Why projects fail before they start?
We know that there are a bunch of tools and techniques available to manage a project, yet I still see people missing key points when it comes to structure a project. Things like the work breakdown structure are more than buzz words and fancy ideas to make the PM profession look professional.
They exist for a reason, the days where a single person could manage the whole execution of a project are way over. This is not about finding heroes, this is about making sure everybody is in the same direction. That the purpose and goal of the team is the same.
But then, why people is missing the WBS? Well, one good reason is that many PMs create a work breakdown structure that has absolutely nothing to do with the project. I have seen people thinking that a thought process map is a WBS or that a simple project plan is the WBS. This of course will have a tremendous impact on the project because those tools do not show what the project is supposed to produce/follow/deliver.
Another key aspect is the creation of a project schedule out of thin air, again people think they can think of every possible task the project is going to require and so they start spitting any task that comes to their mind. A project schedule is just the result of a deep analysis of what the project is supposed to deliver, how is it supposed to deliver it, with what resources and in what time frame (give or take a couple restrictions here and there)
So, what is it that you are missing? A project plan? The WBS? A risk management plan?
Again, these are not documents to collect autographs from management/leadership teams. These are to make sure everyone is on the same page, that everyone has the same idea and will go in the same direction.
A dogsled will move because every dog (no, I am not calling team members dogs, ok?!) is tied to the same rail, they have one direction, one goal, and they make it happen.
When it comes to construction or aerospace industries you know you can’t make a mistake, you know you have to have blueprints, there are lives at risk. The construction of the building is only the last step of a long process called Design.
Then why is it that in the overall project management profession people like to take the blueprints as a waste of time? I agree that -in general- project management will not have a impact on the life of people from a dead/alive perspective (in most cases) but that does not mean you can go about it without paying attention to what you do. Planning, Analysis and Design are the most critical pieces of a project, they will give you the PAD-ding to make your project go as smooth as possible and to deliver and close your project as a success (notice I am not mentioning the so-called triple constraint… that is another story)
I read this sentence : “This is not about finding heroes, this is about making sure everybody is in the same direction.”, it might be true for a company, but it is definitely not true for individuals. Every PM I know wants to emerge as a hero, this is ambition, and it’s in the human nature (unless, of course, the PM is doing something s/he doesn’t like), and probably ambition is the heart of conflict…
I find that true and sad. Effectively people is a source of conflict, and while is not the top source of conflict it is present along the duration of the project.
If you list the main sources of conflict in a project and do a short exercise to cross-reference ambition with each one of them you can see that it is always present:
- Project Priorities: My project is more important, I want to look good
- Administrative Procedures: I don’t want you to look good so I will make your life miserable, please fill these 300 different forms
- Technical Opinion and Performance trade-offs: Oh, this is the core of ambition: “My opinion is better than yours”
- Personnel Resources: I want them all
- Cost: If I buy the cheap one I’ll save the company a gazillion bucks and I’ll look better
- Schedules: Another hot one: “I want it done by yesterday”
- Personalities: No comments…
So, yes, ambition is there.
But also, ambition is not the same as being a hero. Healthy ambition will definitely drive you towards success (along with hard work and willingness to learn). So here the key point is how to foster healthy ambition and get rid of the bad, poisonous ambition some people might want to induce in your project.
change of hands, for a long term project – project hand over to the new project manager / director mostly becomes a gap therefore the learning curve of the successor is longer and thus may contribute to project delay and worst failure.
Thanks for the answer Jose. It’s somehow funny and very true. I do remember a PM that I used to work with when I was a developer, and his attitude was: “I want it done yesterday”. Needless to say, nothing was getting done, and the guy was fired in a few months.
Tivo
Change of hands of a project in the middle of execution will certainly have an impact and cause some level of delay and may cause failure. In this case the failure mode before the project begins is the lack of analysis or background check on the project manager that will kick off the project.
It is recommended everywhere that a Project Manager should look to have the best people for the project (and by best I mean people with the skills and the attitude required by the project, not a bunch of ‘einsteins’). But it is often forgot that prior to the kickoff the sponsor (or stakeholders) must select a Project Manager, and not always do they check the skills and attitude of the people they are selecting. This will definitely put the project up for failure or at least a series of really ugly situations.