why project fails

Why project fails?

Statements mostly hear, when project about to fail

1. Cut the deployment timing. Think in this way, Time is money

2. Make it Simple, take off or hide complex parts

3. Money: Since now market is down, cut money

4. What's we lose when we are "Optimists"

Defining “Failure”

The inability of the project to deliver the intended benefits to the identified stakeholders

However – Failure is relative – there are many levels of failure from complete failure to mild failure, and each should be seen in context

Levels of Failure

Complete Failure Cancelled before completion Failure after implementation so serious that have to roll-back to previous

version or manual alternative Organisation is significantly worse off than before, and may be at risk of

bankruptcy Serious Failure

Continues into operation, but does not achieve full benefits May be less effective and efficient than existing system More costs than benefits and significant loss of brand value

Medium Failure Some benefits received, but not all Many tolerances overrun Major fixes required to recover

Mild Failure Largely meets benefits but some of the tolerances exceeded (time, cost,

quality, benefits, risks, knowledge transfer, …)

Projects and Complexity

A project is a complex arrangement of time, costs, resources, scope, benefits, risks, issues, quality and structures

Failure is very easy : any one part or link can cause failure – there are millions of way to fail

Success is very difficult : there is only ONE way to succeed – the correct balance of the project elements

5 key features to fail a project

Money

ScopeQuality

Time

Resource

Risk

Failed Project

Projects fail when they do not projects fails when they meet the

following criteria for success Criteria1 Criteria2 Criteria3

The system works as required

It is on or under budget

It is delivered on time

Projects Fail:

PM Expectations Estimation Requirements

Inadequately trained and/or inexperienced project managers

Failure to set and manage expectations

Poor effort estimation

Failure to adequately identify, document and track requirements

Primary causes for the failure of any projects

Unclear goals and objectives

Poor planning

Failure to communicate

Lack of executive support

Unrealistic time

Objectives changing

4 Points of failed Projects

Failed Badly

Lack of User Involvement

Unrealistic Time Scales

Scope Creep Poor Testing

Why projects fail?

The goal of the project is not defined properly

Lack of change management (changes to project are not controlled)The ‘moving goalposts’ syndrome.

Why projects fail? Cont…

Poor or non-existent planningA solid plan is one of the key steps of the effective project management.

The project is not resourced as planned (resources were not available at the time, or were not booked in advance)


Lack of coordination of activitiesThe project is not led properlyThe project reporting is

inadequate or does not exist


Quality criteria is not defined or measured

Lack of ownership - It is not clear who is responsible for the project outcome

The progress is not monitored and controlled properly.

10 things you should know

To prevent projects from failure1 - You need to define the project

clearly2 - You need to plan the project (not to be mixed with project schedule) A good plan should include scheduling as well as many other points3 - You need to provide a way of including contingency plan

4 - You need a communication plan


8 - You need to manage risks and issuesA good project manager revisits risks and issue management throughout the project lifecycle

9 - You need to monitor quality

10 - You need to be prepared that no matter how well a project is planned something may go wrong at some point


5 - You need a quality planGetting a clear and reliable definition of what constitutes fit-for-purpose on your project is crucial for its success.

6 – You need to make it clear project managers are responsible for projects

7 - You need the manage the project plan

Project Management Laws

Murphy’s Law – Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Finagle’s Law of Dynamic Negatives or Finagle’s Corollary to Murphy’s Law - Anything that can go wrong, will – at the worst possible moment.

Hofstadter’s Law – It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s law.

Parkinson’s Law – Work expands so as to full the time available for its completion.

Project Management Laws

Norman R. Augustine law

A bad idea executed to perfection is still a bad Idea A good idea executed poorly is of no use to

anyone

Validating the Project’s Strategic Alignment

– For every project you choose to do– You give up an infinite number of projects

Conclusion

Projects mainly fail due to management problems

Project manager is responsible for the outcome of the project

Success metrics: On time, on budget and as defined

BUT the project manager must also focus on the expected results and benefits

Field Examples

Failed projects in The IT sector

Example 1 : MacDonalds

2001 : Intranet to connect 30,000 outlets with real-time information

$170 million written offEarly termination when estimated costs

of completion reached $1 billionDecided that money could be better

usedPROBLEM : scope too broad – no

possible way to construct itMODE OF FAILURE: Business Case failureTO THEIR CREDIT : Decided to stop

before spending any more!

Example 2 : US IRS

GOAL : Upgrade the fraud-detection system

Switched off old systemPROBLEM: System did not work – could

not be deployed – and old system already switched off

COSTS : Estimated losses of $318 million in lost revenue/undetected fraud

MODE OF FAILURE: Many – classified as “maintenance upgrade” instead of new system

Example 3 : IRS infrastructure

8 year project to revise infrastructure Personnel retiring and lack of expertise Failure to deploy meant rebooting the old

system for 2007 tax season Costs to Date : $8 billion MODE OF FAILURE: Many – too large a

project – too long a timeframe – solutions out of date before deployed – loss of skills

Example 3 : UK NHS

Rewrite of complete national health system

More than 12 vendors – no compatibility in systems – squabbling among vendors

Users inadequately consultedContractors get no money until system

deliveredOne large contractor has pulled out at

loss of $450 millionCosts to date = $10 billion overrunMajor vendor (iSoft) under threat of

bankruptcy

Analysis of Failures

Need a formal method for analysis of failures so that we do not have to learn same lessons over and over again

Need a means of reporting failure and disclosure so that maximum benefits are gained for the future

Need to ensure that organisations accountable for their work and cannot simply hide details in order to protect reputations

HOWEVER : Analysis of Failure is itself Complex

Analysis of Failure/2

Historical Research = What Happened? Many histories – many viewpoints Can we get to the truth or are all interpretations naturally

biased Is there such a thing as an independent analysis? Analysis can only be successful if there is a well-documented

project

Example 3 / cont. …

MODES OF FAILURE : many Government contracting policy – try to reduce risk by

spreading work among vendors Government tender policies – splitting specifications from

implementation over different organisations Job too large – biting off too much

Analysis of Failures

Need a formal method for analysis of failures so that we do not have to learn same lessons over and over again

Need a means of reporting failure and disclosure so that maximum benefits are gained for the future

Need to ensure that organisations accountable for their work and cannot simply hide details in order to protect reputations

HOWEVER : Analysis of Failure is itself Complex

Analysis of Failure/2

Historical Research = What Happened? Many histories – many viewpoints Can we get to the truth or are all interpretations naturally

biased Is there such a thing as an independent analysis? Analysis can only be successful if there is a well-documented

project

Risks that can induce Failure

Organisation Failure to constitute a Project Board properly Lack of involvement from corporate management Lack of involvement from customer Lack of involvement from user Wrong people selected to assist Responsibilities not explicit Some key responsibilities not allocated

Risks that can induce Failure/2

Communication Lack of reporting structure Lack of sufficient information from decision-making Lack of usage of the information as reported – get the

information but not acted on People who receive reports do not know what they are

supposed to do with them – think that someone else is acting on them

Recommendations/2

Need a Project Management Method that be used throughout the organisations Common Language for Projects

• E.g. what is an issue, what is a risk, what does “quality” imply, what is a “tolerance”

Simple method that is easy to apply Method that can be used for early detection of failure modes

Recommendations

Recommend that all projects be divided into smaller units – easier to manage – impact of failure is reduced = DIVIDE AND CONQUER

High-level Programme Management takes the long-term view – identifies evolving technologies and decides on appropriate solution structures

Other Risks that can induce Failure

Specification + Scope ManagementBusiness Case Management + Realised

BenefitsQuality ControlChange Control + Issue ManagementRisk Analysis + Risk ManagementConfiguration ControlUser Involvement Incompetence of PersonnelUnsuitable Technology

Never Forget

Murphy’s Law O’Leary’s Corollary to Murphy’s Law Fetridge’s Law of Frustration

why project fails

Documents