Comments on: Project managers plan for failure rather than success

By: change management model

change management model — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:15:38 +0000

change management model…

A good change management model is always useful in situations like these. Nice article….

By: Ron

Ron — Thu, 14 May 2009 07:29:37 +0000

Thanks you all for the contributions to this important debate. Some further stats have just been published by Project Manager Today which I am studying. There are some good points here and I am for one more enlightened about success or failure.

David, no problem here with cancelled projects. I wish more were cancelled as they seem to contribute little to the companies overall strategy. They appear to be nice to have.

Glen, many thanks for the references. These look very useful.

Brad, you mention the customer; so often not considered? I feel they must be one of the arbiters on satisfaction.

Sarah, I do find that discovering client needs is not done as well as it could be. Getting the customer to identify what they want is a huge issue (people on training programmes tell me this) and often the IT person cannot interpret the business requirements…I have heard IT people curse about this aspect of their job. Plus, managing changes is not done or not done very well according to evidence I have seen.

Jim, yes there are still some companies around who do work which don’t give the required resources to projects and the words you use..just get on with it …happens. I often ask the clients I work with whether these are strategic must be done projects. I do not get a really positive yes!

Mwangi, many thanks!!

Let’s all keep on contributing to overall project success and thanks for writing.Let’s keep up the debate

Ron Rosenhead

By: Mwangi of Kamau

Mwangi of Kamau — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:48:56 +0000

“63 Project Management Tips”

That is the title of what I saw from a google search on “project planning and management”. how resourceful it is!

I am sure it will stand me in good stead everywhere I go and in everything that I do.

keep it up and may God bless you all.

By: Standish Chaos Report 2009: Are projects failing or are Project Managers failing? « The Productivity Habit

Tue, 12 May 2009 11:30:29 +0000

[...] Various project management research reports are reporting declining project success rates. [...]

By: Jim Conneely

Jim Conneely — Sat, 09 May 2009 10:36:09 +0000

Interesting question Ron. I’ve spent many years in the commercial IT world managing project and programme delivery teams. My initial thoughts would be that measure of failure and definition could be significantly different within different business / industry sectors. I would also have to add that a project manager planning for failure or success is often heavily influenced by many internal and external factors within an organisation e.g. if the project sponsor is in name only and the P.M. is aware of this he would likely have serious reservations about ‘the success factor’. I’ve seen projects undertaken which quite obviously don’t have the right level of resource or focus but unfortunately it’s a case of ‘just get on with it’ from the powers that be who don’t have a clue about the dynamics required to set a project up for success.

A company that I used to work for would undertake projects just because they sounded like a good idea i.e. no sign of a business case or if there was it had serious flaws all over it. Thankfully I got the opportunity to do something about and ensure that projects were justified and the business case really stood up to the relevant level of review. I’d be interested to understand how many businesses undertake a structured investment analysis / review, doesn’t have to be rocket science and in fact it really shouldn’t be, but will ensure that they’re heading down the right path.

Best Regards,
Jim.