Workflow of the day ·
Write a recovery email when a key date is at risk
Editor: Owen Hagger
Turn the facts about a slipping key date into a calm, factual email that explains what's happened, what you're doing about it and what you need from the reader.
When to use it
As soon as your programme shows a key date or sectional completion is at risk, and before the client hears it from someone else. A clear email early, with a plan in it, keeps trust far better than a long explanation after the date has gone.
The prompt
You are helping a UK contractor's project manager write an email to [RECIPIENT AND ROLE, e.g. the client's project manager] about a key date that is at risk on a [SIZE AND TYPE OF PROJECT]. The facts: - Key date at risk: [WHAT IT IS AND THE CURRENT CONTRACT DATE] - Current forecast: [FORECAST DATE FROM THE PROGRAMME] - Cause: [WHAT HAS HAPPENED, FACTUALLY] - What we have already done: [ACTIONS TAKEN] - Recovery options: [EACH OPTION, WITH ANY TIME OR COST EFFECT YOU KNOW] - What we need from the reader, and by when: [DECISIONS, INFORMATION OR ACCESS] - When we will next update them: [DATE] Write the email with: - A plain subject line. - A one-line opening that says which date is at risk and the current forecast. - Short sections: What has happened, What we are doing, Options, What we need from you, Next update. - No more than 250 words, calm and factual, without blame or apology for things that aren't ours. Rules: only use the dates and facts I've given you. Do not promise a recovery I haven't listed, and do not admit liability or say who is at fault. Where something is missing, put [TBC] in the email and list it underneath. Then list the three questions the reader is most likely to ask, with a short suggested answer to each, based only on my facts. Use UK spelling.
What it produced
A short email under a plain subject line that opens with the date at risk and the forecast, then sets out the cause, the actions already taken, the recovery options and exactly what's needed from the reader, ending with the date of the next update. Under it, a list of anything marked [TBC] and three likely questions with suggested answers.
What you still check
- Every date matches the current programme, and the forecast is one you can stand behind.
- Nothing in the email reads as an admission of fault or a promise you can't keep.
- This email is not a contract notice. If the contract needs an early warning, a relevant event notice or a delay notice, send that separately and on time.
- Your director has seen it if the date carries damages or a client relationship risk.
Steps
- Update the programme first so the forecast is real, not a guess.
- Fill in the facts and run the prompt, then tighten the wording in your own voice.
- Send it, diary the next update, and issue any contract notice the contract requires.
Go further
- The full workflow, with an example output: Create a Recovery Programme Narrative
- Every workflow for this role: AI for Project Managers
- More ideas like this: daily ideas for Project Managers