Has the RAG status lost its value?
How often do you see projects stuck behind a Red or Amber status, with the team unable or unwilling to call it one
way or the other?
Amber is the latter day “Buy IBM” equivalent (Nobody ever got fired for having an Amber status project) and it is
often viewed as the safe option – Shows that the project manager understands there are risks associated with the
project but also that they are on top of them and the project is still on track. This gives the project manager a
seemingly credible escape route whatever the outcome!
Likewise when the project is known to be high risk then the temptation is to hold the RAG status as Red for an
extended period of time. This gives the project manager a sense of shared culpability with the Steering Group
because “They’ve been kept informed”.
How do you prevent the RAG status becoming increasingly meaningless as it gets stuck on Red or Amber and the
visibility of the underlining risk profile of the project, and more importantly, the direction of travel of the risk profile,
becomes obscured?
We’ve all witnessed Steering Groups that become accustomed to the Red/Amber status and where it feels like it is
sleep walking towards the inevitable day when the project manager will, with a sigh, confirm that the concerns they
have been sharing with the Steering Group have finally resulted in the expected re-plan. The Steering Group can
feel comfortable with its performance knowing that the risks/issues were spotted well in advance and were
therefore, by extension, effectively managed – Surely they are being collectively a little too generous?
This passive governance should never be acceptable and, I believe, often stems from the tacit and collective
tolerance of an extended Red/Amber status. This form of Groupthink needs to be recognised and challenged right
from the very start of a project.
Before I address how I believe you should avoid getting stuck on Red or Amber I’m conscious that some readers
will, with some justification, argue that certain projects/programmes are just simply so high risk that they’ll never
get better than Amber. I have some sympathy with this position but believe these projects to be in the absolute
minority (if they should exist at all) and where this is the case the project team should declare it early on and the
governance and controls should be adjusted accordingly (increased contingency planning, tightened Go/No Go
decision making criteria etc.).
So how do you avoid this form of Groupthink?
Intolerance to a Red/Amber status
The answer I believe lies in an absolute intolerance to recurring Red or Amber status reporting. I would suggest that
any project that is continuously Red or Amber for more than 20% of its overall duration is “flying blind”. The project
team increasingly won’t know whether the situation is improving or deteriorating and the focus and energy needed
to “get back to Green” will be ebbing away.
So if you establish early on this principle of intolerance to an extended Red/Amber status then the immediate next
question is: What do you do when the overall status is not Green?
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Too often the focus is on the potential impact of the threats that have been identified rather than focusing on the
corrective actions. It is important to identify the challenges but there needs to be just as much time and effort
invested in tackling them.
Project teams and Steering Groups need to be ruthless in their pursuit of effective corrective action plans and the
PMO has a critical role to play in ensuring that these plans are robust and delivered.
Corrective Actions Plans:
Make sure you clearly understand the risks and issues that are threatening the project (and therefore
driving the Amber or Red status)
Identify the necessary actions to address these threats and agree owners and target dates. This gives a
“Return to Green” date
Track these corrective action plans through to successful completion and then re-assess the RAG status. (It
is often prudent to turn the status to Amber once the actions have been completed and then to Green once
there is clear evidence that the actions are effective)
The five point ‘Traffic Light’
In March 2011 the Government set up the Major Projects Authority with a mandate to “turn around the Civil
Service’s record of delivering projects”. As part of this they introduced the Delivery Confidence Assessment (RAG
ratings) to be used with all highly complex, high risk projects:
Delivery Confidence Assessments give an overall summary of the state of a project. Its risk is indicated using a five
point ‘traffic light’ system known as the RAG (Red–Amber–Green) scale.
This introduced a bridging status between Green and Amber and between Amber and Red. The Amber/Red is
particularly insightful as it forces the team to confront whether the project is truly undeliverable in its current form
or simply requires decisive management action to fix:
Amber/Red: Successful delivery of the project is in doubt, with major risks or issues apparent in a number
of key areas. Urgent action is needed to ensure these are addressed, and whether resolution is feasible.
Red: Successful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable. There are major issues on project
definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be
manageable or resolvable. The project may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed.
I believe that a combination of an absolute intolerance to a persistent Amber/Red status combined with the five
point ‘traffic light’ will prevent you and your project team sleep walking to failure.
The Major Projects Authority Delivery Confidence Assessments
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