project performing? The monthly status reports sound encouraging. However, how do you know if the report presents a credible or a rose-colored view? Your engineer’s experienced gut is nervous and senses trouble.

Here are the top 12 indicators engineering companies can quickly assess to determine if a digital transformation project is headed for disaster. You don’t need a deep understanding of the project technology to determine what’s happening and what to do about it.

12. Annoying project manager

Initially, the project manager seemed well-suited to managing the digital transformation project. More recently, that person has become increasingly impatient, short-tempered, and critical of others. The project manager has begun to override or veto reasonable recommendations of other team members.

As the sensitive VP of Engineering overseeing the project, you can rebuild your confidence in the project by:

1. Convening a coaching session with the project manager and encouraging improved behavior and respect for others.
2. Replacing the project manager and accepting that action’s cost and schedule implications.

11. Dizzying technology changes

The initial technology choices appeared to fit the requirements of the digital transformation project well. More recently, the team seems to want to introduce more technology or replace the technology selected earlier.

As the technology-cautious VP of Engineering overseeing the project, you can reclaim your confidence in the project by:

1. Asking the project manager to explain and assure the team is not adding avoidable risk to the project.
2. Reminding the project manager that the project goal does not include exploring various technologies because of the team’s personal interests.

10. Paralyzing designs

The digital transformation project’s team has performed excellent work but has reached a point of indecision about which design to proceed with. Both designs are workable and have different advantages and disadvantages. The decision has paralyzed the team, and the clock is ticking.

As the decisive VP of Engineering overseeing the project, you can regenerate your confidence in the project by:

1. Asking the project manager to facilitate a team meeting to reach a recommendation quickly.
2. Suggesting to the project manager that the decision may be more about maintaining team cohesiveness than technical superiority.

9. Extending project schedule

The planned project schedule of the digital transformation project seemed reasonable and not rushed. Recent monthly performance reports against that schedule show one or more of the following anomalies:

1. An estimated completion date that is moving further into the future.
2. Surprising month-to-month changes to the fixed baseline schedule.
3. Revisions to effort days for supposedly completed work.

As the schedule-focused VP of Engineering overseeing the project, the schedule anomalies undermine your confidence in the project team. To shore it up, you can:

1. Ask the project manager to improve project schedule reporting.
2. View these anomalies as indicators of more significant project problems and conduct a project review.

8. Illusionary project benefits

You were excited by the digital transformation project’s benefits described in the charter. However, as the project progressed, the following events occurred:

1. Some original benefits turned out to have been overestimated.
2. Some new benefits emerged.
3. Developments in the external business environment have reduced the value of some benefits.

As the skeptical VP of Engineering who is alert to over-selling, you can retain your confidence in the project by:

1. Asking the project manager to have the project team re-estimate project benefits.
2. Cancelling the project if the updated benefits are insufficient.

7. Superficial risk management

Early in the digital transformation project, the risk register seemed reasonably comprehensive. More recently, risk management appears to have deteriorated to become superficial.

As the risk-focused VP of Engineering overseeing the project, you can revitalize your confidence in the project by:

1. Asking the project manager to increase attention to risk management.
2. Reviewing the risk mitigation work for adequacy.
3. Determining the risks cannot be overcome and cancelling the project to avoid wasting more resources and money.

6. Skyrocketing costs

The planned project cost estimate of the digital transformation project seemed reasonable and not delusionally low. However, recent monthly spending reports against that cost estimate show one or more of the following irregularities:

1. The estimated cost at completion is trending up and down significantly from month to month.
2. Unexplained month-to-month changes to the approved initial project cost estimate.
3. Revisions to the actual cost for supposedly completed work.

As the cost-conscious VP of Engineering overseeing the project, the cost irregularities weaken your confidence in the project team. To bolster it, you can:

1. Ask the project manager to improve project cost reporting.
2. View these irregularities as indicators of more significant project problems and conduct a project review.

5. Crumbling project management plan

The steering committee for the digital transformation project approved a comprehensive project management plan. However, as the project progressed, the following events occurred:

1. Analysis and design work revealed tasks missing in the project management plan.
2. Critical assumptions turned out to be wrong.
3. Some vendors over-sold their capabilities, creating schedule and quality problems.

As the VP of Engineering who values good planning, you can renew your confidence in the project by:

1. Directing the project manager to revise and improve the project management plan.
2. Cancelling the project rather than wasting more money if the team cannot produce a realistic revised project management plan.

4. Vanishing project resources

When the digital transformation project started, the collective experience and expertise of the team were impressive. However, the following resource issues have emerged as the project progressed:

1. Project team members have resigned to pursue more appealing career opportunities. It’s been challenging to attract suitable replacements.
2. A few project team members have been removed due to inadequate performance.
3. Various stakeholders’ resource commitments to support the project are not being fulfilled.

These personnel issues create cost and schedule increases for digital transformation projects. As the VP of Engineering who recognizes that happy people make effective project teams, you can restore your confidence in the project by:

1. Increasing your engagement with the project team to reinforce the message that the organization’s leadership is committed to the project and wants the benefits that will accrue from a completed project.
2. Ensuring that arbitrary human resource pay policies don’t block your efforts to attract the experience and talent the project needs.
3. Shrinking the project scope if resources are not available.

3. Escalating internal politics

Executive and stakeholder commitments to the digital transformation project were excellent. More recently, you and the team have encountered hallway criticism of the project, various challenges to its value and some retraction of previous support.

As the politically astute VP of Engineering overseeing the project, you can reestablish your confidence in the project by:

1. Increasing your communication about the value and status of the project.
2. Asking executives and stakeholders to reaffirm their commitments.

2. Expanding data issues

The digital transformation project charter mentioned the risk of data issues. However, as the project progressed, the enormity of missing and inaccurate data surprised everyone. Digital transformation projects are particularly prone to data issues because these projects must typically integrate data from multiple data sources.

As the VP of Engineering who is alert to career-killing issues, you can recover your confidence in the project by:

1. Encouraging stakeholders to improve their data management practices.
2. Shrinking the project scope to data sources where the data cleanup is reasonably feasible.
3. Cancelling the project if the estimated data cleanup effort overwhelms the business case.

1. Deteriorating business case

The digital transformation project was approved with an appealing business case. However, as the project progressed, the following events occurred:

1. Some tasks were underestimated.
2. Analysis and design work revealed tasks that were added to the project management plan.
3. Various risks turned into reality. The related remediations cost money and created delays.
4. Unexpected staff turnover created onboarding delays and learning costs for replacement staff.

As the VP of Engineering who avoids association with boondoggles, you can regain your confidence in the project by:

1. Revising and narrowing the scope to still deliver a successful digital transformation project based on priorities revealed by the initial analysis work.
2. Cancelling the project rather than wasting more money if a realistic estimate to complete the digital transformation project kills the business case.

 

By identifying which of these indicators of trouble is causing your engineer’s experienced gut to be nervous and taking the suggested action, your digital transformation project can deliver the value you planned to achieve.