The proposed project duplicates work already underway. What should we do?
Duplicate initiative intakeCompare outcomes and deliverables before approving another project. Merge, coordinate, or explicitly distinguish the initiatives so the organization does not fund the same capability twice.
What to do now
- Search the active project inventory
- Compare intended outputs and beneficiaries
- Assess shared delivery options
- Obtain a portfolio-level decision
When to escalate
Escalate when
Two teams are about to make overlapping supplier commitments.
Who decides
The accountable sponsor
Example
Two departments combine their document-routing requirements into one shared platform initiative.
Mistake to avoid
Keeping both projects because their names and sponsors differ.
Prevent a repeat
At each stage decision, check that the expected outcome, owner and justification remain valid.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Projects
- Documents
- Approvals
Keep the decision brief with the project and request a recorded sponsor decision before the next commitment. See the platform
Related cases
- The business case is already outdated before kickoff. What should happen?Stale investment rationale
- The project name means different things to different people. How do we align it?Ambiguous initiative definition
- The issue log contains duplicates. How should we clean it up?Fragmented issue history
- A stakeholder wants to add work directly to the sprint. Who handles it?Uncontrolled sprint work intake