Case Study: Corporate Division Shutdown

I was a project manager for a data communication chip design company during the dot-com boom and
bust periods. The dot-com bubble grew due to speculative investing for Internet-based companies, but
these companies failed to turn a profit in a timely fashion.

From 2000 to 2002, the Nasdaq Index lost about 80% of its value due to a rapid burst in the dot-com
bubble. One day in 2001 we got the bad news that our corporate was going to close down our
company’s operations.

I was right in the middle of a data communication chip design project. My customer was U.S. based. I
had a group of five engineers working on my team. We all got very excited. The rumor mill was
circulating at a very fast pace.

My team’s work efficiency immediately dropped. Everyone started to worry about his or her future
rather than focusing on their tasks. This chaotic situation lasted about 10 days. Then a group of
executives from corporate came to our facilities and they finalized the details of our company’s
shutdown with our president.

They gathered us in a large conference room and explained to us how the company shutdown was going
to take place. It was a phase-out process. The first week they laid off 50% of the total work force. They
gave everyone a compensation package consisting of outstanding vacation pay and bonuses depending
on seniority and salary level. Then they decided to phase out every project’s remaining tasks. My project
had another three months to go.

A junior engineer from my team was laid off during the first week of the phase-out plan. I had four
engineers and me to complete the project in three months.

I gathered my team and went over the remaining tasks one by one. If we worked efficiently without any
glitches we were hopeful to complete the remaining project tasks in three months.

I told my team members that they could spend a reasonable amount of time during the day to look for
their future jobs. I emphasized that I would allow them to go to interviews during the week as long as
they made up the lost time during off hours. We also decided that I was going to deal with our
customer’s project manager during these three months so that my team members did not get distracted
and lose any precious time.

Then I called my customer’s project manager and gave him the bad news about our company’s closure. I
assured him that his project was going to be completed in three months with a final acceptance review
meeting before my team members and I left the company. I skipped the news about my junior
engineer’s early departure from my team.

My customer’s project manager had high confidence in me because I always delivered my commitments
on time and with highest quality to him. My team and I worked very closely during those final three
months. Our offices were like a ghost town. All the cubicles were emptied out.

During the phase-out process, we were saying goodbyes to several colleagues every week. I had lunch
with my team members daily during those three months. During lunch we only discussed everyone’s
future plans. We never discussed the project tasks. We became a very close-knit bunch during those 13
weeks.

I wrote outstanding recommendations for all my team members. We had to work a couple of weekends
to complete all the remaining tasks. During the final week we had our internal acceptance review
meeting. There were a couple of tasks that needed to be polished and retested. We had to extend our
project one more week for the customer’s final acceptance review.

I discussed my project’s status with the company president. I told him that we needed an extra week to
complete the project. He told me that he did not have any funds to cover my team’s expenses for an
extra week. During our team luncheon, I discussed the bind we were in with my team members. We all
agreed to work another week without any compensation and complete the job.

I immediately called my customer’s project manager and explained our situation. I told him that we
would be ready the following week for the final acceptance review. I told him that my team and I were
working pro bono for a week to complete the project. He was very appreciative of our sacrifices.

The project’s final acceptance review went without a hitch. Our customer accepted the data
communication chip design without any change request. Afterward our customer’s project manager
took my team and me out to dinner to celebrate.

Working as a very close-knit team during these hard times paid off well. We completed our project in 14
weeks. We came out of the dot-com bust with flying colors. My team members and I found jobs at other
companies and immediately switched over to our new positions.

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TASK FOR THE STUDENTS OF COURSE FUNDAMENTALS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT BUKC:

‘WHAT ARE THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS PROJECT?’

Try to give a separate point for each lesson learned. Please be brief and your complete answer should
not be more than half a page.