Project Recovery Decision Engine

Premium

Project Recovery Decision Engine – Excel Tool to Diagnose and Recover Red Projects

50% off

$18

One-time purchase · Instant download

Instant download No macros
Mac & Windows

What you receive

PMOC_Project_Recovery_Decision_Engine_Demo: Fully working workbook
PMOC_Project_Recovery_Decision_Engine_Blank: Clean working file
PMOC_Project_Recovery_Decision_Engine_User_Guide.pdf
PMOC_Project_Recovery_Methodology.pdf
Microsoft Excel 2019, Excel 2021 or Microsoft 365, on Windows or Mac.
No macros, add-ins, Power Query or external links.
Excel for the web opens the file, but the desktop app is recommended.

The customer problem

When a project turns red, most dashboards only describe the problem. Leadership meetings then run on opinion. Nobody can say with evidence why the project is failing, what happens if nothing changes, whether it can realistically be recovered, which intervention to fund, what it will cost, or which decisions are needed this week.

The solution

The Project Recovery Decision Engine is a formula-driven Excel application that takes a troubled project from diagnosis to decision to tracked recovery. It:

diagnoses likely root causes;
quantifies schedule and financial exposure using earned value;
prices the cost of inaction;
scores recovery strategies with visible, editable weights and viability gates;
compares four recovery scenarios;
produces a 30-60-90 day plan; and
tracks whether the approved intervention is working.
The result is a one-page executive Command Center with an auto-written narrative.

Who it is for

Project and program managers, PMO leaders, project controllers, delivery heads, consultants, sponsors, and organisations managing delayed, over-budget or high-risk projects.

How to use it

Enter the project baseline and current status on Project Diagnostic, and list milestones on Milestone Recovery.
Complete the Root-Cause Analyzer.
Review root causes, health and future exposure.
Compare strategies on Recovery Options and packages on Scenario Comparison.
Approve actions on the 30-60-90 Plan, log progress on the Recovery Tracker, and present the Command Center.

Important disclaimer

The Project Recovery Decision Engine is a decision-support tool. All forecasts, recovery benefits, scores and recommendations are estimates derived from your inputs and assumptions. They are not guarantees of results and do not replace professional, contractual or financial judgement. Root-cause results are diagnostic indicators that require management validation.

Main benefits

Diagnose troubled projects faster. A 30-question diagnostic across 12 categories points to the most likely causes.
Replace opinion with evidence. CPI, SPI, EAC, TCPI and exposure are calculated, not argued.
Show the cost of inaction. Cost overrun, delay cost, penalties and benefit at risk appear in one number.
Compare recovery strategies objectively. Every strategy is scored on the same eight weighted criteria.
Justify recovery investment. Net benefit and benefit-to-cost ratio are shown for each option and package.
Focus executives on decisions. Pending approvals are ranked by due date, with overdue items flagged.
Turn a red report into an action plan. Actions are owned, dated and linked to root causes.
Know whether recovery is working. Tracking runs period by period and produces a formula-generated verdict.

Detailed features

Project Diagnostic. Covers baseline, earned-value and delivery inputs. Calculates SV, CV, SPI, CPI and CSI. Offers four selectable EAC methods, plus ETC, VAC and TCPI against both BAC and EAC. Includes an SPI-implied completion-date reality check, cost of delay, penalty exposure, total exposure and margin. Also calculates a weighted 8-factor health score, a recovery urgency rating and a recovery feasibility rating, each with a plain-language interpretation.
Risk & Issue Register. Holds up to 30 items with probability × impact scoring and expected exposure. It feeds the health score automatically.
Root-Cause Analyzer. Includes the questionnaire, a category severity heatmap and the top five likely root causes. It also has an impact-vs-control matrix, a symptoms-vs-causes table and a root-cause profile chart. Results are labelled as indicators that require management validation.
Milestone & Critical-Path Recovery. Covers 40 milestones or work packages and calculates:
- current delay and remaining duration;
- recoverable days, residual delay and revised dates;
- cost per day recovered;
- downstream impact;
- P1/P2/P3 recovery priority.

It also produces a delayed-critical-milestone list and a delay heatmap.

Recovery Options. Six strategies plus two custom slots. Days and costs link to milestone evidence. Each strategy shows efficiency, risk, quality, burnout, customer and lead-time factors, net and risk-adjusted benefit, and benefit-to-cost ratio. Strategies are scored with an 8-criterion weighted model and must pass viability gates before they can be recommended.
Recommendation Rules Engine. Ten visible rules. Each shows its condition, current value, threshold and whether it fired.
Scenario Comparison. Compares No Action, Conservative, Recommended and Accelerated scenarios. You define each package with Yes/No switches. The sheet includes cost-vs-days, delay, financial-exposure and risk-vs-reward charts, and a best-value indicator.
30-60-90 Day Recovery Plan. Holds 30 actions with executive-decision tracking and overdue / due-soon flags. Includes phase summary, owner accountability, a plan-health rating and a burn-up chart.
Recovery Tracker. A 12-period before-vs-after view with velocity, forecast-stability, verdict and escalation / re-baseline triggers, plus reconciliation checks.
Executive Recovery Command Center. 14 KPI cards, an auto-written narrative, the executive recommendation, and a cost-of-inaction chart. Also shows root causes, option comparison, completion dates, phase progress rings, decisions required and triggered rules. Prints on one landscape page.
Settings. Every threshold, weight and dropdown list is visible and editable. Currency can be $, ₹, €, £ or custom.

Does it calculate the critical path?
- No. It does not replace a scheduling tool. You flag critical activities, and the engine calculates recoverable days, residual delay and priorities from them.
Can I change the scoring weights and thresholds?
- Yes. Every weight, threshold and list is on the Settings sheet or beside the model, and weight totals are checked for 100%.
Which EAC method should I use?
- CPI (typical) is the default for most troubled projects. The Methodology PDF explains when to use the Atypical, CPI × SPI and Bottom-up methods.
Can I use it for more than one project?
- Each workbook models one project. Save a copy of the Blank edition for each project.
Does it contain macros?
- No. Every result comes from standard Excel formulas you can trace.
How many items can it hold?
- 40 milestones, 40 diagnostic questions, 30 risks and issues, 30 actions, 8 recovery options and 12 tracking periods. You can extend these by inserting rows inside the tables.
Is the sample data real?
- No. The organisation, people and figures are fictional.

PMOC_Project_Recovery_Decision_Engine_Demo.xlsx Fully working workbook with a fictional ERP recovery case
PMOC_Project_Recovery_Decision_Engine_Blank.xlsx Clean working file with all formulas, lists, questions and strategies preserved
PMOC_Project_Recovery_Decision_Engine_User_Guide.pdf Setup, inputs, interpretation and common mistakes
PMOC_Project_Recovery_Methodology.pdf Every formula, scoring rule, assumption and limitation
Software requirements
Microsoft Excel 2019, Excel 2021 or Microsoft 365, on Windows or Mac.
No macros, add-ins, Power Query or external links.
Excel for the web opens the file, but the desktop app is recommended.
Google Sheets and Numbers are not supported.

Project Recovery Decision Engine

50% off

One-time purchase · Instant download

Instant download No macros Mac & Windows

What you receive

Instant download No macros
Mac & Windows