Case Study
At-Risk Project Recovery
The Challenge
Earlier this year, an Oil and Gas supermajor contacted Stratdel to help turn around a marketing campaign that was core to the company’s long-term commercial strategy.
Prior to our arrival, the company’s leadership had agreed to a strategy and integrated initiatives were planned. But the overall delivery of the campaign was failing. Timelines were tight, milestones were missed, and the teams were becoming overwhelmed with ambiguous and unclear requirements. In short, the campaign was at-risk.
The Solution
Turning at-risk projects into success stories is a core strength at Stratdel, and although our project manager was entering into an already challenging environment, he was able to immediately deliver results by:
- Quickly integrating with the project team, developing a relationship based on mutual respect and common goals.
- Helping to establish more realistic and focused processes.
- Quickly identifying the project methodologies that best fit the scope and goals of the campaign – helping the team to translate, plan and execute on strategies.
The result? A new roadmap that got the project back on track to deliver results.
The Feedback
“As the project sponsor, I was extremely happy with Stratdel’s ability to come in, take full accountability on the project and command the respect and responsiveness needed to redirect the contributors to follow through and take ownership on their deliverables. Stratdel was essential in delivering the expected value.”
Business Impact – Value
At-risk projects come with a unique set of challenges, and this one was no different. But before contacting Stratdel, the decision-makers at the organization asked themselves:
- Is the initiative important enough to save?
- Do we have someone internal with the experience we can count on to lead it?
- Is there value in hiring outside help?
When all answers pointed to a need for outside expertise, they gave us a call. And our project manager’s years of experience proved to be instrumental in getting the project back on track. Working together with the in-house team, he was able to:
- Reestablish the campaign and improve planning.
- Provide organization and structure, improving the team’s ways of working.
- Execute on initiatives, on-time and under budget.
Business Impact – Process
In reestablishing projects, we believe communication is imperative. Getting the right information, to the right person, through the right channel is a must when course correcting projects and solving issues.
After a recovery review process was conducted on this particular project, our project manager was able to:
- Quickly identify the project methodologies that would best fit the scope of the campaign’s needs.
- Eliminate unclear and ambiguous requirements and adjust unrealistic schedules.
- Prioritize resource activities for better execution.
- Begin tracking and managing risk with the teams.
Business Impact – Leadership
A consultant coming in from the outside can be concerning for an in-house team. As many do, this client initially had reservations. They wanted to know if a consultant could lead and deliver on campaign requirements, while still maintaining cohesiveness with their team.
We assured them that our project leaders focus heavily on communication, honesty and adaptability – and we work hard to establish trust and rally team members to work together towards a common goal. We believe this ability to lead projects while remaining people-focused is what sets our clients up for success.
Throughout the lifecycle of the project, our seasoned consultant was able to help this organization’s in-house team to:
- Better adapt to change.
- Overcome existing and new challenges.
- Change course when necessary.
- Succeed in a fast-paced, at-risk environment.
