IMPROVING THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS
Wrapping up this series on Project Success I want to revisit some of the earlier themes and identify what you as the Project Manager or Project Owner can do to enhance the likelihood your project being judged a success.
We have already identified in previous entries that a key theme of success is to understand what type of project the organization is initiating or selecting.
Organizations tend to opt for simplistic assessments of project type. They often equate difficulty of their projects based on size
There are many ways to assess and categorize the type of project, and in the previous entry I explored the NTCP framework proposed by Shenhar and Dvir in their book "Reinventing Project Management". The NTCP Framework provides a structured approach to assess the real issues of difficulty in projects.
It is relatively easy to understand and use, you can easily use the book to build a tool to aid in assessing project type and then provide some guidance on project management style and approach to adopt to improve the chances of success.
It stands to reason that if we also look at the causes of project failure we should be able to identify the lessons we need to learn to improve the chances of success.
The Raconteur Magazine has run several articles on Project Management that are worth reviewing around this area. From 2014 the articles have included Project Success as a measure of performance. The links below provide access to the reports(you many need to create a simple account to access them).
Raconteur reports:
Similar to the UK's National Audit Office the reports identify common causes of project failure and there are a few recurring themes:
"Lack of senior management involvement will cause delays in project decisions leading to delays in project schedule an delays in the delivery of expected benefits."
You may help the organization recognise that the project might be unviable and put it on hold until a dedicated project sponsor/owner is found.
We have already identified in previous entries that a key theme of success is to understand what type of project the organization is initiating or selecting.
Organizations tend to opt for simplistic assessments of project type. They often equate difficulty of their projects based on size
- how big the scope is
- how large a budget will be required
- estimated time / duration for the project
- team, etc...
- complexity in the solution, and the stakeholder relationships
- uncertainty of requirements, or in the project environment
- urgency of delivery
There are many ways to assess and categorize the type of project, and in the previous entry I explored the NTCP framework proposed by Shenhar and Dvir in their book "Reinventing Project Management". The NTCP Framework provides a structured approach to assess the real issues of difficulty in projects.
It is relatively easy to understand and use, you can easily use the book to build a tool to aid in assessing project type and then provide some guidance on project management style and approach to adopt to improve the chances of success.
It stands to reason that if we also look at the causes of project failure we should be able to identify the lessons we need to learn to improve the chances of success.
The Raconteur Magazine has run several articles on Project Management that are worth reviewing around this area. From 2014 the articles have included Project Success as a measure of performance. The links below provide access to the reports(you many need to create a simple account to access them).
Raconteur reports:
Similar to the UK's National Audit Office the reports identify common causes of project failure and there are a few recurring themes:
- Lack of senior-management involvement
- Lack of links to the organization's strategy
- Poor definition of requirements
- Lack of user involvement
- Inexperienced project managers
- Inadequate resources and skills
- Unrealistic expectations
New Mindset for new results
To improve the chances of success in our project we need to examine these seven themes and effect a reversal of the situation. We need to focus on the things we can effectively influence in our projects.
- Identify and communicate how the project supports the delivery of the organization's strategy
- Work hard to understand the desired outcome(s) for the project and the project strategy / approach to deliver them. Getting an early common understanding between all stakeholders will improve the chances of success.
- Engage users at every opportunity - set your object to create a collaboration on building the solution and you will significantly increase the chances of success. This will also make expectations to a more realistic level.
- Clearly identify the level of resourcing needed for the ideal timeline and then a timeline based on the normal allocation of resources
- Identify the skill sets required to deliver the project and develop risk assessments for gaps with suggested mitigation (training, mentoring etc...)
The lack of senior management involvement could be identified as a risk and explain in a way that is fact based. Write it as classic risk using the "Cause - Event - Consequence" style.
You may help the organization recognise that the project might be unviable and put it on hold until a dedicated project sponsor/owner is found.
Finally, defining early in the project how success will be measured is critical.
As part of the project definition and initiation clearly define the success when you document the desired outcome(s) for the project.
Remember to define success from different stakeholder perspectives because these will the longer term measures of success long after you have delivered the project on time and within budget.
If you want a copy of my NTCP Project Type assessment tool (in Excel) let me know in a comment and I will arrange to email you the workbook.
As part of the project definition and initiation clearly define the success when you document the desired outcome(s) for the project.
Remember to define success from different stakeholder perspectives because these will the longer term measures of success long after you have delivered the project on time and within budget.
If you want a copy of my NTCP Project Type assessment tool (in Excel) let me know in a comment and I will arrange to email you the workbook.
2 comments:
David, your words ring true, especially defining early in the project how success will be measured is critical. I find it borderline amusing that projects can get less attention than hiring key sales staff who would never sign up to a company with their pay package metrics less than 100% Defined. execs go nuts over confirming risks of too much pay, how much effort goes into a sale to equate value of commissions etc.. but ask for success criteria on a project and you had better deliver a multi-choice answer so they can select A. B or C. Please email me your assessment tool, regard Jon
Thank you Jon,connect via linkedIn and I'll email you the workbook.
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