Many successful project managers pride themselves on  their “can do” attitude and their ability to seemingly work the  impossible. But it’s not always a good idea to say “yes” to every request that comes your way. Scope creep and overruns can very quickly derail the entire project. So when should you be saying “no”?

When the budget isn’t big enough

How many clients have asked for the moon on a stick for tuppence? If you’ve been asked to increase the scope of a project but haven’t been  given the extra budget to see it through then say “no”. 

When the scope is being changed informally

Scope change happens in all projects as clients realise their initial specification wasn’t wide enough or hope you can add in “little extras”. Even a project management apprenticeknows that if the project goals are to be changed or altered then the correct procedure needs to be followed to ensure the goals can actually be achieved. Say “No” to scope creep and make sure that changes are reviewed, re-budgeted and rescheduled correctly.

When the business case isn’t strong

Some projects are “pets”. One of the key stakeholders wants it to proceed even if the figures don’t add up. Sometimes politics will win and you’ll have to work on the project anyway but in the meantime say “No” and back it up with a strong case why the project isn’t a good idea.

When something happens that negates the business benefits

The world changes and it might be that your project needs to be abandoned because of something outside your control. You need to approach the owner, sponsor and other key stakeholders with an analysis of why the project is no longer viable.

If you don’t know whose project it is

Sometimes there’s no clear project owner or sponsor. It shouldn’t happen but if it does the project manager should be seeking out an owner. Until you are clear who you are essentially working for on the project you should be saying “no” to it.

When the monitoring and/or control process is opaque or weak

This should be flagged up as a big “no” and analysed as a risk before being passed back to the project owner and other key stakeholders. If you don’t know how to measure your progress then avoid progress!

When you have too many other projects

And finally, the difficult one. Saying “No” simply because you haven’t got enough time can be the hardest time to say “no”. It can feel selfish but saying “yes” in this situation risks jeopardising not just the new project you should have declined but all the other projects you’re also working on. Even with the best project management skillsif there aren’t enough hours in the day to work on your workload then you have to accept it’s simply too big. 

Saying “no” gets easier the more you do it so why not try it the next time an unreasonable request is passed on?