Should Your Project Have a Second Project Phase?

TL;DR

When faced with a second phase in a project, it is advisable to treat it as a new project for the sake of simplicity, energy, and accountability.

Transcript

one of the questions I'm sometimes asked about training events is this one Mike we finished our project but now my client my sponsor my boss wants a second phase how can I integrate that into my project so in this video I'll give you my answer my answer to this question is simple in most cases you would be wisest to treat this phase 2 element as a ... Read More

Key Insights

• 📽️ Treating phase 2 as a separate project simplifies the overall project, reduces complexity, and minimizes risks.
• 👶 Starting a new project in phase 2 injects energy and allows for team restructuring based on the project's new requirements.
• 👣 Merging phases hampers accountability, dilutes governance, and makes it harder to track progress and expenditures.
• 🌱 Planning the phases during the project's initial stages enables proper governance, progress tracking, and learning opportunities.
• 🚚 Managing a project in distinct phases increases the chances of delivering within budget, meeting specifications, and staying on schedule.
• 📽️ Completing a project brings a sense of accomplishment and motivates the team, which can be lost if the project is extended indefinitely.
• 📽️ Proper project governance ensures effective oversight, proper resource allocation, and improved decision-making.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why should we treat phase 2 as a new project rather than an extension of the first project?

Treating phase 2 as a new project ensures simplicity, reduces complexity and risk, and allows for proper tracking of progress and expenditure.

Q: How does starting a new project inject energy into the team?

Completing a project brings a sense of achievement, while extending it can be demoralizing. Starting a new project in phase 2 provides a fresh start, injects energy, and allows for a new team selection.

Q: What are the downsides of merging phase 2 with phase 1?

Merging phases makes it hard to track overspends, overruns, and problems. It dilutes accountability, hampers good governance, and undermines the ability to learn from mistakes.

Q: When is the right time to consider the number of phases in a project and their composition?

During the project's definition, design, and planning stages, it is crucial to determine the number of phases and their contents. This allows for proper governance, progress tracking, expenditure management, and learning opportunities.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Adding a phase onto a nearly completed project makes it more complex and risky, whereas starting a new project is simpler and less risky.

• Completing a project is energizing, but extending a project can demoralize and drain energy. Starting phase 2 as a new project can inject energy and allow for a new team selection.

• Merging phases interferes with tracking expenditures, progress, and accountability, making it harder to learn from problems and diluting good governance.