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Some Insights into Project Failure
By Raymond Keckler | October 9, 2008
I hate project failure especially when it can be avoided. There are two issues I see happen all the time. These issues prevent the project from achieving the success it should have. These issues are easy to prevent. I guess that is what irritates me the most.
The first key issue I see is the lack of clearly defined projects at the executive level. We get vague outlines of the project. No clearly defined objectives or wants are laid out. With this comes the lack of prioritizing the projects. To many times I see a new vague project that comes out and it has to be done now. All other projects must be put on hold. What this does is to prevent the projects put on hold to actually come to fruition. When the vague project is started, scope creep sets in. Since it was not clearly defined, new ideas and wants get added in while the project is being worked. Some call this Agile development. Agile development is not adding in changes while the project is being worked. Agile development is small iterations that go through a full software development cycle. Each iteration is clearly defined and each iteration is a final release with minimal bugs. The iteration might not have all the functionality for a final release but the goal is to have a release that works. Again Agile development is not continually putting in changes while the project is being worked.
The second key issue I see is the lack of getting the whole team involved in developing the plans for the project. There is simply no way one man will know what is involved in completing a project. A team must be formed to construct the work needed to complete the project. This team might need more people to break down the work into manageable tasks. Only by involving all the resources can you get a concise break down of the work needed. If you do not get the team together to go over the work, tasks can and often will be missed. Some tasks might seem simple and be glossed over. That simple tasks might not be so simple. Interdependencies between tasks can be missed. Some tasks need other tasks to be completed first before it can be done. And finally there can be a lack of clarity on role responsibilities and task deadlines unless the whole team is involved in the work break down structure.
These two key issues are what I see all the time in my current work environment. Both of these two issues can be resolved by clear communication and educating people on there necessities in the project. Projects must be clearly defined. The work break down structure must have the team’s involvement to get all tasks needed to complete the project.
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