Top 5 Reasons Projects Fail (Part 3)

Is project success or failure solely the responsibility of the Project Manager? In my opinion the answer is NO. This may surprise some but if we don't have involvement, commitment, and bravery by sponsors of the project more than likely a project will fail. Furthermore organizational leadership must create an environment that supports a project environment. 

"Proper scope definition is critical to project success" this is not some quote from a great project manager, rather text that is straight out of the PMBOK.  It Is the responsibility of the project sponsor to set the scope expectations for a project. Driving to fulfillment of expectations is the function of the project manager.  Problems arise when expectations are not clear or informal.  Conversely if expectations and the method of manging them are to complex or rigid it becomes difficult to manage any requests for change.

Failure to set and manage expectations is certainly a major cause of project failure. The practical ones among us know that the reason project management is difficult is that we really need to keep our project artifacts and techniques flexable enough so that we can produce predictable, professional results while at the same time accommodating any necessary change.

No one said project success was easy, what are your thoughts?

Top 5 Reasons Projects Fail

We all know that more projects fail then succeed. There are studies by educational institutions, research organizations, etc. that support this same reality.  The dollar store mentality of cheap and fast is used to often.  Executives that don't hold people accountable for anything but customer satisfaction while ignoring schedule, budget, and quality often will fail in the end.

There are many reasons why projects fail. Expectations or communications management are common reasons but not the only ones. Ultimately their are many reasons why projects fail and its a miracle that many projects are successful at all.

Perhaps the most probable way to succeed on a project is to have knowledge of what can go wrong.   Knowledge of what can go wrong is one very important tool.  Perhaps by understanding the causes of failure we can avoid pitfalls when they appear "unexpectedly."  This post is to introduce my list of perspective reasons of why projects fail which I will discuss in detail in future posts.

1. Inadequately trained and/or inexperienced project managers
2. Failure to set and manage expectations
3. Poor leadership at any and all levels
4. Failure to adequately identify, document and track requirements
5. Poor effort estimation

I Want To Be A Project Manager But I Don't Have Experience

I often meet new people who say to me "I want to be a Project Manager but I don't have any experience so I  can't find a job that will allow me to be a Project Manager." My first response is, you aren't looking for the right opportunities.  Just because you don't have the title of Project Manager, doesn't mean you can't manage a project.  In your current job you can look for opportunities to take on a simple/small project.  Something as simple as organizing a team building event or organizing a server room can be a project.  In these examples you typically have scope, budget, and timeline that you are aiming for. 

There are also ways to get experience managing a project outside of your employer's environment.  Just about any non-profit, religious organization, local government, educational institute, etc. would be more than happy to have you as a volunteer and often you can pick what it is that you do, ie manage a project. 

So if you want to be a Project Manager and are having challenges finding an opportunities, think outside the box and don't just look for role with a title of a Project Manager.

TechFuse Presentation Follow-up

A few weeks ago I spoke at the TechFuse event in Minnesota at Mystic Lake Casino. As I mentioned in the
I am posting the content from my session "My Relationship With My Project Manager"

If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment. If you would like to see this presentation or others on related topics at your user group or company, you can comment or contact me via email – amaaraba@digineer.com

Book Review: Business Model Generation, Yves Pigneur

If you are looking for an easy read and great introduction to business modeling, this a great book.  The book provides excellent real industry examples to explain the steps for building a business model.  The book focuses on nine essential building blocks:

1. CS -  Customer Segments
2. VP - Value Propositions
3. CH - Channels
4. CR - Customer Relationships
5. R$ - Revenue Streams
6. KR - Key Resources
7. KA - Key Activities
8. KP - Key Partners
9. C$ - Cost Structure

These building blocks are laid out graphically and are referred to as a "business model canvas".  As you progress through the book each building block becomes clearer.

The book also does a good job of walking through how to identify what is critical for the business, where the cost structures are, where the benefits are, and how to organize those ideas.

If you have  previous knowledge of business model generation, this book may be a bit lacking in providing more depth.  The examples and cases are not very in depth.

In the end it is a good primer and reference book worthy of a spot on my bookshelf.

The Role Of A Mentor

A mentor is described as an experienced person, who acts as a confidential helper and guide to another to stimulate professional development and make it more effective. Having a breakfast or lunch meeting once month with somebody who just’ s listen to you toot your own horn and tell you how great you are is not what a mentor does. Furthermore a mentor isn't somebody who likes to talk about how great they are and how you should follow in their path.

In the past when I was searching for a mentor I sat down and made a list of what my expectations for mentor would be. Here is what I came up with:

• Formal relationship not just casual conversations, each meeting should have an agenda and defined message or outcome
• Someone to help me strengthen my weakness
• Someone to help build on my interests
• Someone that has had experiences that challenged them to grow and become a better person

Furthermore, I expect my mentor to look at my total body of work.  In that, I don't believe that you can separate who you are in personal life versus who you are in the professional arena. Your mentor should be working with you develop you as a person. 

What is your mentor relationship like, formal or informal? Do you have defined roles and responsibilities with your mentor? How has a mentor benefited you?

Future Blog: How to find a mentor