Your Problem Isn't ...
Categories:
Project Failure
Categories: Project Failure
| Project management practitioners who read the conventional wisdom on those things that threaten project success may be "getting sold a bill of goods" (a U.S. colloquialism meaning to be deceived). While project management-types usually don't stay in the industry for long before witnessing a project crash-and-burn firsthand, the ability to accurately identify and clearly articulate the proximate cause of that project failure is often elusive, with individual prejudices coloring analysis. Quality engineers tend to name a lack of quality capability as the main reason behind project failure, while estimators tend to believe inaccurate cost baselines or estimates at completion are the culprits. I have a pretty clear idea of the main, if not only, cause of project failure, but before I name it, let me tell you what it isn't: • No Six Sigma • Lack of Agile project management • Failure to engage stakeholders (see my previous post) • Inappropriate leadership style • Too few Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential holders • Insufficient procedures or written guidance I could go on, but this list should be sufficient to contradict the majority of management writers who are asserting the key causal factor in project failure. So, what is the main causal factor? The project manager and/or project team made bad decisions. This is not simply a semantic difference. The ability to make good decisions is absolutely critical to any and all project outcomes, including the ability to meet success criterion. This ability is influenced by several factors, including: • The education/capability of the project team • Some level of luck, certainly, but mostly: • The availability of adequate project cost and schedule performance information, which almost always clarifies the best project decisions So important is the generation and delivery of cost and schedule performance information that any manager who eschews such information has automatically signaled their incompetence, and inappropriate placement in any position of authority. I'm essentially calling out the anti-cost/schedule performance system crowd. (You know who you are.) If you have ever argued against the introduction of an earned value system on principle, stop calling yourself a project manager because you aren't one. Of course, I'd love to hear from anyone disagreeing with me on this, so, please leave a comment. |
Some Answers to Large-Project Challenges
Categories:
Leadership
Categories: Leadership
| The first thing I heard at today's session of the 2nd Annual Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum in |
What Can Be Learned From India
Categories:
Risk Management
Categories: Risk Management
| Everyone has been watching and reading about the recent terror attacks
on India's business capital, Mumbai. The events have passed and
patchwork has just begun. Those who were directly responsible for the security failure have been shown the door either willingly or under pressure from a combination of higher command, media and public anger. I would like to discuss it as a project failure and conduct (with reader participation) the post mortem analysis on what went wrong and how it could have been avoided. The discussion should be based upon information available from news analysis. Let me start with lessons learned that translate to projects: Issue #1: The Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB) is claiming it had informed the government about a possible attack from seaside but no action was taken. There was a risk identified but no mitigation plan was prepared for it. It is important to monitor risk areas and take preventive action before it gets too late. In projects, it is the responsibility of project managers to spread awareness about the risks in their projects and their mitigation plans. Don't take even a minor issue casually. If you don't have time to look into the issue, then assign it to someone else and track it to closure. Issue #2: India had a couple of terror incidents in the past but no measure was taken to prevent them in the future. It is a universal truth that prevention is always better than correction so it's good to have check points and preventive measures in place before you lose money and resource time. Document lessons learned from previous mistakes and ensure everyone is aware of them. It's better to review the learning database periodically and update it if required. Let's keep the conversation going. What other lessons learned can you find in these events? |
The Scarlet FES
Categories:
Communications Management
Categories: Communications Management
| If I had a dime for every copy of every project management article that prodded the reader to further engage stakeholders, I wouldn't have to spend time writing this blog. I could probably buy New Zealand. Indeed, failure to engage stakeholders has become the cardinal sin of the project management industry if you read all the trade journals. I do believe that they are only a short distance away from requiring all managers of failed projects to wear a scarlet FES, for Failed to Engage Stakeholders, reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of a very similar name. Being the hopeless iconoclast that I am, I can't help to make the opposite assertion: Project managers should eschew these all-wise, all-knowing stakeholders for the following reasons. First off, who are we talking about here? Which "stakeholder"? If it's the customer, then, of course, "engage" them (which, I assume means, you talk together). But keep in mind, customer involvement often involves their asking for additional stuff on your project or higher quality standards. The desire to accommodate these stakeholders is the most common cause of that most fatal of project-killers: scope creep. And, once a good dose of scope creep has wrecked your project, it won't do the culpable project manager any good to respond, "I was just engaging the stakeholders!" Then there are the stakeholders who are neither on your project team nor in your customer's organization: These are "nuisances." If the scope of your project involves doing something that provably impacts others in an adverse manner, that's your customer's problem, isn't it? They probably should have spent a little more time getting the appropriate permits before they ponied up the money for your baseline. And, if these stakeholders don't belong to your or your customer's organizations and aren't provably adversely affected, then they should probably shut up and go away. Does that sound harsh? Okay, they don't have to be ignored or exiled, but they absolutely should not be consulted on what should happen on your project. Indeed, to do so is akin to project management malpractice. So there. I was getting a little tired of nobody posting comments on my blogs, and I figure this piece will pretty much cure that. |
Make the Effort
Categories:
Communications Management
Categories: Communications Management
| I often find that communication between project managers and senior
management is very limited or nonexistent. There are several reasons.
One reason is the busy schedule of executives. And other reasons might
be the lack of interest shown by the project managers, as well as the
need to perhaps hide something that project managers feel should not go
up to senior management. But it is an important part of keeping up with project progress. Reviewing progress and profitability should not be something that waits until year's end. Instead there should be some monthly or quarterly checkpoints in between. This regular communication should also include client feedback--both good and bad. In most organizations, senior managers or account managers require project managers to conduct daily/weekly status meetings and publish the minutes of meetings. These meetings are usually kept internal to the team and there is rarely communication with the senior manager or account manager about the discussion. Senior Management Review (SMR) reports--which lists things such as project risks milestones achieved--prepared by project manager for senior management and other support/effected groups also do not promote accountability as they can be manipulated for convenience. How can project leaders and senior management solve this problem? By having someone independent of the project of someone on the client side (e.g. business analyst) prepare a monthly status report. The report should include: 1. Resource Utilization 2. Billing Done for the Month (to be provided by project manager and this should match with the value submitted to accounts) 3. Earned Value generated by the Team (to be provided by project manager and this should match with the value submitted to accounts) 4. Work Projection for Next Month 5. Testing Quality (mainly for IT projects) 6. Highlights/Lessons Learned 7. Operation Decision that need SM/Account Manager's review 8. Items to be taken in company's Interest By doing this, senior management will have an insight to the project and can act accordingly before it gets too late. Project managers should not behave like a stranger in a crisis situation. |
