The Project that Nobody Wants

This happens all the time. You get asked can you take on this project. It's a project that no one want's and it finally comes your way. You are aware of that project and you know why no one has taken ownership of it yet. Just take it and show those lazy Project Managers how it's done.

We don't always have the luxury of being involved at the inception of some projects to have input defining the scope and budget. The budget that can support the cost of the project is important to nail down if you want it done right.

It's not a perfect world that's why we have good Projects Managers to bring order out of chaos from projects with vague definitions. Start to organize all the information that you can get your hands on. Be a detective to sort though all that information to understand the deliverables. Locate key staff that you will recruit for the project team. Assemble the team and brief them on the deliverable and ask them for input on it. Write the Project Scope how you and the team see it. You need to propose a budget based on all the information that you have.

Present the project to the stakeholders and fill in any gaps. The objective is to get everyone on the same page. You might have to meet a few times if there are a lot of gaps that need to be filled in.

Keys to your success is communication, organization, leadership and detective work.