Handing a project over to a new manager

My recent departure from Bolivia meant that I had to hand off a project that had become a six-month investment of time and effort. (The project happens to be the video PR tool that I had mentioned in an earlier posting.) This was a bit challenging as I was very interested in seeing how the project turned out and wanted to know if the corrective actions I had taken had been the right decisions. Prior to leaving the project in the hands of a capable colleague I did what I could to make the transition as painless as possible by updating my files and writing a detailed “hand off” memo.

The memo was a bit lengthy (6 pages) and was written in an action-oriented style to help the new project manager make time sensitive decisions. I made a point to write about the highest risk factors first so that these would not become problems. Also, I made sure to clearly state the scheduled deadlines and key milestone events within the next 30 days of the project. Once I had drafted the memo and given it to my colleague to read, I followed up with a meeting to review the project file and answer any questions about the personalities of stakeholders and contractors that were involved in the upcoming project stages. I am confident that the briefing was effective because in the following days my colleague mentioned that he had woken up early to dwell on the various project activities and how to deal with some of the risks I had mentioned in my memo.

While the management of the project is now out of my hands I am following up with the new project manager to ask him for feedback on the project’s progress and any constructive criticism he might have on my project management decisions. While it might be a bit humbling I am hoping for some sincere feedback so I can learn from my (hopefully few) mistakes. I also want to try and develop some ‘lessons learned’ with regards to working with local contractors and dealing with any cross-cultural communications issues in project management.

Lessons learned:

• Keep detailed project files – I found that the job of writing a “hand off” memo became infinitely easier when I had a well-organized project file to refer to. A key component of this file is a reverse-chronological email section that provides a reliable record of online conversations with the contractor and relevant stakeholders.
• Follow up with a meeting to expain the memo – The memo, with its somewhat overwhelming level of detail, was useful but became a more effective project management tool when accompanied by a 30 minute discussion between the departing project manager and the incoming manager. The meeting also provided a venue to discuss the personalities, challenges and overall expectations related to the project and its deliverables. Some information simply would not have been appropriate to include in the memo since it was either subjective (meaning I had my own interpretation that influenced my style of project management) or could have been misunderstood by someone reading the information out of context.
• Identify risks and key action items – Since any project can be overwhelming for a new project manager who is taking over a ‘work in progress’ I think it is essential to identify the risks and any short-term action items that need handled before they threaten the success of the project. As part of my handover of this project I made it a point to the put the risks and action items at the top of my memo.