It starts with a project manager, huddled in a corner, weeping. Just kidding. Project managers are hardy sorts and will not break down at the office.

Projects, particularly complex, large-scale projects, face a number of challenges, and it is the rare one that does not stumble at some point under the weight of them. There are many, though, where stumbling turns into a free fall. It is critical that leaders read the warning signs of impending trouble so they can reverse course.

Just as there are many paths to success, there is a plethora of ways to fall off the path, including:

• Minimal or No Stakeholder Engagement. Sponsors or major stakeholders don’t show up for steering committee meetings and have no part in decisions. Essentially absentee parents, these sponsors create a feeling of “Who cares?” in the project team and enterprise as a whole.
• Open Issues. Every project has its issues, but if they are open for longer than a month, you are in trouble because it is an indication of no escalation plan, and no decisions being made. What often happens is that issues have multiple owners, or worse, no owners, and they fester.
• Lack of Rigorous Risk Management. Risks have not been identified for the project, or, if they have, there are no mitigation or elimination plans in place. Risks turn into issues (see above!), which can negatively impact a project’s odds of success.
• Low Performance and/or High Turnover. There may be a lot of infighting; people can’t agree on tasks or courses of action. Deliverables are not being met. Key tasks do not track to the project timeline; people run out the door at 5:00, while a few are working far too much overtime. And, a big one: project managers come and go. I recall one project recovery specifically that had 7 project managers in 8 months. If you’re looking for a sign, there you have it.
• Scope Creep. This can be deadly. A defined project starts taking on new tasks and deliverables without the benefit of going through a change management acceptance or rejection process. They are just inserted. This impacts everything from team morale to budget to timelines – and all in a negative way.
• Lack of Perceived Value. The organization or key stakeholders have, essentially, lost faith/hope/interest in a project. It is not seen as providing enough value to make it worth the time and resources.
• Negative Financials. One indicator that project/program managers use to confirm project Financial Health is the Cost Performance Index (CPI), which is the Earned Value divided by the Actual Cost. If the CPI is less than 1, it indicates you have a cost overrun. Some PMs look at the actuals to date versus the plan and look for the variance. Financials are key indicators that sponsors and executives must look at, to see how a project is affecting the bottom line.
• Poorly Defined and/or Implemented Governance Structure. When there is a lack of clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities, it is almost guaranteed a project is going off the track. The governance structure is the foundation of a project; without a sound one, success is very unlikely.

Which of these can take a project down? Some, like scope creep, are enough in themselves to derail a project. Usually, though, a project is plagued with several of these issues because of faulty underlying or lack of processes, such as governance structures, risk management plans, and change management processes. If you can catch the crack in the foundation in time, you can often keep the entire project from crashing down.