It’s the end of the 2nd Quarter and the first half of the year, and for many organizations, it’s a time when projects and programs are reviewed and analyzed.  Some will ultimately be nurtured:  more money, resources, attention, whatever the scare resource is.  Other projects and programs will not fare so well and will be terminated outright or “back-burnered” to death.

Pulling the plug on a project is an interesting change management issue. While we as project managers sign up for a project knowing that it is, by definition, temporary, we want it to end because we have finished the work, not because the organization no longer wants it.  And we get very emotionally invested in our projects, maybe because they are temporary, and we feel like we can really make an impact during our brief stewardship.  As a result, we can suffer some real feelings of loss when a project is cancelled, just like any other member of the project team.    

So I was very interested when I came across an article in CIO magazine recently, entitled When IT Projects Founder, Emotions Run High, by Michael Fitzgerald.  “It’s hard not to get emotional when lengthy, high-profile technology projects are unfairly killed, mercifully euthanized or launched with flaws.”, Fitzgerald writes. 

Fitzgerald shines a light on a slightly embarrassing topic for many IT folks.  It’s, uh, about, ahem, feelings.  It is that reticence to talk about feelings that can cause so many problems when a project ends unexpectedly. 

 “Every killed or troubled project has its own particular tale of woe”, says Fitzgerald.  “Some suffer because of unforeseen events — the end of the Cold War, an economic downturn, a merger, a shift in business priorities.  Some founder because of a bad combination of technology, ambition and skills. But whenever projects stumble or even die, and people feel wounded, it usually has something to do with that most persistent of people problems: communication.”

If you are going to spend your summer with a dying project, don’t forget to attend to the feelings that people have about their work.  Once asked to make a commitment to a project, it can be hard for many people to just to flip a switch in their mind and divorce themselves from it.  People need to talk about how they feel at the end of a project, and a good project manager will help them.

One easy exercise that can help bring closure to the project team is the Glads, Sads, and Mads Exercise.  Think of this as a Lessons Learned session for emotions!  Assemble your team, perhaps in a casual or offsite setting, and go around the room, asking each person to share three feelings about the project:  why they are glad the project is ending, why they are sad it is ending, and why they are mad it is ending.  This helps the team by getting their feelings out in the open and hearing fresh perspectives.  They may be relieved to learn that others have strong emotions, too, and may be pleased to see the level of commitment expressed by their teammates.

Whatever you do, don’t ignore the emotional side of a cancelled technology project.  Make sure your team members don’t care negative feelings or emotions on to their next project by helping them deal with their feelings when they close out the old project.