High-Impact Project Mistakes and Remedies

Partha S. Ghose is a post-graduate engineer with more than 38 years of experience in heavy manufacturing industries in core sectors such as steel, non-ferrous metallurgy, power and infrastructure in the areas of large, integrated projects and operations, managing the functions from the field through leadership positions.

  Estimating   Manufacturing   Quality   Risk Management   Scope Management   Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)   Knowledge Shelf  

Abstract
Projects are the manifestations of scores of complex, unique activities that do not allow much flexibility in scope in order to learn from mistakes and correct them in the same project—typically because projects are one-time endeavors. Complexities and uniqueness vary from project to project and industry to industry, as do the risks associated with each of these. Depending upon the industry, environment, etc., there may be a long list of mistakes that must be avoided for project success. While these project-specific mistakes must be identified and avoided, there are certain serious mistakes that are common in nature, and that are committed in many projects across industry sectors and environments, throwing projects off track. Seven of these gross mistakes are discussed in this article. If these mistakes can be avoided, it is easier to keep the project under reasonable control.

Introduction
Projects are temporary undertakings that are complex and unique, making them inflexible to mistakes—unlike operations, where owing to their repetitive nature and scope for correction, continuous improvement is always possible. This makes a project more complex, driven by a detailed planning process with continuous monitoring, identification of risks, and continuous process …

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