Changing priorities

Have you ever had one of those projects that was not at the highest priority for anyone except you?  What did you do about it?   Sometimes that takes some pressure.   Its called an escalation.  Its not to get someone into trouble.  Its to prioritize their work.  

So I would first off talk with your project team.  Ask them when they can complete the task.  If they cant complete the task within the needs of the project, then you will have to escalate to the manager.   If that method is not effective, I would have my manager/director escalate the issue.   So that is key point #1, Know your escalation chain.   Now that you have escalated, you will need to keep that escalation point aware of progress of their team.   Let them know if you are getting on track.   Key point #2, communication.   The escalation should not be the first communication that the escalation manager/director has received.  They should already be in the loop on Project communications.  They should have been notified by Key Point #3, The RISK Log update.   Once you identify a RISK to your project that should have been communicated out to the Project Sponsor and team.   One additional point, when you communicate out the RISK, that should not be the key that the rest of the team can stop working.  Sometimes your team is looking for a reason why they should stop working on your project.  Ensure that they know they still have deliverables and you are working to mitigate the risk.  If there are any change in timelines, communicate those out to the team.

Best of luck.

Joe