Projecting Success (or Failure)

In a couple of conversations recently I am aware that sadly, many technology projects still “fail”.

To use a cliché – the projects are “a dollar short and a day late”. A combination of over-time, over-budget and under-delivery, with the resulting frustration, finger-pointing and opportunity cost.

These examples were not trivial projects, but that said, they are they type of projects that many organisations have completed. So, I began comparing the similarities between the projects to identify trends – things to avoid.

Here are some;
- Poor Business Case Development which includes the Business Requirements, which in turn drive the technical needs

- Inexperienced Project Manager – projects which involve change need experience in change management

- Optimistic Project Plan – a mistake made in many projects is that the project plan has optimistic timelines that lead to the perception of over-time and over-budget.

- Wrong people on the Project Team – or put another way, are the right people on the Project Team? Right Departments? Right level for decision making?

- Poor vendor selection process – it is easy to blame the vendor but if the Business Case and Requirements were poorly constructed, then it is likely that the vendor has the wrong brief. Equally, has the vendor been selected based on clear, detailed criteria?

So, if the project will make a significant return to the business, isn’t it worth funding a Consultative phase to develop the requirements and select the right technology and vendors, and ensuring that the project is being managed by an experienced Project Manager?

This sounds like extra cost, but is it? Surely this is part of running a successful project?