Top 5 Reasons Projects Fail (Part 4)

It's been awhile since I last posted as I have been debating what really should be reason number four project failure....well not really, I just have been failing to met my own expectations with everything I have going on.  


In any case reason number four for project failure is adequately identifying, documenting and tracking requirements. Using documentation requirements does not eliminate the need for formal, well organized process for gathering requirements.  Sometimes people believe that a one page email with a wish list features is good enough.  Not so much! The good news is that most project owners/sponsors believe that requirements need to be documented.  Nailing requirement documents must be done very early in a project, wait till later and it's to late. Ambiguity is good for no one thus you must clarify that ambiguity as quickly as possible.  


There are various tools and techniques for defining requirements like codifying, progressive elaboration, interviewing, modeling and interviewing. You can use one or all these tools to help you to define your requirements.  

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 (Part 2)

Inadequately trained and inexperienced project managers is perhaps the number one cause of project failure. The reason why it contributes so much to project failures is because it is the responsibility of the PM to guide the organization as it executes on projects. Just as important as training is experience. Issue management, politics, and diplomacy are examples are things you just can't be training on.


The reason so many projects and therefore project managers fail is that the PMs are not prepared. Executive management fails when they do not understand what it takes to be an effective PM and at the same time don't understand what a difference a trained and experienced PM can make.

What Training Is Needed?

• Understanding the Project Management Body of Knowledge
• General Management
• Understanding the technology being deployed. This will vary based on the project.

As more organizations recognize the link between delivering on commitments and project management skills, the requirements for PMs will increase.

In the end PM's need to keep growing and gaining experiences to be successful.

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

Learn where menu and toolbar commands are in Office 2010

Many of us have made the transition from Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007 to 2010 and are now spending a lot of time searching the ribbon for functions that we previously new the location.  Save yourself some time and check out this interactive link from Microsoft. 

Learn where menu and toolbar commands are in Office 2010 and related products

You Can't Make Everyone Happy

Several years ago I learned a valuable lesson which is that you can't make everybody happy. Now that doesn't mean that I go through my days looking to disappoint others, rather I know that at the end of the day someone will not be happy with the actions that I have taken or result that I provided them. Personally I have found that if you can go about your day without worrying about the little things you will be more successful in meeting expectations of the big picture.


What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you wake up in the morning knowing that you are going disappoint someone? How do you rest at the end of the day knowing that you may have failed to meet someones expectations?

The Theory of Project Management Proactivity

The other day somebody said to me, "Life is 10% what happens and 90% about how you react."  Now most of us have heard this many times over, but I started asking myself, does this really apply to project management?  Project Managers spend a lot of time planning their project and performing risk mitigation. Thus, Project Managers are proactive and can often predict what is going to happen before the event actually occurs. Therefore I am making the statement that project management is 90% about being proactive and 10% reactive.  Now this theory may not be new to some, but it has yet to be documented on the web anywhere, at least according to Google and Bing

What are your thoughts?

Can a Project Manager with a non IT background understand and be succesful in managing IT Projects?

In today's economy where more and more Project Managers are crossing over between industries and looking for new opportunities, often the million dollar question is "Can a Project Manager with a non IT background understand and be successful in managing IT Projects?"  From my perspective as long as an individual has a solid understanding of the base project management skills a Project Manager can be successful regardless of  the specific technology, industry or business the project is for.

What are your thoughts on this topic? 

There is also an interesting thread about this topic going on within the Project Manager Networking Group on LinkedIn - http://linkd.in/aFhMAy