# Build a recovery plan for a project that is behind schedule

Turns a late project's facts into ranked recovery options (crash, fast-track, de-scope) with cost, risk, and a recommendation.

- Topic: Projects & Operations
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Plan, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/build-a-recovery-plan-for-a-project-that-is-behind-schedule

## Prompt

```text
Help me build a recovery plan for a project that is behind schedule.

**Project and goal:** [WHAT WE ARE DELIVERING and for whom]
**Committed date vs. current forecast:** [e.g. "June 30 committed, now forecasting Aug 15"]
**Why we slipped:** [CAUSES - be honest: late dependencies, underestimates, scope added, people lost]
**Remaining work:** [MILESTONES or major tasks still open, with estimates]
**Levers I could pull:** [extra budget, more people, overtime, vendor help, scope that could move to a later release]
**Hard constraints:** [fixed date? fixed budget? regulatory scope that cannot be cut?]

Analyze recovery using these options, and say which ones actually apply:
- **Crashing** - adding people or money to critical-path tasks (watch for onboarding drag and Brooks's law).
- **Fast-tracking** - running sequential tasks in parallel (note the rework risk).
- **De-scoping** - moving features to a later release (name what users lose).
- **Re-sequencing** - delivering the highest-value slice first.
- **Moving the date** - and what that costs.

Rules: do not invent estimates or costs - where I have not given a number, mark [ESTIMATE NEEDED]. Be realistic about how much time each option really buys back.

Return:
1. A one-paragraph diagnosis of the slip.
2. An options table: option | days recovered (range) | added cost | new risks | who must approve.
3. My recommended combination and the new forecast date with a confidence level.
4. What I must stop, start, and change this week.
5. A short message to my sponsor presenting the options and my recommendation.
```

## What to fill in

- WHAT WE ARE DELIVERING and for whom
- e.g. "June 30 committed, now forecasting Aug 15"
- MILESTONES or major tasks still open, with estimates
- ESTIMATE NEEDED

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.