What to do when you inherit a project started by someone else.

The Project Brief, Saturday, November 25 th, 4 min read.

There are many reasons why you might be asked to take over a project from someone else. Whether it's after a departure, an extended absence, or a strategic reorganization in the company where you work, you should always be on your guard and make sure you ask the right questions before accepting.

It's not enough just to be of service to the person entrusting you with it, you also need to know what you're getting into. Don't promise anything until you've done your due diligence. You're doing it for your own sake, but also for the sake of your employer.

Whether or not you choose to take on the project, your approach should remain the same: make no promises and mention that you'll need to gather all the information you can to get an accurate picture of the situation before you agree on a game plan for the way ahead.

If, in the end, you're not happy with the whole package, and you're free to refuse the project, so much the better. But if you have no choice, the information you've gathered will probably enable you to negotiate or discuss the less glamorous aspects of the project.

Question the fundamentals

Your first instinct is certainly to find out about the type of project and the target objective. Then, you'll be in a better position to question the fundamentals to verify the health of the project.

But beware: simply looking at the scope, timetable and budget is not enough to get a complete picture of the project.

By the time you make your own assessment, the project may seem to be respecting these fundamentals, but may just be on the verge of collapse for other reasons that you need to look at in detail.

Meet the project participants

Your boss will probably have met you beforehand to ask you to take on the project, giving you the information he or she had on the project. In my experience, very little information is given by the immediate superior, who was probably caught off-guard by having to find an emergency replacement for a project he was only remotely following.

Tell him that you’ll have to get a complete picture of the situation, despite the quality of the information he's been able to give you. You need to meet the rest of the team to get a complete picture of the project's status.

You should then be able to meet the people working directly on the project and understand their role. Getting to know the people and assessing the quality of relationships within the project team is essential.

For all the people you meet, whether direct team members or managers, take the opportunity to identify their colors, as I discussed in the article What you need to know about the four colors of human personality. This will give you an insight into the personalities in action and help you to better understand relationships if conflicts are involved.

First, organize a general meeting to introduce yourself. You can also use this opportunity to answer any questions they may have, but again, avoid making promises that could embarrass you.

Depending on the level of trust in the organization, a great deal of information may be shared during this meeting. If employees are used to speaking without fear, you may not need to arrange individual meetings.

If not, individual meetings with each member should enable you to obtain other types of information.

Pay close attention when people give you sensitive information, and be on the lookout for things left unsaid, silences and hesitations. Anything that can help you get a good idea of the project as a whole.

In that sense, if you haven't yet read my article How to read someone while negociating, there couldn't be a better opportunity to prepare yourself. There are several signals that may be sent to you during your discussions, that you can use to focus your conversation on certain crucial elements.

During your meetings, here are a few questions that will give you a clearer idea of the general state of the project:

• What's going well in the team?

• What's not going well in the team?

• Are there any current conflicts within the team?

• If so, do you think that they are attributable to the departure of the project manager you've been asked to replace?

• What are the causes of the conflict(s)?

• Do they stem from one or more individuals?

• Do they stem from a lack of communication within the team?

• Do they stem from poorly identified needs?

• Are they the result of pressure on the team caused by a tight schedule and/or limited budget?

Meet the team directors

Now that you've met with the direct project team, and you've got a lot of information in hand, you need to meet with the directors and sponsor to confirm the information you've gathered from the database. This could be your direct boss who asked you to take over the project, his or her superiors, or/and the sponsor.

You'll be able to confirm whether their understanding of the current state of the project matches the one that has been portrayed to you by the team.

You need to understand their position and ask a few questions:

• Is this a strategic, priority project for the company?

• Are they under pressure from above to complete the project quickly?

• Have they had to impose decisions on the rest of the team that have put a strain on their relationship?

You are now in a position to assess the discrepancies between the information provided by the direct team and the management team, and to recalibrate the project, if you deem it necessary, thanks to the project's basic documents.

Review the project plan and get it approved

If the project needs to be adjusted for various reasons, let your superiors know. Take advantage of the momentum and the fact that you are not yet officially part of the team to present your conditions.

The project plan acts a bit like a contract. It represents the agreement made when the project was launched.

The project plan is the document par excellence for summarizing the main parameters of the project:

• Project objectives;

• Project scope;

• Deliverables to be received;

• Budget identification;

• Sources of funding;

• Identification of deadlines;

• Identification of main risks;

• Resources required for the project;

• Identification of project stakeholders;

• Signatures of key project representatives.

The departure of certain key players whose signatures appear on the original project plan can also be an excellent excuse to revise it and have it signed by the new persons in place.

This will ensure that everyone is aligned and agrees with the new parameters you've set out in the plan. This document will act as a guide for all the other documents that probably already exist and that you will also need to update later in line with the new parameters.

This is a real opportunity to restart the project by mobilizing the team on new foundations that you will have established with the support of your superiors and your direct team.

Plan a new kick-off meeting

What better way to formalize this new beginning than with a meeting? This is an excellent opportunity for everyone to get together and hear what you have to say about the new direction the project is going to take.

Knowing that you've already met with most of the people around the table and discussed ways to turn the project around, what you'll be presenting shouldn't come as a surprise.

And while we're about meetings, I'd like to take this opportunity to direct you to the very first article I wrote on this newsletter, How to run an effective meeting (Without rushing everyone), in which I explain how to organize and structure an effective meeting.

Control, manage, assess.

Now it's time!

Over the next weeks, your role will be crucial. You'll need to keep an eye open to make sure that all team members adhere to the agreed ways of working.

The reality is that team members don't always have to look at the project plan and learn it by heart. If you see discrepancies between what's written and what's done, it's your job to re-align the way things must be done.

Expect to have to repeat procedures often. For example, you'll probably have to reiterate the lines of communication every four to six months.

You'll need to get to know your new team on a daily basis. You've met them, but you probably don't yet know how most of them work.

Your role here will be important in confirming whether everyone's performance is on track to meet the project's objectives or, if not, whether changes need to be made to the team to optimize its operation.

Taking over a project started by someone else is no small matter. Whether or not you have the choice to take it on, you have an obligation to investigate its condition before accepting it. Take the opportunity to identify what isn't working, or what you would have done differently, and discuss it with your superiors so you can make changes to keep the project running smoothly.

If I'd had this article early in my career, when I was assigned projects that were going badly for all sorts of reasons, I would have been more cautious in my approach and not just rushed headlong to complete the project within the given parameters.

As a project manager, don't hesitate to question the state of the project, the parameters, and/or the decisions that have been made. You're doing this primarily for yourself, but also for your employer. Your professional credibility will benefit.

Feel free to share this letter with those who could benefit from it.