Top Ten Reasons Why Projects Fail Why do projects fail?

Problems can manifest from anywhere on a project but there are several elements of a project that if managed poorly could mean that the project may fail to deliver: Poor sponsorship If the people at the top are not supportive this will severely hamper or even stop the project delivering. Clear job descriptions from an executive can often reduce the chances of this happening. Unclear requirements If phrases such as easy to use, state of the art or best of breed have sneaked their way into the requirements, they will be virtually impossible to prove. Project managers should view ambiguity as their worst enemy, and strive for clarity. Unrealistic timescales or budgets Too often the customer/sponsor asks for the impossible, but a project will take as long as it will take. As Henry Ford said better, faster, cheaper, pick one! Scope creep This describes the phenomenon where changes mount up to slowly push the product away from its original design. Clear documentation and a robust change control mechanism are vital if this is to be avoided. Poor risk management If you analyse the situation before proceeding you may be able to identify potential problems and work around them before they even happen. Poor processes/documentation If you dont follow processes and document events and requirements properly, do not be surprised if things do not happen the way you want them to. Poor estimating Good project managers dont guess! Use historical information, formulae, and lots of questions to make sure that your estimating is not GUESStimating. Poor communication/stakeholder engagement People tend to fear what they dont know, so it is always the case that a bit of communication about what is going to happen will go a long way. Communication with stakeholders is vital if the project is to capture their imagination, and keep it. Poor business case A good business case will clearly demonstrate the business benefit of delivering a project and so will allow the project team to sell the project to the business, and constantly monitor whether the project continues to remain a good idea during the project. Inadequate/incorrectly skilled resources

Having people who are ill-prepared to complete a task can be worse than not having anyone. To give yourself the best chance of getting the resources, be clear about what you need and when you need it. The Top Ten Reasons Why You Need Project Management A disciplined project management process is important to any project. Project managers are expected to deliver results, on time (if not sooner) and on budget. Solid project planning reduces the risks associated with any project you take on. Here are ten reasons why you need project management: 1. Control Scope Creep and Manage Change Small changes in demands occur on every project. They come from management, the customer, your project team, suppliers, or other stakeholders. Individually, they may appear acceptable, but collectively these project demands can add up to a significant project expansion (referred to as scope creep) that can overrun your budget. As a project manager, if you effectively manage the scope of your project, you have a better than even chance of effectively managing project resources time, money, etc. and managing change. 2. Deliver Project Results On Time and On Budget Project planning starts with a well thought out business case justification that usually includes some type of cost calculation associated with Return On Investment (ROI). Once these measures are established, it is up to the project manager to ensure that on-time, on-budget performance is maintained; otherwise, the project will never produce the expected results. Thats what good project management is all about. 3. Focus the Project Team on the Solution The project team can easily drift off topic and spend too much time on the wrong tasks. A good project manager keeps the project team focused by using a clear and concise project charter, resolving barriers, or shielding the team from unnecessary interference. 4. Obtain Project Buy-In from Disparate Groups As President Lincoln once said, Public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed. A good project manager uses the tools in the initiation phase of project management to collect user requirements, project constraints, and a feasibility study to build a strong business case justification. Using input from various sources, the project manager overcomes dissent and obtains buy-in by communicating the project benefits as the different stakeholder groups see them. 5. Define the Critical Path to Optimally Complete your Project Every project is made up of a series of connected activities, each of which has its own constraints. The project manager identifies the critical path of activities the optimal sequence of actions that best ensure the projects successful completion. 6. Provide a Process for Estimating Project Resources, Time, and Costs Using project management software, previous project experiences, and a solid project initiation phase can provide the discipline needed to reduce project estimating errors, increasing the likelihood that the project will finish on time and on budget. 7. Communicate Project Progress, Risks, and Changes

As a project progresses, stakeholders must be kept informed of the outcomes, changes, stumbling blocks, or successes that the project experiences. Project management creates a project communication plan to address these communication issues, provide a format, and lay out a process for execution. 8. Surface and Explore Project Assumptions All projects are based on assumptions to some extent. A good project manager delves into user requirements, project constraints, and management expectations to understand what is said and what is not said. Relying on too many unconfirmed assumptions can invalidate a project schedule or, worse, sink the project. 9. Prepare for Unexpected Project Issues Every project runs into unforeseen issues, such as changes in market conditions, and is hit with random cause variability. Experienced project managers plan for the unexpected by lining up alternative courses of action. 10. Document, Transfer, and Apply Lessons Learned from Your Projects The last phase of project management focuses on closing out the project. The project manager reviews how well each prior phase project initiation, project planning, project execution, and project monitoring and control was performed. As part of good knowledge management, all project review notes should be dissected and analyzed for patterns, trends, and opportunities for improvement. These lessons learned should be documented and communicated to other project managers before starting the next project. COMMON MISTAKES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT There are many different ways of approaching a project but none of them really guarantees that you wont run into problems at some points. Projects are such unpredictable, ever changing pieces of work that it is impossible to plan in advance every single aspect of them. However, there are some general pieces of advice which you would do well to follow and there are also some common mistakes which need to be avoided. In the case of these errors it may be enough for you to know about them in advance in order to successfully avoid them, so lets take a look at a few. Underestimating the Workload This is a pretty general point which really covers a lot of different aspects. An alternative title for this could be Not Planning Correctly or Getting Started Too Quickly, as both describe the same issue in different ways. When we are presented with the basic details of a new piece of work it seems that human nature encourages us to look to dive right in and try to finish it right away. Personally I find it a struggle not to do the same but experience has taught me that spending a bit of time on doing some planning at the start will stand me in good stead later on. Lack of Resources or Skills It might be a lack of budget or it might be a lack of the right skills, but whatever it is that you dont have it will cause a problem at some point. You would think that the previous point covers this and I think it does but only up to a certain point. If you have planned correctly then you will have taken the budget and the skills needed into account. After this you need to keep an eye on things and maintain the right approach to identify when you might need to ask for extra resources. A good example I can recall is where my project team got bogged down in a particularly troublesome process issue. They spent far too much time on it before eventually realizing that the best idea was to get in an expert from the business side. With their hands on knowledge added to

the task it was resolved in no time. Dont be afraid to ask for help from experts when you need it. No Change Control As we have already seen, projects can change massively over their duration. What sorted out as a relatively simple task may grow arms and legs until it becomes a monster. This isnt something to necessarily avoid, and in fact it is possibly something which you will welcome. The issue to remember here is that all changes need to be clearly documented. This might seem like overkill at the time of the change, as you possibly thank that there is no chance of your forgetting the details. Leave it a few months of constant change, though, and you could find it impossible to respond to challenges about why things were done a certain way if you dont have the documents correctly drawn up. No Stakeholder Buy-In For some reason a lot of project managers dont always give the stakeholders the information and the respect they deserve. These are the people who need to make sure that the end result matches their needs, so it is vital that you work closely with them at all times. It also has to be said that a healthy working relationship with the stakeholders can make the whole experience a lot easier and more enjoyable for you. You certainly shouldnt think of your stakeholders as being your enemies or obstacles to get around in any way possible. They presumably want the best for their business areas and it is your job to find a way to make that happen. If the atmosphere starts to get strained as it often does in big, complex projects then a clear the air workshop can be a good way to get things back on track and show the stakeholders that you are trying your best to get their input and look after their interests. Lack of Communication The previous issue definitely had something to do with communication but it can also be a wider topic. Who do you need to communicate with apart from the stakeholders? The project team, other project teams and the end business users are a few of the people you will need to think about. Instead of looking at this as being a waste of time you should see how good communication can be used to improve the project and let everyone else see how well you are doing. ----Nearly 70 percent of IT projects are dogged by cost-overruns or aren't completed on schedule due to poor planning, poor communication or poor resource allocation. This story assess the impact of the 14 most common project management mistakes and offers ways IT groups can avoid them. CIO It's no wonder only 29 percent of IT projects are completed successfully, according to The Standish Group. Project management consultants and software providers say they see IT departments making the same project management mistakes over and over: IT groups don't follow standard project management processes. They don't have the right staff working on projects. They don't assess the risks that could imperil their projects or determine ways to mitigate those risks. The list of mistakes unrolls like a ball of yarn.