Many delivery issues might be considered as resulting from a lack of proper mobilisation. In our experience the six issues below are most common:

• A delivery team that is very busy, but milestones are being missed and there is little real progress being made
• Decisions are frequently changed
• Uncertainty about what is landing, when
• Confusion about decisions, status and responsibilities
• Lack of ownership, with people actively disengaging
• Cost escalation

When thinking about your own mobilisation, ask the following questions:

• Do I really need it?  How experienced are we in change?  What is the recent record regarding delivery? Have there been failures that could be traced back to poor mobilisation and set-up?
• Reactive or proactive?  There is often a desire to rush into delivery with, almost invariably, a downstream price to pay. The unseen certainty of failure is often unknowingly preferred to the certain investment in reducing the risk through proper mobilisation
• Stop or plough on? With delivery run rates often exceeding £100k/week, effective mobilisation can pay significant dividends – even if it only provides clarity around the various options to accept risk. Mobilisation can legitimately bleed into delivery, and it may even be appropriate to pause and ‘remobilise’ in some situations
• Do I need all of it?  Perhaps not – every situation is different and flexibility is needed to make sure the investment is right