And the PM Question of the Week is:
“How do I know when a project is no longer under control?”
Most people think a project is out of control when the schedule slips, the budget is exceeded, or a major milestone is missed.
I disagree.
By the time those things happen, the warning signs have often been there for weeks. Sometimes months.
Sometimes the schedule is still green, but nobody can clearly explain what has been delivered, how progress is being measured, or whether the facts support the status being reported.
For me, a project starts to feel off track when the story stops matching the evidence.
When I can’t clearly answer simple questions like:
• What exactly are we delivering?
• How do we know we’re making progress?
• Can we connect the work being done to measurable outcomes?
• Does our data support the status being reported?
These are the moments that make me pause.
Because projects don’t suddenly become unhealthy overnight.
They slowly lose visibility. The information becomes inconsistent. Assumptions replace facts. Different people start operating from different versions of reality.
And before long, the team realizes they have been moving forward without a clear understanding of where they actually are.
One of the most important responsibilities of a project manager is not just managing schedules or updating reports. It is maintaining visibility and traceability.
Being able to explain:
• What are we doing?
• Why are we doing it?
• How much progress have we made?
• And how do we know?
When those answers become difficult to provide, it may be time to stop, ask questions, and reconnect the project to the facts.
In those moments, I go back to the basics: scope, deliverables, milestones, and evidence of progress.
Because a project is rarely derailed by one big event. More often, it is a collection of small warning signs that nobody stopped to investigate.
What are the early indicators that tell you a project may be drifting off track?
— Rosana Inacio | PM Insight
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