COMPGZ07 Project Management

Why Projects Fail

Graham Collins

University College London (UCL)

The ‘Tar Pit’The ‘Tar Pit’

Illustration from Chapter 1 The Tar Pit. Brooks, F.P., The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering Anniversary Edition 1995 Addison-Wesley

Definition of SuccessDefinition of Success

On time - the product is delivered according to schedule

On budget - the project meets forecasted cost estimates

High quality, i.e. conformance to requirements which includes the components functionality and performance.

Illustration from, Florence:The Biography of a City, Christopher Hibbert, 1993 Penguin

Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore)Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore)

Cost-Schedule-Quality EquilibriumCost-Schedule-Quality Equilibrium

Delivering these criteria doesn’t mean you are successful

Each stakeholder has a different view, manage expectations

The ultimate challenge: no damage.

Ignoring StakeholdersIgnoring StakeholdersIgnoring Stakeholders

Requirements not metRequirements not met

Failure to meet requirements in software engineering projects is the most common cause for dissatisfaction

Involve users from the beginning and involve them in requirements elicitation

Workshops that allow everyone to be involved help develop ownership of the project and agreement on requirements

Rapid Application Development (RAD) to prevent requirements creep. Requirements Engineering and Rapid Development, Ian Graham, 1998 Addison-Wesley.

Ascertain the most valuable benefits firstAscertain the most valuable benefits first

Maximum benefit is derived if the project is cancelled early

Project can be delivered on time and budget if the scope includes only the essential elements, that derive business benefit

Concept of agile project management is that requirements are continually reviewed and prioritized in order that the most important requirements (goals) are delivered first. Craig Larman, Agile & Iterative Development: A Manager’s guide, 2004 Addison-Wesley (Agile Software Development Series).

Need to be clear on the GoalsNeed to be clear on the Goals

Need to ask, what is the purpose, what are we trying to achieve Need to agree this as a team Need to meet the mission of the project and be inline with the

organisations aims.

One never goes as far when one doesn’t know where one is going.

Goethe

Kamikaze

Suicide

Mission Impossible

Ugly

low high

high

low

Chance of success

Happiness

The Death March Project Style Quadrant

Edward Yourdon, Death March:The complete Software Developer’s guide to surviving ‘Mission Impossible’ projects, 1997 Prentice Hall

The Death March Project Style QuadrantThe Death March Project Style Quadrant

To survive we need toTo survive we need to

Triage (Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill, First Things First, 1994, New York: Simon & Schuster)

Ensure there is a ‘Champion’ Early wins (John Kotter, Leading Change, 1996,

Harvard Business School Press) idea of small successful projects being widened in scope and spreading across the organisation.

Realistic SchedulingRealistic Scheduling

Accurate estimation, involve all stakeholders Need good negotiation skills from an

experienced project manager.

How does a project get to be a year late?

…One day at a timeBROOKS

Do not overwork your teamDo not overwork your team

The right balance of peopleThe right balance of people

Small, dedicated teams are required

The team needs to have the right mix, commitmentand support from a sponsor.

Who selects the team?

Adding more staffAdding more staff

Often projects have new staff added when its falling behind schedule

Apart from the learning curve required this lowers morale

More staff increase the communication burden and can decrease productivity, Brookes Law.

People do not always get onPeople do not always get on

Ideally the team has worked together before and has reached a co-operative and fully productive phase

The use of a facilitator Have the team formed themselves?

Harvey Robbins and Michael Finley, Why teams don’t work: What went wrong and how to make it right 1996 Peterson’s (UK 1998 Orion).

To develop members’ capabilities; to build and exchange knowledge

Passion, commitment, and identification with the group’s expertise

To accomplish a specified task

The project’s milestones and goals

Adapted from: Communities of Practice: The organizational Frontier, Etienne C. Wenger and William M. Snyder, Harvard Business Review p139-145 Jan-Feb 2000

What is the purpose? What holds it together?

Community of practice

Project team

Project teams need to adopt some attributesProject teams need to adopt some attributes

We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

ARISTOTLE

To be successful projects must haveTo be successful projects must have

Agreement among the project team, customer, and management on the goals of the project

A plan that shows an overall path and clear responsibilities and will be used to measure progress during the project

Constant,effective communication among everyone involved in the project

A controlled scope Management support.

Pinto and Slevin’s Success FactorsPinto and Slevin’s Success Factors

Cited by Turner, R., Section 20, Project Management Pathways, edited by Stevens, M., APM, 2002

Success Factor Description

1. Project mission Clearly defined goals and direction

2. Top management support Resources, authority and power for implementation

3. Schedule and plans Detailed specification of implementation process

4. Client consultation Communication with and consultation of all stakeholders

5. Personnel Recruitment, selection and training of competent personnel