A review on possible approaches for detecting early warning signs in projects

This paper provides an overview of the full extent of early warning detection approaches, which are directly or indirectly addressed in the literature. These approaches can aid project managers in taking corrective actions timely enough for preventing failures. This paper is based on a review of the current literature within the field of early warning in project management and on the authors' experiences gained from practice. It also builds upon the authors' experiences in various forms, both through advising and supervising project management teams and through observations and studies of projects. The authors extract possible approaches for early warning signs (EWS) from the literature and practical experience, and make a thorough discussion of their strengths and weaknesses.