If you are grappling with what is a blocker in project management? You are in good company. Everything is not always a smooth ride in project management as any professional in the field will attest. Project blockers are among the most frustrating issues project managers face when trying to complete a project. Read on to learn different types of project blockers, issues they cause when unresolved, and strategies to turn them around.
What is a project blocker?
A blocker is a factor, internal or external, that hinders the successful completion of tasks or project processes. The phrase project blocker refers to anything that stops progress toward achieving the project goal. Project blockers appear during the project and often result in frustrating delays and can sometimes derail the entire project.
Usually, project blockers are more severe compared to project impediments that delay or decrease effectiveness without threatening the whole project. Sometimes project blockers arise from activities or tasks that rely on each other. That said, potential blockers come in different flavors.
Fortunately, identifying the root cause of project blockers is easy. The flow of critical information in projects relies on dependencies and activities that must be finished before others. Usually, project blockers hinder these activities. Regardless of the cause, blockers can significantly affect the ability to achieve your project goals.
Difference between an impediment and a blocker in project management
A blocker stops progress until it is removed. Often a blocker is beyond the control of the department or expert team. The challenge with blockers is that the work they block still has to be done. Thus, the blocker has to be removed, worked around, or fixed to proceed.
On the other hand, impediments slow down the pace of the project. This often arises from too many interruptions, missing information, poor communication, or inadequate briefs. Although impediments may drag or slow your team, the threat to the project is not catastrophic if the task is not of high priority. However, if the task is high priority or foundational, the impediment can become a project blocker.
The most popular types of project blockers
The list of blockers in a project is virtually endless with different projects facing different difficulties and challenges. However, here are the most common blockers, project managers face:
Technical blockers
These arise from things such as system bugs & crashes, machine malfunction or downtime, and power blackouts. Also, technical environment issues, such as the team's inability to deal with new, advanced technology, can trigger a technical blocker. Those are just a few of the technical issues that can prevent a successful completion of a project.
Often, technical blockers are frequent in projects focusing on software development or the development of physical goods. That said, they can halt any project. Consider a scenario where the IT system fails, or a team uses unfamiliar tools.
One way of handling technical blockers is implementing a well-structured process that guides innovation and development activities. This can help decrease the impact or anticipate these blockers by addressing potential technical debt in the project.
For instance, early product quality control checks at important milestones like prototypes and mock-ups can help detect structural flaws. Implementing agile teams in development also helps avoid last-minute surprises. Nevertheless, you cannot eliminate risk in a project.
People and communication blockers
Individuals in a project can also be blockers. This is not just about the ill-intentioned individuals bent on deliberately sabotaging the project, even though this may happen. Rather this pertains to people who may slow the project or even halt it from moving forward for reasons beyond their control.
Often, this happens with the late onboarding of a project member struggling to catch up or was not properly briefed. It may simply be the individual does not fit the project scope. Besides harming the project, such blockers can harm other teams in the workplace. To avoid this issue, put in place considerate and insightful team building and onboarding techniques as well as support programs.
Other people-related blockers include overburdened teams working on several high-priority projects at once. As a result, they may be unable to give each project the time it deserves and eventually burn out. Often burnout happens because of too much work and task switching.
Communication blockers in a project happen because of information silos or interpersonal incompatibility between teams. It could be the teams speak different languages or the project uses subpar communication technology. Handling blockers requires a business to provide excellent employee experience through a conducive working environment with efficient and easy-to-use tools.
Logistical blockers
Even when the relevant materials and human input appear to work as they should, logistical blockers may halt a project. Project dependencies are the most common examples of logistical blockers. A good example is a logical connection between activities that may prevent another task from starting before the previous one is complete.
A good example is in a construction project, you need to install water pipes and electrical systems before painting the walls. Therefore, if the project faces hiccups or delays in the wiring phase, it will block work in subsequent phases. This will eventually bring the project to a standstill. In addition, it is common for several projects to share resources, which may introduce a resource conflict.
Time blockers
A project usually has a schedule that defines the project timeline for each task in the workflow. A decent project workflow schedule holds everything together by tracking progress to avoid costly delays.
Besides, a project schedule can be a huge source of frustration if not followed. Often, projects overshoot their schedule because of several factors from preventable to unforeseen. Once this happens, it can have a domino effect causing delays that may threaten the whole project. Understanding factors that can cause time blockers helps you take steps to mitigate them.
To overcome a time blocker in your project, there are several things you need to consider. First, figure out the cause of the problem. Is there a deadline? Do you lack funding or personnel?
Second, build flexibility into the project schedule in case of unforeseen delays. Third, whenever possible, break the project into small tasks. Fourth, consider having a plan that accommodates changes to the deadline, reallocating resources, or the entire project plan. Lastly, take action to solve the time blocker.
Feedback loop blockers
Blockers in your project's feedback loops can dampen progress. When a feedback loop mishap occurs, it can spell doom for a project. For instance, communication breakdown can disrupt the feedback loop in your project. This happens when there are no clear roles and responsibilities for the team members. Also, it may happen if there is no transparency around the objectives of the project.
Another cause of feedback loop disruption is setting unrealistic deadlines or wrongly scoped tasks. This often happens because of scope creep - the unexpected expansion of a project's scope while the project is ongoing. In addition, feedback loop blockers arise when there is no trust between team members. As such, they are not invested in the project's success.
Solutions include setting clear roles and responsibilities for each team member to ease the sharing of feedback. Also, ensure the objectives of the project are clear and attainable. What's more, properly scoping tasks ensures they are attainable. This way, you avoid disruptions in the feedback loop while keeping the project on track.
Lastly, build trust among team members by embracing transparency and openness. This way, you ensure all the members focus on your project's success.
Technology blockers
In a project, technology can be a blessing and a curse. It helps automate tasks and promote communication. However, it can introduce complications and new problems. Thus technology blockers are among the top most frustrating issues project managers face.
Several reasons allow technology blockers to arise. These include incompatible technology, inadequate training, and poor communication. Fortunately, there are several ways you can mitigate the effects of technology blockers.
Start by ensuring everyone in the team understands technology. Next, provide adequate training to prevent confusion or misunderstanding. Also, be ready to troubleshoot any issues that arise. In addition, have a backup plan for when technical issues arise.
Lastly, designate one of the team members to be the go-to person for addressing technical impediments. With such a proactive approach, you can avoid the delays and frustrations arising from technology blockers.
How to diagnose the causes of project blockers
After discovering a project blocker, you must investigate the scenario to ensure it never recurs. Knowing the cause of the blockage is essential in preventing future occurrences. This helps establish the origin of the problem so you can address it once and for all. Fortunately, there are several ways you can diagnose project blockers.
5 whys technique
This approach requires you to ask why the issue arose five times to establish the root cause. For example, suppose your team has a problem meeting deadlines. Here is how you could use the 5 whys technique to get to the cause of the problem:
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Why is it difficult to meet deadlines? Because we complete tasks late.
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Why are we completing tasks late? Because we start working on our tasks late.
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Why do we start working on tasks late? Because we lack critical information to start our tasks.
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Why do we lack critical information to start our tasks? Because no one responds to our emails.
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Why are we not getting email responses? Because they do not treat emails as urgent.
The why questions above helped establish the cause of the issue as people who do not consider emails urgent. With this knowledge, you can take measures to address the issue and ensure progress in the project. One way of accomplishing this is setting clear deadlines or sending reminders.
Ishikawa or fishbone diagram
Another approach you can use is the Ishikawa diagram or fishbone diagram. It is a useful tool for visually brainstorming all the potential causes of the project blocker. After establishing the potential causes of the blockage, you can then begin to narrow down on the most likely cause.
Suppose you want to improve the productivity of your team. Potential causes of lackluster productivity include:
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Lack of training
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Inefficient processes
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Poor communication
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Unclear goals
Once you brainstorm the potential culprits, you can investigate the most likely cause of subpar productivity. This is going to help you direct your efforts to the right areas where it has the most impact. In this strategy, taking action to address the blockage is important. After diagnosing the problem, take steps to fix it, including changing priorities.
Solutions may include changing processes, communication, or training. Regardless of the solution, ensure everyone is onboard and aware of what needs to happen.
Strategy for prioritizing a blocker in project management
As Deloitte points out, project controls are important in avoiding surprises and inspiring confidence in successful delivery. With project controls, you can measure or forecast and accurately report project activities. The most important controls like time, cost, and risk often recur across projects. Thus, to prioritize a blocker in your project, you need to ask yourself a few questions.
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How long did the blocker hinder progress?
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Did it stop the project altogether?
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Which blocker is in your control and which is not?
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How much control do you have if the blocker pops up again?
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Is the project blocker fixable?
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How simple or complex is the fix, and who is needed?
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What will the solution cost? How much will the delay cost? What is the unforeseen cost beyond monetary?
Use your answers to come up with a priority list of current and potential blockers. From there, choose which blockers to eliminate, avoid, manage, or ignore for the project to proceed successfully.
How to use Agile project management to turn around blockers
Agile practices offer a framework for efficiently responding to blockers. For example, daily stand-ups are perfect for establishing and handling blockers. Also, agile meetings promote open communication and teamwork useful in addressing blockers.
In retrospective meetings, teams can review past work and processes. In such meetings, teams can find ways of preventing similar blockers in the future. Furthermore, backlog grooming alongside sprint planning is useful for prioritizing blockers. These allow the team to plan ways of solving high-priority blockers they come across. The team can use Scrum sprint retrospective to identify blocker causes to avoid recurrence.
What's more, agile frameworks such as Kanban or Scrum offer teams visibility and transparency into blockers. Kanban or Scrum boards visually display work in progress, which helps spot blockers. Other Agile practices for addressing blockers include:
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Pair programming - Ideal for tackling complex challenges together to address blockers quickly.
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Spike solution - Great for addressing technical blockers by focusing on research or prototyping.
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Test-driven development - Helps discover blockers early before coding.
Summary
Projects usually have many moving parts and sometimes face catastrophic blockers along the way that threaten them. However, with the right understanding and an expert team behind your back, you can navigate blockers and avoid recurrence. Alternatively, you can capitalize on the information we shared in this blog to identify and overcome blockers in your client project.
