How to Run a Delivery Rescue Session Without Turning It Into Group Therapy.
A rescue session is about decisions, not feelings. Here is the shape that works.
When a project is in trouble, people want to talk. That is fine, briefly. Then it has to stop.
The shape of a useful session
- Twenty minutes: what is actually being delivered, written on a wall.
- Twenty minutes: what is blocked, by whom, since when.
- Twenty minutes: decisions that need to be made this week.
- Twenty minutes: who owns each one, by when.
If the session ends without three named owners and three named dates, it was a meeting, not a rescue.
What to avoid
- Root-cause analysis on day one. You do not have the facts yet.
- New tools. The team does not have capacity to learn anything.
- Reorganisation. Save it for after the project is stable.
Written by Kristóf Frey
Kristóf Frey works with teams on delivery rescue, Product Ownership, business analysis, and practical digital operations. He writes about making work visible enough to manage.
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