How to Undertake a Project Quality Review that will Increase Your Bottom-Line
By Michael Stanleigh
A project quality review helps to identify the root causes of problems on a flailing project and provides detailed guidance for how to get it back on track. It has a direct, positive impact on an organization’s bottom-line. When undertaken at the […]

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Having a fabulous concept, and amassing a team to bring that idea to life is the maiden step in creating a hugely successful venture. While discovering new and unique concept is scarce enough, the ability to implement this idea successfully is what segregates the entrepreneurs from the dreamers. You’ll find it on your own that as soon as you make that thrilling first hire, you have taken the very first step in becoming a leader.

Even though we live in the digital age, where tools and software seem to rule the workplace, it is the people who create opportunities and make things happen in an organization. Leadership is a quality that keeps people motivated and focused to get the end result.

Here are 5 effective traits of being a powerful leader

A passion to learn

The path to become a leader from an individual contributor looks onerous since it requires a dramatic change in attitude and mindset. Ideally, it should be seen as the beginning of a new journey and not as having reached your destination. Leaders have a huge role to play in the establishing and propagating knowledge across the organization. This is why they need to spread their net far and wide in their efforts to learn new skills-whether it’s personal, technical or people skills. John F Kennedy has rightly said that leadership and learning are indispensable.

Learn to lead by example

The factor that segregates the leader from the manager is substance. Whether it’s the production line, the office floor or the army, leaders who are prepared for hard work and get into action on their own are the ones responsible for successful completion of a job. One has to earn respect; it cannot be bought in the market. This is why leaders need to be aware of the fact that applying mere power is not always the best way to be respected. They have to set an example for their team and guide them in every respect until the goal has been accomplished.

Create an exceptional work culture

Because of the fast-paced life, companies are now giving too much emphasis on getting the work done while meeting top and bottom line goals. Consequently, they have a tendency to shut eyes to the work culture. However, history tells that giving a blind eye to work culture can be the perfect recipe for welcoming disaster in an organization. Culture is that hidden binder that rivets tools, employees and business goals. Leaders should play a powerful role in building and advocating a great work culture. Some of the top leaders who have built huge empires by building a healthy work culture includes Richard Branson from Virgin, Jack Welch at GE and Dave and Bill at HP.

Give people opportunities to help them grow and evolve

It’s natural for power to produce competition and uncertainty or self-doubt. Genuine leaders are aware of this fact. The success of a leader is dependent on the advancement of the people that work with him. Keeping this in mind, it’s always a wise idea to hire people who are superior to you. Leaders should be self-effacing as far as nurturing talent and creating opportunities for people are concerned so that they grow. This will propel them to do the same for others as they grow up along with you.

Remain considerate and positive

An honest fact about the workplace is that it’s not always a bed of roses. Some days seem to be worse than others. As a leader, you need to put up a brave face in times of misfortunes and hardships. The answers lie in learning from failure and use those lessons in the future in order to avoid a repeat. Mindfulness can assist leaders create objectivity levels about a particular situation and relations with others so as to achieve the perfect balance. Some of the many ways of being mindful include yoga, meditation and exercise.

Your capacity to execute each of these ideas will certainly play a great role in your ability to get the best results from your team and others along the journey

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A leader, according to one definition found on the Internet, is a person who provides positive and creative influence on and in the service of others. Following our chosen definition and limiting it to business, therefore, business leaders are supposed to affect positively their company, organization or team, helping create results that are deemed positive by all stakeholders. A business team needs a leader, and a leader can do very little without the help of his or her team. It is a relationship that deeply depends on each other to be at their best for all to be completely successful.

Characteristics of Admired Business Leaders

Successful businesses are usually led by great business leaders, that are also usually admired by their team. These leaders are admired because they possess certain traits or characteristics that motivate everyone to always give their best. Below are seven of the more common characteristics of leaders that always have their team’s support.

1. Create a sense of purpose

Admired business leaders create in their team a sense of purpose. The leader does not stop in creating a company that he or she believes would improve other people’s lives. The leader goes one step further by showing a sense of commitment and getting the team believe in the same cause and getting them excited to work for a higher purpose.

2. Communicate your goals and objectives

They communicate business goals and objectives clearly. The admired business leader can explain in the most understandable way to everyone what it is they are trying to achieve. The leader can also expound on the subject such that he or she can describe not only the goals but also the challenges the whole team will face.

3. Establish strategic leadership

After communicating the goals and challenges, he or she establishes strategic leadership by creating a plan as well as communicating clearly high yet achievable expectations from the team. The leader defines tasks and sets deadlines that help reach goals and also helps the team to grow professionally.

4. Encourage innovation

Admired business leaders encourage innovation. They embolden their team to come up with innovative ideas to solve complicated problems. A great leader reassures his or her team that people will make mistakes while testing new approaches. And when someone comes up with a great idea, leaders will support it until it is brought to reality.

5. Build strong team commitment

They build a strong team commitment by showing real interest and sincere caring for each member of the team. The leader regularly has conversation with the team to let them know that he or she values their contribution. Moreover, the leader should give their team opportunities for personal development, that as their contribution becomes more significant, they also become more capable and valuable.

6. Enhance team collaboration

Aside from strengthening the relationship between leader and team member, the leader should also enhance team collaboration. They make sure that everyone understands their own role and is integrated to the whole team. By providing them tools and infrastructure to enhance collaboration, each member knows where to turn for help and guidance, how to find information and share ideas.

7. Have a complete overview of your business

Admired business leaders have a complete overview of their business. They are constantly aware of its overall performance. With the help of business automation and project management software, they can spot areas that need adjustment, make informed decisions, streamline existing processes, track project performance, and monitor budget and other important metrics. These leaders have a full understanding of business data and keeps the team updated.

Conclusion

In sum, admired business leaders believe in the purpose of their company, and they can impart it with the team in clear goals and objectives. They are genuinely concerned and supportive of their team and their growth. They can show that they are aware of the business’s performance and status, and are eager and prepared to continue leading it.

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Project managers are professionals responsible for identifying and clarifying a client’s project objectives. They are also the people who create the project plan, get it approved, and obtain the budget and resources. The responsibility of their position usually comes with the authority to make decisions, as they implement this approved plan according to a schedule, manage the constraints and risks, report about its status, and see to its completion according to industry standards.

Looking to hire a freelancer or to find an online job?

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Where the jobs are?

According to an Aerospace Industries Association survey, this industry is planning to hire over 100,000 people by 2013. David White, a senior project manager of Boeing says the Everett, WA Company is not only hiring PMs, but is also developing the ones they have which they believe can help the service and manufacturing industries in many US cities. Walter Mascarenhas of ATG solutions describe a great demand for this position in the aerospace and defense industry who will be working on technology slated to come within 10 to 20 years.

In the construction industry, some markets are better than others. For example, PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada predicts that in 2020, Canada will be the fifth largest market in the world. By the same year, Master Builders Australia expects up to a million additional building and construction jobs.

The energy sector, both in fossil fuel fields and in renewable energies, is experiencing slow but steady growth. For example, a big gas discovery in Western Australia would require more project managers in that region. In the US, the solar energy industry is expecting 20,000+ jobs corresponding to a 24 percent market growth.

Businesses are still investing in IT, but the majority of projects are coming from governments of many countries. For example, the Indian government is embarking on a national ID initiative that will cost multi-million rupees. Also, the healthcare industry in Germany, France, the UK, and the US also has very good prospects. In the US alone, up to 200,000 new IT healthcare jobs are to be filled by 2015. The IT healthcare in Australia expects a 10 percent growth, and the EU has a patient records digitalization project targeted by 2015.

Here are some links for searching PM jobs:

• http://ift.tt/1PeJUf3
• http://ift.tt/1Ky6mRs
• http://ift.tt/1PeJUf5
• http://ift.tt/1Ky6kci
• http://ift.tt/1PeJUf7
• http://ift.tt/1Ky6kcm
• http://www.pmjobs.ca/

How much they are paid?

• According to the latest survey from PayScale, the general-type project manager receives an average of almost $60,000 annually, the construction PM receives slightly higher at 68,000 USD, and the IT PM receives the highest at an annual average salary of 83,000 USD.
• Job site Indeed.com reports of an average salary of $83,000 for project managers, with senior and senior IT PMs getting offers of more than 100,000 USD annually.
• In the US, a median salary of $61,783 for a Project Manager I position is reported by Salary.com. This position may entail a bachelor’s degree and two to four years of related experience. An IT PM II with four to six years of related experience can expect a median salary of $86,007. A PM with at least eight years of experience in developing, planning, and implementing an ERP system can expect a median salary of $116,522.
• It follows that the more experienced project managers are, together with more credentials and certifications, the higher salary they can ask for.
• In a 2011 salary survey done by the PMI covering 29 countries and 30,000 practitioners, the top 5 paying countries are Switzerland at a median annual salary of $160K, Australia at $139K, Germany at $110K, The Netherlands at $109K, and Belgium at $108K.

What employers are looking for?

• Project managers not only should be proficient in their job, but should also have a good understanding of the industry where their projects are being implemented. Mr. White from Boeing identifies the needed PM as someone who can manage cost and schedule while ensuring quality in every aerospace project. Understanding systematic integration is also important, especially with complicated systems like aircrafts.
• J.D. Harrison of construction and engineering company CH2M Hill recommends the right combination of background, attitude, credentials like PMI Risk Management Professional and good communication skills for a lucrative PM career in the construction industry.
• In the specialized oil field sector, O. Ibilola of Nigeria-based Korea National Oil Corp suggests reading energy journals to be familiar with the duties of geoscientists and petroleum engineers. Project manager A. Lazcano of Fulltek, S.A., highlights the importance of negotiation, conflict management, and problem solving skills that PMs should have, either by experience or by learning from a mentor.

What courses to take and where to go to for a PM degree?

• No specific degree requirements are needed to be project managers, according to a report for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, it can make one’s resume more attractive. Aspiring PMs can achieve their goal, for example, as construction PMs by pursuing degrees in construction management. Other ways are by earning college, university, or business school degrees, either on-campus or online, such as an Associate’s Degree in Project Management, a Bachelor’s Degree, a Master’s Degree, or a Ph.D. Degree.
• According to Education Portal, the top two US universities with a good Project Management Program are Stanford University in California, and University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. Other schools with a good PM program are University of Texas in Austin, Pennsylvania State University, and New York University.
• Five universities that offer good Online Project Management Degrees are American InterContinental University, Ashford University, Capella University, Colorado Technical University, and DeVry University.

When to get a certification and which ones?

To work in project management, it is not necessary to have a certification. However, as competition becomes tighter, getting a PM certification can help a project manager get a better position or project, and eventually, advance his or her career. For example, the PMI Certified Associate in Project Management is suitable for the starting professional with very little experience.

To be eligible, one has to have a secondary (high school) diploma and at least 1500 hours of project experience or 23 hours of PM education before taking the exam. Other important certifications such as PMP, PgMP, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner, PMI Risk Management Professional, or PMI Scheduling Professional would require a higher degree or more project hour requirements before one becomes eligible to take the test.

The Pros and Cons of the Profession

The PM profession is like a coin with two sides. The temporary nature of projects brings with it some unique pros and cons.

Pros

• As the point person, the project manager’s name becomes known to many people quickly.
• Since PMs are involved at the very beginning, they are given the opportunity to clarify the primary objective and provided the freedom how to proceed with the project.
• As the go-to person of the team, the project manager will encounter a variety of issues that will encourage resourcefulness and the discovery of hidden talents.
• PMs become an agent of change for an organization.
• A successful project gives a sense of accomplishment at the end.
• As the key person of a successful undertaking, recognition and promotion are more achievable.

Cons

• As the point person, all will look for answers on every question about the project from the project manager.
• Since PMs are involved at the very beginning, they will find a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty.
• There can be too much variety of issues and events happening every day and give a feeling of absence of any normalcy or stability.
• As agents of change, project managers can encounter resistance from what has been in place or from who has been in charge.
• A delay, high cost, or expanding scope outside the control of the PM can give a sense of frustration and exasperation.
• Because of the temporary nature, letting go of the team or of the project at the end can be difficult.

What the future holds for the Project Manager?

Project management is changing in some ways brought about by factors such as a more global workforce, the gaining popularity of agile methodology, and the adoption of cloud technology. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) in particular has a significant impact on the project manager, as PM tools become more powerful and automated, and allows for better collaboration and integration. Together with centralization of data and relative ease of use, the PM can spend less time now on the tool and more with the team, solving issues, managing constraints, and preparing contingencies. As early as now, the project manager is becoming more of the project leader, a role of leading people and driving change in organizations.

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In recent times, it is extremely rare that a project is completed within its set budget. Proper planning is the key to a successful project, but there are few problems that are usually beyond the realm of planning. One of them is the budget overrun. It’s true that we can avoid certain problems through planning and proper execution but you can never predict exactly what would happen once you start a project.

Here are few of the some very common reasons that lead to budget overrun and how they could be avoided.

Underfinancing

One of the main reasons that cause budget overrun is underfinancing. Not allocating an adequate amount of budget to a project at the start will obviously lead to either budget overrun or failure. Assuming that a project will be a success, not allotting enough budget is downright wishful thinking.

• How to avoid it: Explain to the sponsors beforehand about project overruns, and how it could be handled i.e. either through additional funding or scope reduction.

Unfeasible Cost Estimates

Cost estimation is an important process in a project and one common reason for budget overrun. If the cost is calculated on the basis of a hunch, or by inexperienced or unqualified personnel, then the project is unexpectedly going to face budget overruns. This might look fine at the earlier stages of a project, but often look unrealistic at latter stages.

• How to avoid it: Seek help of expert staff members and subject matter professionals while making estimates of the cost of a project. Break down work into smaller portions and then make estimates. You can make comprehensive estimates by using cost estimation techniques like Parametric Modeling, 3 Point Estimate, Reserve Analysis, Bottom Up Analysis, Simulation etc.

Underestimating the Project Complexity

Large projects are usually at risk of overrunning its budget because the larger the project, the bigger the complications that may arise during its execution.

• How to avoid it: Divide the phases of the project into smaller parts. Avoid planning extensively from the very beginning and leave room for changes or delays that may or may not occur during the project.

Prolonged Project Schedule

If the project is on schedule, that does not necessarily mean that the project budget is also being met. On the other hand, if project schedule is extended, that automatically translates into more time and money that needs to be put into the project. Project extension means staff and resources would be required for more time.

• How to avoid it: Planning of critical phases of a project are extremely important as any deviation in any part of the project affects all that follows that phase; the time and cost that was initially allotted to it. If you are asked to extend the time of the project, clarify it to your sponsors that it will probably cost more than it was initially planned, since more time means more resources would be used.

Lack of Backup Plan

If you do not have a backup plan for any problem that might arise, then even the smallest delay in the schedule will cause an overrun.

• How to avoid it: Always have a plan in case any problems arise. Your budget should estimate the cost of the project, but along with that there should always be room for some unexpected changes that can happen in the schedule or scope of the project. Leave room for changes in your budget plan.

Lack of Resource Planning

If you fail to effectively plan the resources that are available to you, then this would obviously lead to a budget overrun. One of the most common mistakes that cause overrun is the failure to estimate the resources that would be utilized during the project. They could be underestimated, seeing that contracting conditions change accordingly and may have increased from the time when the project was planned. On the other hand, they could be overestimated and would lead to blockage of resources that could have been effectively utilized elsewhere.

• How to avoid it: This could be avoided by proper planning. Plan the scope, then estimate the cost, and time it would require. Then accordingly, allocate the budget to all the departments. Planning everything ahead ensures that you have a better understanding of all the resources and equipment you will need.

How about looking for a tool to avoid Budget Overruns?

The points made above all demonstrate different aspects that lead to budget overruns. There exist many tools/apps that can help in many of these and should be considered. Here are a few below that might set your projects on a successful path.

The post 6 Evident Reasons for Budget Overruns appeared first on Project-Management.com.

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Despite your best laid plans and well thought out project timeline your project is forecast to run late.

Scenario: The project is forecast to run late.

In a good project timeline you will have key milestones, which should be used to track the project’s progress. By having interim deliverables due, a project manager can determine how a project is progressing and therefore be able to forecast if the final deliverable will be later than expected. As the project manager, you will be able to see from your project timeline which tasks should have been completed and which have been.  Once assessing your situation, one or a combination of the following solutions may be suitable.

Solution 1: Consult with your stakeholders to agree on a suitable extension of time

Strong stakeholder communication is critical for successful delivery of projects on an ongoing basis. It is important to maintain strong communication with your project sponsor and project client, as potential and actual issues arise so they are not surprised when a project runs late. By being well informed of issues that come up, a client may actually feel that you have provided a better outcome by taking longer on the project. Although the project may be delivered after the initial due date strong communication will reduce negative impacts of delayed delivery. Never break the golden rule of telling a client the job will be late, AFTER it is due. Managing client expectation is an important part of project management.

Solution 2: Prioritise project elements, reduce project scope or agree on staged delivery

If a project needs to come in on a particular date you may need to re-examine the project scope with the view to refining some elements. This can be challenging, however generally projects have “nice to have” components that are not critical. These could potentially be delivered after the key project due date. If a report is due, you could elect to provide an extended executive summary with key results found to date, with an updated final report provided at a later stage, or you may elect to not deliver some components of the project.

Solution 3: Bring on additional resources and/or extend working hours (spend more money)

Spending more budget is often suggested as a way to bring projects in on-time. This solution generally works on bigger projects and is particularly suited to projects where the deliverables are clear, eg. Build this house to this plan or tasks can be separated and given to another company or additional staff. For example, repainting 20 depots can be split into 2 sub tasks given to two companies to paint 10 each. For smaller projects this approach may not be suitable as the project knowledge may be with one or two individuals and disseminating this knowledge may slow the project further.

Improving for next time

Most clients will forgive a late project once, twice is pushing the relationship and after the third time you won’t be invited back. The best way to ensure future improvement is to conduct a post implementation review and ensure project improvements are incorporated into your project management delivery framework. Your project management delivery framework sets out steps to follow to develop your project plan, scope and budget and effectively deliver the project. For smaller projects the project management delivery framework may be a checklist of key items to complete and key issues to consider before the project commences and during implementation. Having this process documented means that you can get it right each and every time and incorporate improvements from lessons learnt.

How about looking for a tool to stop being late in your projects?

The points made above all demonstrate different aspects to how stop being late in your projects. There exist many tools/apps that can help in many of these and should be considered. Here are a few below that might set your projects on a successful path.

The post What to do if your Project Runs Late? appeared first on Project-Management.com.

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Having a talented project manager is the first step to actual project success, but there are other important factors that contribute largely to a project’s outcome. It takes careful planning, attention to detail and effective communication to make a project succeed. With vigilant management and a strong project closing, a company can consistently reach project success.

1. Smart People

Without the right team in place, any strategy and plan has the potential of completely falling apart. Because of this, the core project staff, expert resources, suppliers and all stakeholders should be part of the team dynamic. All of those involved must have commitment to the group, share similar visions for the projects and strive for overall success.

Project managers can face serious trouble if inadequacy is present within the team. Inept leadership or an out-of-sync team can send a project towards failure. It is important to assign the right people to each aspect of the project and make sure that they are working well together. Additionally, the entire team should be completely informed and involved in order to have the most successful outcome, which means that communication has to be on par.

Use a software tool to get everyone online and using a central repository of information. Tools like Copper Project not only allow you to manage the To-Dos and Project plans, but will also allow you to set the availability of your resources, and then book their time on specific tasks/projects. Once they’ve logged their time, you have a powerful system that not only automates time-sheets/invoicing, but stops your project processes falling apart when your staff move on.

2. Smart Planning

Comprehensive planning sets up a project for success from the start. All stakeholders should be on board during the planning process and always know in which direction the project is going to go. Planning can help the team to meet deadlines and stay organized. Good planning not only keeps the project team focused and on track, but also keeps stakeholders aware of project progress.

There are many benefits to smart planning. This first step in the project process allows for a reliable and realistic time-scale to be created. Assuring accurate time for cost estimates to be produced and for clear documentation of milestones and deliverables will make things much easier as the project progresses. A proficient plan details all resource requirements and doubles as a warning system. If task slippage is at risk, then a warning system will provide clear visibility of what to expect.

Use a tool that offers a full drag and drop timeline so that you can quickly and effectively build a project plan and establish an accurate end date. Use previously completed projects as templates for your future projects. In this way not only can you avoid redundancies associated with creating a new project from scratch each time, but the more often you reuse a template project the closer you’ll be to accurate timelines and budget estimates

3. Open Communication

Looking closely at details and listening to outside sources of information is vital to the success of a project. Keeping open communication within the team is absolutely essential. When working under a specific timetable, it is important that the team remains well-informed. If a problem arises on one part of a project, it can negatively impact other parts as well. Communication is the best way to prevent problems from occurring.

Communication should also be focused internally within the organization. Keeping an organizational history of major projects will give convenient access to improved policies and business processes. If this isn’t done, then a team may repeat mistakes that have already occurred. Listening to stakeholders and paying attention is a very important ingredient for success.

Good communication also includes knowing when to say no. A project team should never promise anything they know they can’t deliver. Saying no in the beginning could save an overabundance of unnecessary problems later. Always be honest about what your team can do and when it can be done by.

Aside from using a tool that allows draggable timelines, also find one that allows you to use previous projects as templates for establishing your new timeline. Not only will you improve your processes over time (becoming more accurate with your estimates and setting client expectations accordingly), but you also improve communications between all your project participants.

4. Careful Risk Management

Project managers know that things rarely go off exactly as planned. During the planning process, it is vital to produce a risk log with an action plan for the risks that the project could face. Make sure all key stakeholders are aware of your risk log and know where they can find it. If something happens, then the team can quickly resolve the issue with the management plan that has already been set in place. This will give the team confidence when facing project risks and help the clients feel comfortable with the project’s progression.

Having a central online database of project information is vital to ensure you don’t lose crucial project momentum during the project, but also in the event of losing key participants you can quickly get your new team members up to speed.

5. Strong Project Closure

If a project does not have strong closure, then it has the potential to continue to consume resources. The project team must be firm and agree with the customer that all critical success factors have been met. Confirmation of the project delivery, testing, and release must be agreed upon and signed off. Satisfaction surveys are good forms of documentation to log and file for future reference and valuable information for use in the future.

It is the project manager’s job to ensure that everything runs smoothly on a project, but having a great project manager doesn’t guarantee a successful project outcome. The entire team paying attention to key factors is what will help lead the project to true success. This success will then lead to proactive, organized project plans and an increase in quality of all future projects.

How about looking for a tool that lead to successful projects?

The points made above all demonstrate different aspects that lead to successful projects. There exist many tools/apps that can help in many of these and should be considered. Here are a few below that might set your projects on a successful path.

The post Five Factors That Lead to Successful Projects appeared first on Project-Management.com.

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Encouraging Adoption – Pay Attention to the “People Part”

Here are some suggestions for getting your users to break the email habit and collaborate online to share files, manage tasks, and communicate better. It obviously starts with using a really intuitive and easy-to-use technology platform, but it is important to pay attention to the “people part” and actively encourage adoption and use.

Understanding Incentives

There are two ways to motivate users to collaborate online. Users will either 1) log in and access or share information because it provides a valuable service to them personally, or 2) they will log in and use it because they are expected to by someone in a position of authority.

To encourage “voluntary” use, the tool must provide valuable services to its users. If the content and functionality helps busy users access information they need or to accomplish a task – they will log in and use the tool voluntarily. In addition, recognizing users who make valuable contributions can boost their incentives to proactively participate.

In other cases where volunteerism and peer recognition is not enough, organizations must set clear expectations and guidelines for members and reinforce them often. The incentive, then, is simply the desire to do what is asked. This may be another obvious-sounding recommendation, but it also tends to be lost in the rush to do other, higher-profile activities. In some cases, responsibilities requiring a significant contribution of time should be incorporated into individuals’ job descriptions.

User types

Experience shows that there are stark differences in online behavior in participation within different user groups, and therefore it is useful to plan around these different types of users. These are outlined below.

• Super Users – Super Users are highly active community participants that not only contribute content but also take ownership and work to promote it and make it successful. They will, for instance, help police content for appropriateness and, properly guided, informally train users on expectations and norms. They will also welcome new users and help them understand the community and its role in their work. There will likely be few Super Users, but they have enormous importance for the initiative.

• Regulars – Regulars are more typical “good” users. They login regularly and contribute content of various kinds with some frequency. While not as active as Super Users, there are somewhat more of them and thus in aggregate they form an important active layer of the community.

• Contributors – Many users will come to the site with some frequency, but will contribute to it only once in a while. While they do not give much to the community, they are still demonstrating a level of interest that suggests they are learning from it. Additional support and incentives may convert some to Regulars.

• Browsers – Another large segment will visit the site periodically but never – or Rarely – contribute to it. These users represent possible Contributors but are in need of further promotion, additional incentives, and, perhaps, more training.

• No-shows – There will be a group of potential users who never catch on to the community. Periodic efforts to convert these users would be valuable, but you should not expend great effort on them. It would, however, be valuable to discuss why these users are not active and understand if there are systematic dissatisfiers or disincentives within the community.

When an organization is ready to roll out a collaboration tool, they should prepare and send an announcement to all potential users. The announcement should be brief but should clearly articulate:

• The goals for the organization
• The “selling points” – the value it will provide and the incentives that will be in place
• An overview of the services it will contain – both content and functionality
• A summary of guidelines and expectations for use
• A timetable for when they can expect to be able to use it
• A schedule for training

Lead by Example

Lastly, employees are never going to adopt an online collaboration tool unless they see management using it. Let team leaders be the guinea pigs that ensure the application works as advertised and let them inspire other team members to start using it.

Don’t convert the entire organization to the new system overnight. Start out small with individual project teams to pilot test the tool. This allows the application to be tested and any problems solved. It also allows team members to dip a toe in and see that the water is fine.

Finally, offer training and technical support. Structured training eases the learning curve and the frustration of implementing a new product. Knowledgeable super users and technical support personnel can fix user problems quickly, again reducing the aggravation of adopting a new system.A well-designed implementation plan can have your new online collaboration tool, whether it is an online task management system or a knowledge management tool, operating smoothly within weeks, backed by the full support of the entire team.

How about looking for a tool to eliminate email habit?

The points made above all demonstrate different aspects to how encouraging adoption of collaboration tools is important. There exist many tools/apps that can help in many of these and should be considered. Here are a few below that might set your projects on a successful path.

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Don’t Be a Project Management Lemming!
By Kiron D. Bondale
Given the progressive decline in oil prices over the past year, economic slowdowns in Asia impacting other global markets, and poor performance to date across multiple stock exchanges, it is not a surprise that many investors are tempted to sell their investments at a loss and make […]

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Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, the F.B.I. team in The X-Files, show the value of clinical analysis of cause and effect. While Mulder is focussed on mixing it with various aliens, shape changers, mutant worms and other wonderful creatures, Scully is often back at the base dispassionately examining the numerous bodies that turn up in each episode. It is often Scully’s understanding of pathology and autopsy that provides the vital evidence in their search for the truth that is out there.

A bit like Mulder and Scully, over the past 18 years, our group has reviewed over 20 major projects that were in the process of failing or had failed. These reviews were not done as an academic exercise or a controlled experiment but, they were undertaken “in the heat of the battle”. Our clients wanted to know what they could do to fix the projects or what could be done to prevent other projects failing. The pathology of failed projects has aided us and our clients in understanding the major issues in computing.

What our group has learnt is that there is a common set of causes for project failure, a common pattern of project degradation and failure and common symptoms of projects that are failing. Our findings are in conflict with many of the articles and books addressing project failure.

What we have found is that most projects fail because of people and project management concerns rather than technical concerns such as development methodologies, technology platforms and tools. As Gerry Weinberg once observed there are three causes of failure “People, people, people”.

The failed projects

The projects we reviewed were in most business sectors including retail banking, merchant banking, insurance, credit, manufacturing, government departments such as education, health, social welfare and defence, system software, hardware, research and development and academic institutions.

The amount of investment either lost or misdirected in the 20 projects exceeded US $ 1 billion and we have evidence that the amount could be double that figure if the effort expended by business experts [users] and unpaid overtime and additional work by team members was included.

Interestingly, only 7 of the 20 projects received any press coverage [computer or general] and each of these 7 projects lost more than $100,000,000. We found no pattern of certain business sectors being more prone to project failure or that private sector organisations had a pattern of more failures than public or government sector organisations.

A redefinition of project failure

Most definitions of project failure focus on the traditional concerns of:

• meeting requirements [data and function];
• keeping within budget ; and
• delivering within estimated deadlines.

Within this limited definition of success all 20 projects had failed however, our group adopts a more detailed and expanded definition of success.

Our definition reflects the difference between an internal or software factory view of success such as the one above and an external or added value chain or service view of success. The fact that a project has met the requirements [objectives], budget and deadlines is simply a measure of the internal development process effectiveness and is not a measure of the product or added value effectiveness. We have reviewed a number of other projects that were considered successful [in terms of meetings objectives, budget and deadlines] by the IT development teams and management, yet these projects had not delivered any sustained business benefits or added value for the clients. In our terms [and in the business client terms] these projects had failed.

In addition, other projects we have reviewed had met the data and functional requirements, on time and in budget but with substantial degradation of the expected quality. Typically, the systems were not tested adequately, documentation and training was not delivered, screen design and usability was compromised and security was non existent. It is our group’s experience that covert degradation of project quality to meet deadlines and cost constraints is typical in the high-pressure and competitive business environment of the 1990’s.

As observed by Capers Jones [1994] and Thomsett [1994] many IT projects covertly “blow” budgets through unpaid and unrecorded hard work . Our research confirms Caper’s findings that projects are typically 30-50% over cost as a result of unplanned evening and weekend work and that the formal project cost tracking systems often do not record this cost. Our group has also identified similar covert cost “blowouts” in the effort required by business people in project-related activities such as requirements specification, testing, conversion of data, documentation and job redesign. As a result, many of the successful projects we reviewed had indeed failed to meet the estimated budget though the formal cost tracking process indicated that they had met budget.

Finally, our reviews revealed another critical, but often ignored, measure of project success. In all of the 20 major failed projects and in many of other successful projects we reviewed, team members were burnt out and demotivated. One project we reviewed had 90% turnover of team members in one year. The long-term cost to the organisations of key professionals who are so dissatisfied with how the project was or is being managed that they have “turned off”, lowered their productivity or, in extreme cases, have left the organisation is extremely high and in some cases had negated the benefits to the organisation of the project. The hidden long-term cost of demotivated professionals on other projects that they will undertake is rarely discussed in typical analysis of project risk and failure [see Jones, American Programmer, March 1995].

In other words, for a project to be successful, it must meet all the following criteria:

• satisfies stakeholder groups;
• meets requirements;
• meets quality expectations/requirements;
• within cost [paid, unpaid and business expert costs];
• within deadline;
• delivers sustained and actual benefits; and
• provides the team with professional satisfaction and learning.

Clearly, if these criteria were applied to IT projects, very few are successful. In our reviews, according to our criteria, an additional 20 “successful” projects were in fact failures!

In many ways, most analysis of project failures reflects one of the most serious issues in contemporary computing. Popular metrics and measures [for example Function Points and the S.E.I. C.M.M. model] are focussed on the internal efficiency of delivery [or the system development process] not the effectiveness of the delivered service [or product] in business terms. For example, the questions that metrics and process improvement models should be addressing are not only “How many function points were delivered and what was the development cost per function point?” but also “What was the added value or business effectiveness of the delivered function points?”.

Our expanded definition of project failure reflects this effectiveness view. Simply, a successful project must add tangible value to the organisation.

An interesting finding from the morgue

One of the most interesting and surprising findings from our reviews was that most organisations have a very poor understanding of how much money and effort was either lost or being placed at risk in the projects under analysis. We consistently found that a combination of unpaid hard work, un-costed business and other stakeholder effort and misdirected equipment acquisition coupled with poor project costing and tracking systems substantially understated the real costs of the project and lead to a delaying the recognition of the failure in progress.

For example, in one project, the hours expended by the computer team were being recorded and charged back at on-costed rates of $100.00 per hour. None of the hours spent by business experts in attending J.A.D. and other specification sessions, reviewing deliverables, testing the system and so on were not tracked and costed at all and the costs and time incurred by related specialist stakeholders such as Q.A., communications, operations and internal audit were also ignored. An initial estimate of these “hidden” costs revealed an understatement of 100% of costs. This pattern was common in all the 20 major projects we reviewed.

Common causes of failure

As a result of our reviews and consulting, we are convinced that there are a small number of critical factors that will inevitably lead to project failure. Perhaps surprisingly to some of our readers, these factors are all management-related.

While many other experts cite inadequate technology, lack of skills, inappropriate development methodologies and strategies and lack of development support technology such as ICASE, automated estimation tools, poor quality assurance and testing as causes of project failure, we would argue that when an organisation to allows a project to commence without these issues being identified and addressed is clearly a management failure [specifically a failure of executive project management]. This view reflects a contemporary view of project management [see Radical Project Management, Thomsett, 2002] that includes senior management involvement, stakeholder or client group involvement, risk management and quality planning as integrated components of project management.

We have developed a simple taxonomy of causes of project failure that is based on the potential impact of the factor on the project.

Level 1 factors – these factors guarantee project failure [or in street jargon, they are showstoppers]. That is the project will fail to deliver quality, added value and professional satisfaction on time and in budget.

Level 2 factors – as discussed by Capers Jones [American Programmer, op cit] and others, there are a number of other factors, which may not prevent the project from delivering on time and in budget but will generally result in substantial degradation of quality, added value and professional satisfaction.

In many ways, Level 2 factors are the direct result of the failure of Level 1 factors. However, with hard work, great pressure and, in some cases, good luck, project teams can manage to deliver with Level 2 factors absent or poorly managed.

Level 1 Factors or you’re dead in the water

• Lack of effective project sponsor or owner

Recent surveys by The Yankee Group and Deloittes and Touche [Johnson, 1995] on the high failure rate of business process reengineering projects report that lack of senior management commitment as a major factor in the failures. As discussed by Thomsett [1993, op cit], the contemporary role of project sponsors and steering committee members goes far beyond the traditional passive roles of project approval and review. It is critical that senior business executives who have sponsored an IT project must be actively involved, in effect, as an executive project manager in assisting the project manager in the following areas:

• stakeholder involvement, commitment and conflict resolution;
• benefits planning and realisation;
• quality requirements planning;
• risk management; and
• project change control.

These roles are in addition to the traditional roles of approval, funding and staffing the project.

It is typical in most projects that the project manager has responsibility without authority. In other words, the project manager is not given the requisite organisational or financial power to achieve his or her objectives. This lack of organisational power is the major cause of failure and, while Caper Jones and others term this type of factor as “soft”, our experience is that the impact of this and other soft factors is hard and tangible.

For example, a major stakeholder from a client business group who is organisationally senior to the project manager requests a small scope and objectives change. Without a powerful sponsor, the project manager has little choice but to document and accept the change which will lead to an extension of deadline and budget. In another typical example, in the initial planning sessions, a senior business stakeholder agrees to give the project manager access to key business experts for defining requirements. During the project, the senior manager reallocates the priorities for the business experts and effectively makes them unavailable to the project manager. This leaves the project manager without any effective options but to slip the schedule until the business experts are available.

These are simple examples of the need for an effective and powerful sponsor as, in both cases, the project manager would be able to raise these problems with the sponsor where he or she would use their power base and authority to address the issue at an executive level.

In every one of the 20 major failed projects, lack of an effective sponsor was common. As one project manager recently put it “To manage a project without an effective executive sponsor is to visit hell on Earth”.

• Lack of stakeholder buy-in

Project stakeholders are people who are outside the project manager’s scope of control and are service-providers [such as business experts who will be specifying requirements, data base and data communications consultants, computer operations and so on] and/or service receivers [such as internal or external clients, management, etc.]. As discussed by Thomsett [1993, op cit], these people are critical in achieving project success. If a project manager cannot gain effective buy-in and support from these people, then activities such as defining scope and objectives, identifying and managing risk, benefits analysis and realisation, quality requirements definition and change control are effectively compromised.

Without consensus among stakeholders as to the scope, objectives and quality requirements of the project, the project manager cannot effectively manage the project. At best, the project manager may be able to deliver a system that does not meet the needs of the majority of his or her stakeholders and does not add value. At worst, the project will simply remain in an “out of control” state [with constant changes in scope and objectives] until it is terminated or the team leaves in frustration.

In every one of the 20 major failed projects, lack of effective project sponsorship and stakeholder buy-in was common.

Level 2 Factors or when the going gets tough ….

Without the Level 1 factors in control, the project manager will not be able to effectively address the following critical factors in ensuring project success. It is important to note that, in some cases, the project may be delivered on time and in budget but without sponsor and stakeholder support, no project can deliver successfully [using our extended definition of success]. The following issues are discussed in more detail in Radical Project Management.

• benefits planning and realisation;

Benefits analysis, planning and realisation requires participation and commitment from project stakeholders [who will generally identify and realise the benefits] and the project sponsor [who is responsible for ensuring that stakeholders are held accountable for benefits]. For example, a project that is planned to avoid costs for the organisation through reengineering of a client area and reduction of staff in that area cannot guarantee those benefits without a senior executive sponsor and stakeholder managers who can ensure that the client group alters their work processes and that the cost avoidance is managed after the project has delivered.

• quality requirements planning;

Is is normal for stakeholders/clients to have differing views on the required quality of the system being developed. For example, Internal Audit may require the system to be auditable and secure, Computer Operations may want the system to be efficient, one stakeholder/client group may want the system to be user-friendly and another stakeholder/client group may be more interested in the reliability of the system. It is almost impossible for a project manager to resolve these differing quality expectations without some commitment and participation of the various stakeholders and the project sponsor in resolving these conflicts.

• risk management;

Contemporary project risk management [American Programmer, September 1992 and March 1995] not only examines and manages the risks inherent in the complexity and size of the proposed system but also includes risks associated with the project team and the stakeholder environment. Clearly, a project without effective sponsorship and stakeholder buy-in is exposed a number of high risk factors which, unless managed, will lead to project instability and delays.

• project change control.

The management of the inevitable changes in scope, objectives, quality requirements, risks, project staffing and so on require the project manager and his or her team to be able to negotiate with the various stakeholders impacted by the changes. As discussed earlier, a senior manager may ask the project manager to expand the project’s scope and objectives. This change leads to an extension of the project’s deadline that has a negative impact on another project manager who has planned to use some of the first project’s people on her project. In addition, the extension of the deadline delays a series of benefits that another stakeholder group has expected by a certain date. This ripple effect is common in all projects.

The dilemma that our project manager faces is simple but difficult. Does she agree to the senior manager’s request and harm her relationship with the other impacted stakeholders or …? A committed and powerful sponsor and supportive stakeholders will be able to apply pressure to the senior manager to withdraw or modify his request or will be able to support the project manager in minimising the impact of the new deadline.

Patterns of failure

As for most organisms, a project exhibits a predictable set of stages [with specific symptoms] during failure. To many people, a failing project simply degenerates quickly into a chaotic rabble of stressed people working long hours. In fact, this is usually not the case. In most of the projects we examined the following degradation pattern was observed.

Stage 1 – that will happen in Release 2

The project is submitted and approved as a monolithic or waterfall development strategy with the team planning to work on the total requirements, for example, Functions A,B,C & D. However, soon into the project it becomes apparent that the estimates are wrong and, in addition, a new requirement for Function E is added by a senior manager. Without any re-approval by the project sponsor and stakeholders, the project manager and team change the development cycle or strategy to a sequential release. That is, they unilaterally de-scope the project and continue to work on Functions A,B,C and E with Function D to be scheduled as an “enhancement”. It should be noted that in this Stage formal planning is beginning to collapse and the original Business Case and project plans remains unchanged from the original plan.

Stage 2 – I need more people

In many projects, Stage 1 simply delays the inevitable and further estimation errors, risk escalation or scope expansion leads to a realisation by the project manager that even with the de-scoping in Stage 1, the team cannot deliver Functions A,B, C and E [remember that the client and sponsor are still expecting D as well]. This Stage involves the project manager requesting additional people who are allocated to work on concurrent sub-projects [for example, some team members working on Function A and B and the new team members working on C and E]. Project planning has become informal and reactive and the risk has been raised by the adoption of covert concurrent development.

Stage 3 – who’s not working this weekend?

By this stage any small change [a specification change, a key team member leaving and so on] will usually result in the project further degrading into a covert quick and dirty strategy. Typically, the project manager and team begin to panic and unpaid overtime work becomes the norm in an effort to keep the project “in control”. In addition, development effort that is perceived to be unimportant such as documentation and testing is abandoned. A bunker-type mentality begins to emerge with the team seeing themselves as heroes and heroines struggling against great odds and any team members who express doubt about the project are treated as outcasts or negative people. It is important to note that the project is already close to complete failure at this Stage.

Stage 4 – we’re all crazy now

Finally, the project slips from an semi-organised quick and dirty strategy into a bizarre form of group-think that our group calls a “lemming rush”. In this Stage, all team members and the project manager have effectively lost control of the project. Cognitive dissonance begin to deny the desperate state of the project. Team members are often working 7 days a week and, in some cases over 10 hours per day. There is no project plan and all work is allocated verbally. Interestingly, many people in the broader organisation also deny the reality of the project and, in an example of the Bay of Pigs phenomenon, no one says anything as no one else is saying anything. This denial was well evidenced in a project where all team members and the project manager felt that the project could meet a deadline 3 months out and that our review was a waste of time. In one day, we identified that the project was over 12 months behind schedule and would deliver [at best] in 15 months not 3! Our findings were wrong – the project finally delivered 18 months later. By this stage, the project is totally “out of control” and can remain in this state for a long period. In effect, the team no longer understands the objectives or other project management issues – like lemmings -they are blindly migrating to the deadline as that is all that matters.

In all cases, the project is running two sets of plans – the plans that the Project Sponsor and stakeholders are given and the plan that the team is actually following [covertly].

We observed this pattern of failure in every one of the 20 major projects we reviewed. Fifteen of the 20 projects we reviewed had degraded to Step 4 and the remaining 5 were at Step 3.

Symptoms of failure

Like all organic failures, projects exhibit clear symptoms as the process of degradation proceeds. Lack of an agreed Business Case [scope, objectives, benefits, costs, risks, quality agreements and so on] and stakeholder commitment such as formal stakeholder agreements before commencement are obvious signs of a project that will fail. However, more subtle signs may emerge later.

Early symptoms

• lack of project plan and Business Case updates

As discussed by Thomsett, Jones and others, most projects are subject to change and, as a result, the original Business Case and the associated project plans should be subjected to clear and managed project change control. The absence of a series of changes approved by the Sponsor, Steering Committee and stakeholders is a potential sign of communication breakdown between the project manager and sponsor.

• lack of stakeholder communication

As discussed by Thomsett [1993, op cit] in a well managed project, stakeholders are involved in planning the project and are regularly briefed on the progress of the project. Poor or no stakeholder communication on a regular [at least monthly] is a potential sign of failure.

• no external involvement in quality assurance

All formal quality assurance processes involve some independent external person being involved in detailed technical reviews of the deliverables and the project development and management process. As a project begins to fail, it looks inward and external reviews are avoided.

Fatal symptoms

• excessive hard work

Teams that are motivated often work long hours. However, in a failing project, the working of long hours is not voluntary and, indeed, becomes expected and the norm. In general, a team working more than 60 hours a week for a sustained period is in serious trouble [see following signs].

• high staff turnover

Many people will respond to the challenges offered by a poorly-managed project with energy and enthusiasm. However, the impact of sustained and unnecessary pressure over a sustained period on personal standards and private lives results in many of the best people [i.e. those with other employment options or life choices] leaving the project.

• aggressive and defensive behaviour

In projects that are terminally-ill, any attempt by outsiders [managers, consultants, internal audit and other project managers] is met by a combination of aggressive and defensive behaviour. The bunker mentality of the team and the group cognitive dissonance effectively bonds the team into a delusion that the project will succeed and any indication by people outside the team that it may be in trouble is seen as a threat.

• no fun!

While some theorists may dismiss this symptom as irrelevant, our group’s experience is that well-run projects offer challenge, learning and enjoyment for team members. A well-managed project can stop and smell the roses. For example, regular team time-outs where planning, review and fun can be combined with team-building. Failing projects have no fun, a lot of challenge and a lot of bad learning. Simply, instead of fun and excitement, failing projects exhibit frustration and desperation.

The failing project test

Finally there is a clear and easy test for failing projects:

Stop it

If a project is failing, a request to stop the project for formal planning sessions and time-outs will be met with the clearest indicator of a fatal disease:

“We can’t stop the project for planning, we have a deadline to meet !”

At this point, you may need to call in Mulder and Scully.

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