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13 Ways to Guarantee Project Failure - Part II

August 19, 2008 | Author: admin | Filed under: Project Management Musings

13 Ways to Guarantee Project Failure - Part II (#2 in the series 13 Ways to Guarantee Project Failure)
By Ben Menoza

It’s hard to believe that, after a number of years working with project-based teams, the greatest lessons learned are hardly ever remembered from project to project. Most of the mistakes made are avoided simply by treating your project team right, trusting a proven process to run its course, setting and managing expectations accordingly, and learning to admit when you’re wrong. And yet for a myriad of reasons — fear of delivering bad news, ineptitude of the people involved, among them — a project can swiftly become doomed.

That said, if you want the project to fail, I’ve compiled a list of some pointers, guaranteed to ruin any project to some degree. This is, by no means, an exhaustive list. If you have more, please feel free to leave a comment.

#3: Give unrealistic estimates for tasks, and count on the best possible outcome for the project.

Three-point estimates — best possible, most likely, and worst case levels of efforts for tasks — are really a waste of time, especially when you’re absolutely sure the project will go off without a hitch. A high-performing team with solid requirements, a kick-ass design, a proven development methodology, and a cooperative client firm in its beliefs and decisions are destined to succeed, and your project plan should reflect this reality. Therefore, always count on the best possible estimate for tasks, and rest easy knowing that the team is going to deliver.

#4: Remove any and all contingency from the project plan. Use the 24-hour shift and/or weekend days to bring the delivery date in, and never factor in any vacation days.

Because the work you’re doing is so intriguing and ground-breaking, and the people with whom you work are willing to walk through fire for you, you should count on them showing up to work everyday, bright and early, and staying till all hours of the night. Things like vacation days and weekend time with loved ones are secondary to the success of the project. Personal sacrifice of home and health is best rewarded through free, late-night meals.

Ben Menoza is a senior member of the User Experience team at Optaros, an international consulting and systems integration firm that provides enterprises with online business solutions that leverage the next generation of internet technologies and approaches. He has over eight years of experience managing, designing and developing web applications for organizations in the financial, e-commerce, and entertainment industries, among others.

You can reach Ben through his blog.

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