- Identify and position potential alternative funding sources.
- Have signed charter and firm commitment of resources by project participants.
- Use flexible personnel staffing options not dependent on permanent positions (e.g., temp positions).
- Cross-train team members to have complementary technical skills.
- Get engaged, senior management "Champion" to help resolve resource or organization problems.
- Practice sound communication and meeting practices to clearly delegate work and responsibilities.
- Track task and action item completion and follow-up early when milestones not met.
- Use well-defined, formal deliverable review and user acceptance procedures to avoid out-of-scope demands.
- Research legal and policy factors and prepare formal positions to prevent barriers and conflicts.
- Have sound procedures and tools for system administration to prevent problems (security breaches, data losses).
- Use industry standards and proven methodologies to ensure deliverable quality and to guide procurements.
- Provide sound technical training and orientation for project team and users.
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- Have clear contracts for critical project services--with terms defining deliverables, timing, and performance requirements (e.g., database development).
- Have firm written agreements with any outside organization for commitment of resources and personnel.
- Use private contract for services for key project team positions (contract staff).
- Have a contract change-order process in place and use it to make necessary changes to contracted services/deliverables.
- Use a contracted service to provide computer hardware maintenance/replacement.
- Use contracted, cloud-based services for server, storage, and other system resources.
- Use enterprise software licensing vehicles to increase the flexibility of software access.
- Document procedures for resolving contractor performance problems--including formal mediation and penalties.
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- Have good monitoring processes on project team status and performance.
- Initiate action to access alternative funding sources.
- Appeal to senior management if internal stakeholder commitments are not being met. Invoke terms of project charter or formal participation agreements as appropriate.
- Re-assign or provide additional training to improve productivity.
- Exercise established personnel actions (disciplinary action, termination) for major employee problems.
- Respond to stakeholder requests for out-of-scope services or deliverables by communicating time and cost impacts on projects. Make formal budget and schedule adjustments if necessary.
- Monitor organizational and political changes and take steps to give project awareness to new management.
- Have sound contract management and monitoring with contractual remedies for poor performance.
- Employ user satisfaction surveys to assess user concerns or problems.
- Initiate alternative approach for weather impact on field/aerial data collection.
- Put in place robust system back-up and disaster recovery procedures.
- Put in place procedures to monitor technical performance (against plan and metrics).
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