You gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em, but when it comes to IT projects it can hard to recognize the time for folding. There are four signs that offer a good indication that it's time to put a project on hold or eliminate it altogether, writes Brad Egeland in a post at TechRepublic.

The first sign is persistent scope creep. The customer expects something quite different from what was agreed to initially, but the discrepancy in expectations doesn't necessarily become apparent until the implementation phase. If negotiations don't bring about a meeting of the minds, it's a good reason to hold off on the implementation, Egeland advises.

The second sign is too much turnover within the project team. Constant turnover can cause a project to miss its schedule and run over its budget. It can also cause delays in important decisions, indicating that the project isn't ready to move forward.

The third sign is changing priorities that call into question future phases of a project. If the customer is taking a long time to commit to the next phase, it is a good idea to slow down until a more solid roadmap can be established.

The fourth and most obvious sign is a depleted budget. There could have been additional demands made following the original agreement, which ran up the cost. But until funds are allocated, it probably makes sense to postpone a project.

For more:
- see Brad Egeland's post at TechRepublic

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