Project Rescues and Reboots

Project Rescues, Reboots, and Revivals are about getting stalled initiatives back on track, no matter the history or sunk costs. When a project goes off the rails, it’s crucial to focus on capturing business value and moving forward, rather than dwelling on what’s gone wrong.

Sometimes, an inflection point becomes an opportunity to cut losses and redirect resources toward more promising initiatives. Before reviving a project, the first step is determining whether it’s worth continuing or if the best move is to realign resources. Avoid Sunk Cost Bias—decisions should be made objectively with all available information.

If the decision is made to shut down an initiative, the focus shifts to preserving intellectual property, capturing knowledge, and repurposing any usable work for current or future projects. If the project is to be revived, the goal is to trace key decisions, understand what went wrong, and quickly map a path from the current state to the intended future state.

Moving forward requires addressing blockers, mitigating risks, and reevaluating all work in progress. While speed is important, jumping back in too soon without resolving core issues can lead to more disruptions. Developers can focus on refactoring and paying down technical debt while new requirements are finalized, ensuring a solid foundation for momentum.

With the root causes addressed, the team can turn the flywheel and regain momentum—this time with the confidence of a stronger structure and clear priorities. Lessons learned are captured, applied to future projects, and incorporated into delivery processes, architecture, and workflows to prevent similar setbacks.

If you have a project in need of rescuing, I can provide the leadership and guidance needed to get things back on track and ensure future decisions are grounded in clarity and confidence.