Okay, imagine you’re a detective investigating a mysterious case. You arrive at the scene, and there’s a crucial piece of evidence missing – the victim’s diary. Now, you could try to recreate the diary, speculate about its contents, maybe even forge a few entries. But that would compromise the integrity of your investigation, right?

The same principle applies to project recovery. Documentation is your evidence, your record of what happened, why it happened, and what needs to be done to fix it.

Before you dive headfirst into problem-solving mode, take a moment to gather and review the essential documents. This includes:

• The Contract: This outlines the project’s scope, objectives, and deliverables. It’s your roadmap, your guiding star.
• Past Quality Assessments: These reports provide valuable insights into the project’s history, highlighting potential red flags and areas of concern. Think of them as your forensic analysis, revealing hidden weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
• Status Reports: These provide a snapshot of the project’s progress at various points in time. They’re like your security camera footage, showing you how the situation unfolded.

Now, here’s the catch: sometimes, crucial documents are missing. Maybe they were never created, or maybe they got lost in the chaos. It’s tempting to go back and try to recreate them, to fill in the gaps. But resist that urge!

Instead, create a “memorandum for record.” This is a simple document that summarises the project’s history during the missing periods, based on the information you can gather. Be honest and transparent about what you know and what you don’t know.

Why is this so important?

• Integrity is paramount: Fudging documents or backdating information is like planting evidence at a crime scene. It undermines your credibility and erodes the trust of your team and client.
• Focus on the present: Spending time trying to recreate the past is a distraction from the real task at hand: fixing the problem. Focus your energy on moving forward, not dwelling on what’s missing.
• Learn from the past: Even without complete documentation, you can still learn valuable lessons from the project’s history. Use the available information to identify patterns, understand contributing factors, and prevent similar mistakes in the future.

Remember, in project recovery, honesty and transparency are your best allies. Don’t try to rewrite history; learn from it and move forward with integrity.