You're facing technical delays on an aerospace project. How can you keep stakeholders informed and engaged?

By maintaining transparent communication, proactively solving problems, engaging stakeholders, using visual aids, and building trust, you can keep stakeholders informed and engaged despite technical delays. This approach not only helps manage their expectations but also fosters a collaborative environment where stakeholders feel involved and supportive of the project’s success.

We need to establish clarity for all Team Members to understand the importance of being transparent at all levels at all times.

To keep stakeholders informed and engaged during technical delays on an aerospace project, maintain transparent and frequent communication through regular updates and status meetings, explaining the cause of delays, the steps being taken to resolve issues, and the revised timelines. Use detailed progress reports and visual aids to clearly convey complex technical information. Involve stakeholders in decision-making processes, solicit their feedback, and demonstrate how their input is valued and acted upon. Keeping an open line of communication and showing a proactive approach can help maintain trust and engagement throughout the project.

I think having regular (weekly) updates by email is key, sharing the main topics on a high level, and adding/removing stakeholders as needed. If the delay happens to be significant, impacting the need for resources, budget and business/company expectations, then I think scheduling a meeting/call with the stakeholders, technical SME’s, project sponsors, and any other members involved, is better, to address concerns and answer appropriate questions (why, how did we get there, measures to improve/revert course, recommendations, next steps, action items and responsible team members, change requests, pending items, roadblocks, risks, etc.). The call can be recorded and shared with others in case of conflicts or last minute cancellations.

Conduct a thorough assessment to compare the current state of the project or system against the desired state. Gather relevant data on the current performance, processes, and capabilities. Highlight areas where performance or capabilities fall short of expectations. Create detailed reports outlining the gaps, their potential impact, and the resources needed to bridge these gaps. Determine any obstacles that are hindering progress. These could be technical issues, resource constraints, lack of expertise, or process inefficiencies. Review the approach Agile, Hybrid, Waterfall.

Communicate as early and frequently as possible using clear and simple terms. Explain how the team is proactively working to resolve problems and ensure they won't be repeated. Such communication is essential.

Establish a Single-point of Contact (SPOC) that enables all Team Members and Stakeholders to be on the same page with everyone for every single issues and events evolving as the problem resolution progresses.