Step 1: Go Back to the Requirements
A stalled project almost always traces back to one root cause: poorly defined or misunderstood requirements. Before making any more progress, it’s crucial to take a step back, revisit the documented requirements and critically assess whether they:
Were properly defined from the outset
Were carried over from old systems or written with fresh perspectives
gn with your actual business needs, compliance requirements, and industry obligations
If the requirements were unclear or incomplete, the project was doomed from the start. Reassessing these requirements is the first step to recovery.
Step 2: Check What You're Testing (And How)
Testing is often the first real stress test of a project. If User Acceptance Testing (UAT) wasn’t thorough, it’s easy for problems to go unnoticed.
When recovering your project, ensure that your UAT:
Tests against the requirements, not past experience. If testers validate outcomes based on what they “know” rather than what was actually designed, errors go unnoticed.
Covers a wide range of scenarios. Many projects fail because teams only test for the most common cases, missing complex exceptions that cause real-world failures.
Is properly resourced. If testing is treated as an afterthought, done in a rush or by people juggling business-as-usual (BAU) responsibilities, mistakes will slip through.
Thorough testing is key to a successful project, ensuring successful, accurate and compliant long-term outcomes.
Step 3: Address Change Management Gaps
Change management is essential in ensuring a smooth HR and payroll transformation. It’s more than just implementing a system; it’s about bringing your people along on the journey.
To recover your project, focus on these key areas:
Engage your users early: Don’t just hand them a new system and expect them to adapt. Involve them from the start, identify how your new system can help them in the day-today work, and make sure they understand the why behind the changes, not just the how. This builds ownership and smoother adoption.
Communicate the why behind compliance changes: When you’re introducing compliance into the system, it’s critical to communicate the purpose and benefits. Explain how these changes will positively impact the company and employees, rather than making it feel like an added burden. In the long run, clear communication about compliance helps reduce resistance and frustration. Turn compliance from a dreaded chore, to comfortable, safe and approachable.
Prepare for real-life usage, not just theoretical scenarios: Testing isn’t enough on its own. Change management should include preparing for real-world behaviors and how users interact with the system under stress. Ensuring teams understand the end-to-end process, including the "what-if" scenarios, leads to better adoption and fewer surprises.
Step 4: Identify and Plan for Rework
By now, you've likely uncovered gaps in requirements, testing, and change management. It’s time to face the reality: much of the work will need to be redone.
This could include:
Rebaselining requirements (going back and redefining what the system needs to do)
Redesigning key configurations (fixing the gaps between expectations and reality)
Rewriting test scripts (ensuring testing aligns with business needs, not assumptions)
It’s daunting, but skipping this step only leads to more issues down the line.
Step 5: Plan for Post-Go-Live Support
The project doesn’t end when the system goes live. In fact, the months after go-live are just as critical as the build phase. Ensure a smooth transition by having a robust support plan in place to handle:
Post-implementation troubleshooting
Ongoing refinements and tweaks to ensure the system meets evolving needs
A smooth handover to business-as-usual (BAU) teams, so they can effectively manage the system
The Takeaway
Recovering a failing project isn’t easy; but it’s possible. By taking a structured approach, addressing core issues, and bringing in the right expertise, you can turn things around before it's too late.
If your HR or payroll project has stalled, don’t wait for the problems to get worse. Take action now, reassess your approach, and make sure you have the right team guiding you every step of the way.
