Deadlines are slipping, no one’s sure who owns what and the team is barely holding it together. Not everything is fixable - but maybe this guideline helps you to restore some sanity.
TL;DR: No Time to Breathe? Start Here.
I get it - you’re mid-fire. The backlog’s a mess at best, people are frustrated, and every minute feels like triage.
Here’s the short version of what to do when you inherit a broken project:
✅ Define a Minimum Viable Process
One board. One synch-call. One rule for new tasks. Just enough process to reduce chaos.
🔍 Map the Chaos
Find the cracks: Where does work get lost? Who’s confused? What’s draining energy?
💬 Reset Expectations
Calm the panic. Communicate the reset clearly and consistently.
🧠 Re-Prioritize Ruthlessly
Cut anything not essential. Confirm what truly matters with stakeholders. Make space before adding more.
🗺️ Stabilize the Team
Assign temporary ownership, reduce decision fatigue, and let people vent. Stabilize the humans first.
🔁 Create Tight Feedback Loops
Weekly demos. Mid-week check-ins. Light retros. Small wins to restore trust.
📈 Track Just Enough
One metric for delivery, one for blockers, one for stakeholder pulse. Kill the noise.
📌 Bookmark this. Come back when you have breathing room - the full guide will walk you through each step with examples and language that works.
⚖️ Hard vs. Broken: A Quick Diagnostic
Manual for Broken Projects
You might not have broken it, but you will have to fix it.