Learning from Troubled Projects

Project not aligned

Project not aligned with business unit or organizational goals;

Project not aligned with other projects

Org.

Verify alignment before project kicks off

Lack of management support

Insufficient funding;

Insufficient resources;

Issues not resolved;

Senior mgmt performance criteria not aligned with project success criteria

Org.

Understand project impact of organizational structure;

Ensure proper senior mgmt involvement in project organization;

Advocate PMO and Steering Committee structures

Lack of stakeholder "buy-in"

Purpose and goals not clear;

"Trust" relationship not established;

Inadequate communications;

Mismatched expectations;

All stakeholders not involved

Both

Gain acceptance of project purpose, goals, and success criteria up front;

Ensure all stakeholders are identified and consulted;

Constantly communicate and validate understanding

Inadequate project sponsor

Inactive, unengaged sponsor;

Lack of leadership;

Ethical issues;

Not handling organizational issues;

Not supportive of project management process

Org.

Educate the sponsor on their roles and responsibilities;

Gain formal authorization of project and the project manager position;

Understand sponsor's motives and incentives

Too many project sponsors

Conflicting project goals;

Lack of ownership;

Political battles

Org.

Relates to the need for proper project alignment and clear roles and responsibilities

Lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities

Inefficient work efforts;

Missed deadlines;

Lower team morale;

Delayed issue resolution

Both

Use Responsibility Matrix to clarify all roles and responsibilities;

Review roles and responsibilities with each individual;

Validate expectations in advance

Poor communications

Inconsistent, incomplete, or non-existent status information on key project metrics;

Inadequate tracking and monitoring of project progress;

Not listening to stakeholder concerns or feedback;

Not using proper mediums for certain project communications;

Messages are not clear or occur too frequently

Project

Develop a project Communications Plan that is acceptable to all stakeholders;

Establish tracking and monitoring mechanisms during planning;

Constantly seek questions and feedback;

Understand each stakeholder's perspective;

Clearly set context of each message

Price wars

Due to budget reduction measures or market pressures, management agrees to perform project at or below estimated costs

Org.

Develop complete, detailed project budgets;

Communicate associated risks;

Improve negotiating skills

Resource conflicts

Lack of dedicated team members;

Key resources not available when scheduled

Org.

Develop project Resource Plan;

Gain commitments from Resource Managers;

Encourage centralized organizational structure for resource planning/deployment

Inadequate project manager

Lack of leadership;

Inexperienced or untrained project manager;

Ineffective project manager

Both

Organizational commitment to PM education;

Use of PM mentorship programs

Underestimate change impact

Not understanding the complete effects on both existing processes and people that the "change" introduced by the project will have;

Not properly preparing or planning for the "change"

Org.

Use project sponsor and business process owners to champion the new process;

Involve additional stakeholders to understand their needs and to solicit their support;

Plan for the necessary communications and training (change management plan)

Plan for the "disruptive" deployment period;

Utilize pilot approaches to minimize impact

Inadequate planning

Management does not require or allow time for proper planning;

Incomplete scope or deliverables list;

Incomplete "work" identification;

Lack of detailed schedule;

Inadequate risk identification;

Assumptions not documented;

Lack of schedule and budget contingency

Both

Educate senior mgmt on the value of proper planning;

Use standard methodology for project planning;

Gain formal acceptance of Project Plan before proceeding;

Develop realistic project schedule and budget, as well as tools and processes to keep updated;

Identify and document project risks and mitigation strategies

Lack of change control management

Scope of work increases without proper schedule, budget, or resource adjustments;

Changes occur to deliverables, schedule, or budget without proper notification and approval

Project

Utilize formal change control procedures to properly assess and communicate any change to the schedule, budget, and targeted project deliverable

Lack of completion criteria

Missed stakeholder expectations;

Increased costs or missed deadlines due to re-work;

Lack of smooth transition from one phase to another

Both

Ensure success criteria is established during planning phase;

Define user acceptance criteria for project deliverables;

Define exit criteria for project phases

Inadequate progress tracking

Inability to measure project status and probability for success;

Inability to review project at key points to make go/no-go decisions

Both

Establish and execute periodic status meetings and reporting (weekly in most cases);

Review project at scheduled intervals against established criteria to determine if project should progress into next phase

Unforeseen technical difficulties

Effort spent resolving technical issues drive missed schedules and increased costs;

Unproven technology does not meet user expectations

Project

Structure project to deal with high risk technical challenges early in the project;

Prove the technology before making additional investment;

Leverage technical expertise to support team capabilities