So what do you do when things go wrong?
Now I’m going to have to be careful what I say in this particular thought spew. Not because I have anybody holding me accountable, just because I’m still in a sticky phase of figuring out what exactly this particular problem is and what I need to do to fix it and how exactly it impacts future projects. So we’re not going to touch on any specifics related to a particularly energetic flash post two days ago.
Instead, we’re going to wallow in the mire of “What do I do now?”
At any crisis point in a project, I’ve got this flowchart I run through:
- Is this a problem?
- Is this problem in my control?
- Do I know who is in control?
- Do I have access to the resources needed to fix this problem?
- Do I have a way to get those resources?
- What will acquiring these resources take?
- Do I have anyone that can help me?
- Are they currently available/when will they be available to help?
- What does this problem do to the overall timeline or project?
The current issue stalled out around question 3. And in answer to question 9, we’re currently dealing with a big ol’ shrug emoji. What does this mean?
Luckily, for me, a recent graduate with no kids or employees I’m responsible for, it means walking back some excitement on social media, and still grinding at my day job while figuring out the answers to questions 3-8. If I was in a more tenuous life position with more people on the line… this particular problem might be kind of a big deal. Because we’ve gone from a launch date of two days ago to a launch date of “???soon???”
But we keep on truckin’. Stay tuned.
Susanna F. Barger 