Once the project has gone off plan, it is important to stand back and take a dispassionate view of the situation. There are many things that can be done to bring the situation under control:

• Review the costs and calculate a new budget
• Review the current progress and calculate a new schedule
• Calculate a new resource plan if appropriate.
• Determine how much of the original scope can be realistically delivered
• Re-initiate the project on the basis of the current situation and get stakeholder agreement to continue or cancel the project.

Capabilities
Project Recovery is a major part of Project Management Consultancy. When things have gone wrong, it is not appropriate to attribute blame. What is required is a dispassionate assessment of the situation which can often best be carried out by an external consultant. In recovering a project, the following techniques will be employed

• Re-visit the stakeholders
  Identifying all the individuals and groups effected by the project either positively or negatively, what are their current expectations?
• Adjusting the Scope
  Specifying and agreeing the current objectives, goals and deliverables which the project will now produce.
• Project Planning
  Using a series of well-defined steps, the tasks, durations, resources, linkages etc will be mapped out and a complete project plan produced at the correct level of detail.
• Risk Assessment
  Identifying all the risks in the project environment and making provision for contingency in terms of both budget and timescale.
• Project Re-initiation
  Conducting a new Project Initiation Meeting to allow all stakeholders to agree on the new scope, cost and timescales and give commitment to achieving the adjusted project.