Below are some of the questions that you should ask yourself (from the article) to know if your project is in trouble or not:

Am I working for a lone wolf?
Are we following any processes?
Has this project been done before by our company?

http://digitallife.jp.msn.com/article/article.aspx/genreid=121/articleid=417250/

I’m providing them with the caveat that there ares some clients who are dishonest and set out to get work done for ‘free’ or at steeply discounted prices. There is no real protection from them.

These deep discounts can happen in software development where some customers believe the cost of software should be only slightly more than the cost of the CD you put it on. And of course it is intellectual property they are stealing – a difficult proposition for the courts.

So here goes:

1. references – if possible, talk with contractors who have done work for this customer in the past. Was the customer collaborative, enagaged and honest or did they try to change the contract, i.e., ‘negotiate’ the fees after the fact?

2. statement of work – prepare a SOW which clearly states the objectives, operating mode (time and materials, fixed price, etc.), deliverables, completion or success criteria, project timeline and milestones. If fixed price, tie progress payments to the milestones. If time and materials, specify weekly or bi-weekly invoices and payment. These are your secondary early warning systems.

3. status – provide frequent reports (emails are fine) of the work done and milestones achieved. This will be invaluable if the courts are necessary.

4. schedule review sessions – this falls under the category of communications. Where everyone is too busy, think about the next suggestion.

5. termination – where the customer is stonewalling on scheduled payments, be prepared to walk away. Cut your losses – your investment and risk under these circumstances only increases with time.

And where there is no satisfactory outcome, consider sharing your bad experience, naming names, with the rest of us.

Failure in project management can hit your pocket hard, and risks besmirching your professional reputation, so, what could be useful would be some advance information on hard-won knowledge and experience that would help one to avoid the more common risks – e.g., as those identified in the post – in the first place.

There is in the public domain a vast amount of knowledge about project management, all documented. I would recommend that people use it, and that they also talk to people experienced in project management. Taking a course in project management, and particularly in project controls, could also be a good investment, and less costly over the long run than continuing with trial and error.