Everybody has them projects in their to do list that they have not accomplished in weeks, months, or even years. They are the feared zombie projects. They are power and space-wasting, seeming to have little or no value most of the times. These projects in team situations actively discourage employees, are inefficient in terms of resources utilization, and even bring about tension in team management.

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What are the so-called zombie projects? These are the initiatives which were initiated with good intentions, however, they lost the sense and continue to live in order to be merely closed properly. This blog goes into five practical tips that will get rid of zombie projects forever, so that you get your priorities, and yourself, back on track, whether you work on your own or in a team management.

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Zombie projects are usually characterized by the following:

• They are not clearly owned or they have a responsible person.

• Nobody can recall why they were initiated in the first place.

• They do not progress much, but are in the to do list out of virtue.

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As an individual, such projects are overwhelming to your mental space. In case of teams, the morale is sapped and the time and money spent on zombie projects is time that could be spent on more high-impact work.

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The awareness is the initial action toward eradicating the zombie projects. Give your to do list a good stare:

• What are the activities that are taking longer than a month?

• Do you have projects where nobody has recently mentioned anything, where things are not very clear about deliverables?

• Is the influence vague or obsolete?

Being a team manager, make a project health check. Explain to each member of the team to list his or her current projects then review them collectively to decide those projects which match with the current priorities. This straight forward exercise has the tendency of revealing numerous zombie projects which can be shut down instantly.

Pro tip: Use tracked tools such as Trello, Asana, or Notion and visualize what needs to be accomplished and the schedule so that it will be easier to track stale items.

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What usually happens with projects is that they become zombies and the project goal is forgotten. Ask:

• What was the purpose and reason behind the beginning of this project?

• Does it fit the current goals or strategies?

• Can it be of any measurable value to be completed?

In the event that you fail to come out clearly on why the project is important right now, then it is no longer worth featuring it on your to do list.

You should engage stakeholders in this discussion when working with teams. In many occasions, it has been witnessed where zombie projects exist, whereby they cannot afford to have the person be the one to put them to death. Presenting the dialogue in terms of value and priorities will eliminate the feeling and drill down to results.

Pro Tip: Implement an easy to follow decision paradigm: Kill it, Keep it, or Transform it.

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One indicator of zombie projects is ownership ambiguity. Unless no one knows who is in charge, the project simply ends up doing nothing. Make sure that with every item of your to do list, there is:

• An evident project owner

• Stakeholder alignment

When nobody wants to get ownership of it, it is your cue of putting the project to death. In handling teams, ensure that all moving initiatives have an accountable lead that is given fast authority to make decisions and to progress.

Pro tip: You may want to use RACI framework (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) to define the roles

When there is a defined procedure, eliminating zombie projects is simpler:

Learnings from the document: Note the reasons behind the project's halt and the lessons that can be drawn.

• Share the decision: Make sure everyone involved understands why it is being halted.

• Release resources: Reallocate team members, funds, and time to projects with more potential.

• In team management, this is crucial because team members must understand that project termination is a calculated strategic choice rather than a sign of failure.

Pro tip: Since it promotes a positive workplace atmosphere, celebrate the completion of existing projects just as much as you do new ones.

The lack of a clear prioritization process is the reason behind the occurrence of zombie projects. Before you add something to your to do list, use clear standards instead of following everything that comes your way:

• Does this coincide with plans that are strategic?

• Does it have direct ROI/value?

• Does it have an owner?

Pro tip: Eisenhower Matrix (urgent vs. important) is a secret weapon of cleaning personal and team priorities.

Zombie projects are not only a waste of space on your to do list; they also consume resources and creativity as well as morale. A good way to keep individual and group performance high is to audit your work regularly, to ask the question why?, to assign personal responsibility, institute a process of closing projects and ruthlessly prioritize.

In a team management scenario, it can be a life-altering shift to create a culture where you not only see no shame in killing off the projects that have lost value-add but also that finding a way to do so is a practice to be lauded. Concentrate what is really impactful, the rest can sleep with the fishes.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What are zombies projects?

Zombie projects are those projects that still have space in your to do list or in your team workload but have lost either a purpose, a momentum or their value. They also take so long to die since no one makes deliberate decisions to kill them.

2. What is the impact of zombie projects on productivity?

Zombie projects are energy, resources, and attention drainers. They complicate your to do list and it becomes difficult to do what is important. Such projects are demoralizing and frustrating to employees when dealing with teams since people will spend their time doing work of little or no impact.

3. What is the fastest way of recognizing a zombie project?

Find those stuck perform those delayed or abandoned over a week or a month or those which have no "owner" or where the goals are not clear. The reason is that, when you cannot state clearly why a project is important anymore, then this is a Zombie project.

References

1. PMI (2023). Pulse of the Profession: Project Management Survey.
   https://www.pmi.org/learning/library

2. Harvard Business Review (2023). Killing Innovation Projects: Why It’s a Smart Move.
   https://hbr.org/2023/01/killing-innovation-projects

3. Google Re:Work (2024). How Google Focuses on High-Value Projects.
   https://rework.withgoogle.com