RECOVERING TROUBLED IT PROJECTS (IT PROJECTS)
“Rescuing Critical IT Initiatives through Strategic Turnaround, Stakeholder Realignment, and Risk Control”
Course Schedule
| Date | Venue | Fees (Face-to-Face) |
|---|---|---|
| 03 – 07 Mar 2025 | Dubai, UAE | USD 3495 per delegate |
Course Introduction
Many IT projects face failure due to unclear objectives, scope creep, inadequate risk control, poor stakeholder engagement, or weak governance. Recovering such troubled projects requires strong leadership, analytical insight, and a proven recovery framework.
This intensive five-day course equips IT project managers, sponsors, and recovery teams with the techniques to identify failure points, stabilize delivery, realign stakeholder expectations, and bring troubled projects back on track. Participants will explore structured recovery models, root cause analysis, conflict resolution, rebaselining, and agile realignment techniques through real-world case studies and simulations.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify key indicators of project distress and root causes of IT project failure.
- Conduct a rapid health check and stakeholder assessment.
- Build a recovery plan addressing scope, schedule, risk, and governance.
- Lead stakeholder realignment and renegotiation of project expectations.
- Apply agile and hybrid recovery methods to restore delivery momentum.
- Ensure effective governance, communication, and post-recovery sustainability.
Key Benefits of Attending
- Gain tools and confidence to recover failing or stalled IT projects.
- Learn how to manage project crises and difficult stakeholder dynamics.
- Improve project outcomes without starting over.
- Understand how to replan, rebaseline, and re-engage key stakeholders.
- Avoid repeat failures by embedding continuous learning and governance.
Intended Audience
This program is designed for:
- IT project and program managers
- PMO professionals and IT governance leaders
- CIOs, IT directors, and business sponsors
- Agile coaches and digital transformation leaders
- Consultants and advisors involved in IT delivery turnarounds
Individual Benefits
Key competencies that will be developed include:
- IT project crisis management
- Stakeholder engagement and negotiation
- Rebaselining and agile planning
- Governance and decision facilitation
- Change management in recovery contexts
Organization Benefits
Upon completing the training course, participants will demonstrate:
- Greater ability to protect IT investments from failure
- Faster turnaround of distressed projects with minimal loss
- Better alignment between IT and business expectations
- Strengthened project governance and oversight
- Improved accountability and post-recovery sustainability
Instructional Methdology
This course delivers recovery tools through an applied, scenario-based format:
- Technical Briefings – Recovery frameworks and best practices
- Templates – Recovery assessment checklists, replanning models, and health check forms
- Case Studies – High-impact IT project recoveries across industries
- Workshops – Failure diagnostics, negotiation planning, and status reset
- Role Plays – Sponsor updates, crisis meetings, and stakeholder interventions
- Simulations – Recovery war-room and live replanning challenges
Course Outline
Training Hours: 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Daily Format: 3–4 Modules | Coffee breaks: 09:30 & 11:15 | Lunch Buffet: 01:00 – 02:00
Day 1: Diagnosing Project Distress
Module 1: What Makes IT Projects Fail? (07:30 – 09:30)
- Common causes: scope creep, governance failure, misalignment
- Identifying early warning signs
- Technical vs. political vs. structural breakdowns
Module 2: Project Health Check and Readiness Review (09:45 – 11:15)
- Health check tools and metrics
- Evaluating team dynamics, funding, and stakeholder clarity
- Creating a “stop-the-bleeding” strategy
Module 3: Stakeholder Analysis and Expectation Reset (11:30 – 01:00)
- Influence mapping and power-interest grids
- Misalignment diagnostics and conflict analysis
- Building rapport with frustrated or disengaged stakeholders
Module 4: Simulation – Assessing a Troubled Project (02:00 – 03:30)
- Teams conduct a mock audit and define failure points
Day 2: Stabilizing and Redefining the Project
Module 5: Scope Reassessment and Prioritization (07:30 – 09:30)
- Requirements triage and MVP focus
- Decision trees for keep/defer/kill
- Customer alignment and validation
Module 6: Schedule Recovery and Resource Replanning (09:45 – 11:15)
- Rebaselining methods: fast-tracking, crashing, resequencing
- Resource negotiation and constraint management
- Creating realistic recovery schedules
Module 7: Cost and Contract Realignment (11:30 – 01:00)
- Budget review and change justification
- Vendor renegotiation and contractor risk
- Managing sunk cost bias and decision paralysis
Module 8: Workshop – Project Rescue Charter (02:00 – 03:30)
- Teams create a reset charter including goals, deliverables, and success metrics
Day 3: Agile & Hybrid Recovery Methods
Module 9: Agile in a Recovery Context (07:30 – 09:30)
- Iterative vs. fixed planning
- Scrum/Kanban adaptation for failing projects
- Managing hybrid models
Module 10: Governance for Recovery (09:45 – 11:15)
- Steering committee reset
- Decision-making cadence
- Reporting that builds confidence
Module 11: Communication and Change Leadership (11:30 – 01:00)
- Communicating recovery status and confidence
- Managing morale and team re-engagement
- Building psychological safety
Module 12: Role Play – Sponsor Briefing Simulation (02:00 – 03:30)
- Teams deliver a rescue briefing to executive sponsors
Day 4: Execution and Continuous Monitoring
Module 13: Recovery Execution Principles (07:30 – 09:30)
- Visual task management and burn tracking
- Priority discipline and short feedback loops
- Adjusting quickly and transparently
Module 14: Performance Monitoring and Metrics (09:45 – 11:15)
- Milestone health, delivery velocity, and stakeholder satisfaction
- Traffic-light dashboards and exception reporting
- Contingency readiness
Module 15: Leading Turnaround Teams (11:30 – 01:00)
- Roles of recovery PMs, facilitators, and leads
- Managing burnout and fatigue
- Rebuilding ownership and culture
Module 16: Workshop – Agile Recovery Plan (02:00 – 03:30)
- Teams create a sprint-based recovery roadmap
Day 5: Sustainment and Post-Recovery Governance
Module 17: Embedding Lessons and Process Improvements (07:30 – 09:30)
- Debriefs, retrospectives, and root cause reflection
- Knowledge transfer and project archive
- Governance maturity growth
Module 18: Recovery Audits and Independent Assurance (09:45 – 11:15)
- When and how to use external reviews
- Audit questions for failed and saved projects
- Reputational recovery and stakeholder trust
Module 19: Final Project Presentation – Rescue Plan Simulation (11:30 – 01:00)
- Teams present a recovery blueprint for a hypothetical IT project
Module 20: Certification, Wrap-Up & Personal Action Planning (02:00 – 03:30)
- Personal strategy development and course close-out
Certification
Participants who complete the program will receive a Certificate of Completion in Recovering Troubled IT Projects, recognizing their ability to lead, advise, or participate in structured turnaround strategies for distressed IT projects.