Download - Why Projects Fail
Why Projects Fail…And what to do about it!
ODTUG Conference 2004
Co-authors
Dave Kempson, PMP
Dan Kwit, PMP
According to Scott Adams
Top 10 ways to Guarantee the Failure of a Systems Project
1. Don’t use a specific methodology because coding is all that is really important.
2. Create the project plan by working backwards from a drop-dead system completion date.
3. Don’t bother with a data model. Just build whatever tables you need.
4. Use a technical lead that has never built a similar system.
5. Hire forty developers to make coding go faster.
Dulcian, Inc.
Top 10 ways to Guarantee the Failure of a Systems Project
6. Build the system in Java, even though most of the development team still thinks Java is coffee and you have no intention of ever deploying to the web.
7. Three months before the system goes live, assign one junior developer to handle the data migration.
8. Skip the testing phase because the project is way behind schedule
9. Change the system to support critical new requirements discovered during final development.
10. Buy a commercial off-the-shelf package and customize it…a lot.
Dulcian, Inc.
Agenda
• Introduction
• Project Failures– What the research shows– Personal experience
• What we can do about it
• Wrap-up
Nightmare Projects?
• Out of Control Project• Project in Crisis• Project Roadkill• Disaster Project• Project from Hell• Career Killer• Challenged Project
• Fiasco• Runaway Project• Troubled Project• Chaotic Project• Crunch Project• Mission Impossible Project• Doomed Project
Top Ten Signs Your Project is in Crisis
1. Lack of Communication
2. Inadequate Project Planning and Management of Plan
3. Unstable Requirements
4. Lack of Training/Mentoring for Managers/Leads
5. Unachievable/Unrealistic Schedules
6. High Turnover in Project Staff
7. Inadequate Use of Outside Resources
8. Inadequate Work Environment
9. Workforce Tied to Old Technology
10. Lack of Long-term Commitments
Top Ten SignsYour Project is in Crisis
1. Poor Communication
2. Inadequate Project Planning and Management of Plan
3. Unstable Requirements/Lack of Change Control
4. Lack of Training/Mentoring for Managers/Leads
5. Unachievable/Unrealistic Schedules
6. High Turnover in Project Staff
7. Inadequate Use of Outside Resources
8. Excessive infighting/finger pointing
9. Workforce Tied to Old Technology/Competence Deficiency
10. Inadequate executive buy-in/Lack of Long-term Commitments
Why do Projects Fail?
• 1994 Standish Group “CHAOS Report” Results:• U.S. spends $250,000/yr on IT development on
approximately 175,000 projects
• 31.1% of projects canceled prior to completion
• 52.7% cost 189% of estimate
• Cost of failures and lost opportunities cost trillions of dollars each year
• Only 16.2% of projects completed on-time & on-budget
Project Failure Research
SMALL VS LARGE COMPANIES SUCCESS RATES
Statistic
Small Company
%
Large Company
%
On-time and on-budget/Successful 28% 9%
Original features and functions 74.2% 42%
Projects challenged 50.4% 61.5%
Projects impaired and subsequently cancelled 21.6% 29.5%
• 1994 CHAOS Report Results:
Project Failure Research
• 1988 CHAOS Report– Study of 7500 IT projects by the Standish Group– 72% of IT projects come in late, over budget, or not at
all • 28% of IT projects are cancelled or never implemented• out of the rest 46% are behind schedule, over budget, or
both
Project Failure Research
• Standish Group Top Reasons for Project Failures• Incomplete requirements & specifications• Lack of user input• Lack of resources• Unrealistic expectations• Lack of executive support• Changing requirements and specifications• Technology Incompetence• Unclear Objectives• Unrealistic Time-frames• New Technology
Project Failure Research
Project Failure Research
• OASIG Study (1995)– 8 of 10 projects fail– Contributors
• Poor management/project management• Poor articulation of user requirements• Inadequate attention to business needs and goals• Failure to involve users properly
• InformationWeek surveyed IT managers– Top 3 Reasons for Project Failure
• Poor Planning or Poor Project Management (77%)• Change in Business Goals During Project (75%)• Lack of Business Management Support (73%)
• KPMG Study (1997)– 87% of failed projects exceeded schedule > 30%– 56% of failed projects exceed budget > 30%– 45% of failed projects failed to produce expected
benefits
– 3 Most Common Reasons for Project Failures• Poor Project Planning• Weak Business Cause• Lack of Top Management Involvement and Support
Project Failure Research
• Management’s Seven Deadly Sins Why Projects Fail - Gopal Kapur, president of the Center for Project Management (CPM):
1. Mistaking half-baked ideas for viable projects
2. Dictating unrealistic project schedules
3. Assigning under-skilled project mangers to high-complexity projects
4. Not ensuring solid business sponsorship
5. Failing to break projects into manageable “chunks”
6. Failing to institute a robust project process architecture
7. Not establishing a comprehensive project portfolio to track progress of ongoing projects
Project Failure Research
Personal Experience
• Projects fail because no one did anything to prevent it!
• Natural tendency to hide bad news.
• Good, open communication must be present.
• Project management is essential and proven PM methodologies should be followed to minimize failure.
Project Management
The 10 Killer Flaws:1. Insensitivity2. Acting aloof3. Betraying trusts4. Overmanaging5. Being overly ambitious6. Inability to think long term7. Inability to adapt to a new manager8. Overdependency on a mentor9. Making poor staffing decisions10. Inability to deal with department's performance problems
Morgan W. McCall, Jr., Ph.D. - PM Flaws that Bring Career’s to Screeching Halt:
Cost of Correcting an Error
Strategy
Analysis
Design
Build
Transition
Production
1x
5x
50x
100x
500x
1000x
Source: Oracle Corporation
Project Life Cycle
Oracle Corp.
What to do about it?
PMI Process Groups
• Projects commonly fail at different stages for different reasons. The Project Management Institute defines 5 major process groups that constitute a typical project. – Initiating– Planning– Executing – Controlling– Closing
Initiation Phase
Initiation is recognizing that a project should begin and committing to do so
Initiation Phase
• Executive buy-in– Buy-in and involvement crucial especially for projects that cross
organizational boundaries– Must be prepared for setbacks to respond and demonstrate support.– Must buy-in to methodology and encourage it to become part of the
organizations culture
• Organizational Culture (Tom Mochal 7/2/03)– Process Orientation– Governance– Training
• Business Driven– Not IT driven– Should support vision and mission– Portfolio Management system to allocate resources based upon business
priorities
Initiation Phase
• Overall Vision– Big picture of how one project relates to another– Architectural vision– Clear communication of the vision
• Limited Scope– Compromise of wants and needs matched against capability.– Manageable chunks
• Technical and Business Requirements– In accordance with scope– Agreed upon and formally accepted by both business units and
IT– No deviations without formal change management.– Use manual or automated tools for documenting and managing
Planning Phase
Planning is devising and maintaining a workable scheme to accomplish the business need that the
project was undertaken to address
Planning Phase
• Well defined roles– Project manger, team members, and stakeholders
• Project org structure– Who is accountable to who?– Recommend creating an org chart for the project– Remove ambiguity with regards to communication,
responsibility and information flow.
• Team member competencies– Make sure the right people are assign to the right
tasks
Planning Phase
• Understanding of data quality issues and constraints– Often overlooked & underestimated.– Often the most complex and resource intensive
project deliverable
• Methodologies, standards and processes– Critical for repeatable success– PMBOK, SEI CMM
Execution and Control Phases
Executing is coordinating people and other resources to carry out the plan
Controlling is ensuring that the project objectives are met by monitoring and measuring progress and taking corrective actions
when necessary.
Execution and Control Phases
• Communication– Poor communication is one of the most common root causes of
failure– Must be evident at all levels and directions– False assumptions are common– Executive sponsors must be seen and heard and ask the right
questions.– Avoid a “no news is good news” mentality– Project leaders should be the communications hub– Style is important (positive and upbeat)– Don’t hide bad news, present it as a challenge to the team– Remain honest in reporting– Have a plan!– Utilize tools (Tracking logs, dashboards, regular reports, etc)
Execution and Control Phases
• Clear process for change management– Avoid “Gold Plating”– Change has a cost and must be managed (not frozen)– Involve all stakeholders– Have a well documented process for change control
• Performance measures– Measure and publish to encourage excellence– Measure performance against baseline cost and schedule– Measurement helps identify early warning signs– Improves morale by reinforcing accomplishments– Helps establish confidence and trust in the team
Closure Phase
Closing is formalizing acceptance of the project or phase and bringing it to an orderly end.
Closure Phase
• Customer support strategy– Why capitalize a project if you aren’t going to
operationally fund it?• Training• Support• Maintenance• Enhancements
– Be careful not to outsource your corporate knowledge– Hot Wash/Lessons Learned (non retribution)
Wrap Up
• Most successful projects:– Concise Scope
• < six month timeframe• < six people• < $750,000 cost
– User involvement– Well defined processes/methodologies– Executive Support and Commitment– Experienced Project Management– Competent Team Members– Clear Business Objectives & Vision– Good Communications
Questions?
David J Kempson
Chief Information Officer
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
602-771-4810
