Project Failure

Once a project starts, it is the role of the Project Manager= to see it to completion. From the original concept to the ultimate product, the Project Manager faces many obstacles that could lead to a failed project. I intend to examine some of these roadblocks, such as lack of planning, upper management interference, budget constraints, time restrictions, power struggles, team conflict, and resistance to change. Any one of these situations, in great doses, can cause the project to fail. However, during = the life cycle of a complicated project, a Project Manager could find himself or herself facing down all of these conflicts at the same time.

A sure-fire way to ensure failure in Project Management is to disregard the importance of proper planning. Of course, the larger and more complex a project is, the harder it is to plan. A study completed in the ye= ar 2004 showed that only 28% of IT projects succeed, which is down from 34% the year earlier (Hayes, 2004). O= ne theory for this holds that projects have gotten larger and less manageable = in the past year. Frank Hayes, Senior News Columnist for Computerworld Magazine suggests that after the tech-bubble burst, IT projects were smaller due to constrained budgets and work force. However, as the tech sector has regained momentum, IT projects are likewise growing, which in turn become harder to = plan and more likely to fail. Mr. Hayes’ suggestion is to break larger projects into smaller ones (Hayes= ).

The degree to which upper management responds to the Project Manager has a great effect on the outcome of the project. The executive leadership often has a goal in mind, as well as a timeline, without understanding the scope of the change they are demanding. As John Glaser, V= ice President and CIO of Partners Healthcare writes, “Leadership needs to listen to the feedback of those waist-deep in the change and be able to dis= cern the difference between organizational noise that is likely to occur with any change and organizational noise that reflects real problems” (Glaser, 2005). The ultimate responsibility of effectively communicating these differences falls on the Project Manager. However, no amount of communication can overcome an out-of-touch leadership with unrealistic timelines and budgets.

The cost of doing business is very important to every organization, and most will only start a project if it supports the bottom = line and provides an adequate Return On Investment. A successful executive receives credit for pushing his team= to complete projects on time and within budget, and many would-be successful leaders believe setting impossible goals, demonstrating his or her bravado, will inspire his or her t= eam to produce miracles. This bravado, however, can become “bellicose stupidity” (Glaser, 2005) when the goals are unrealistic.

An excellent example of upper management raising the bar too= high is NASA’s Faster, Better, Cheaper (FBC) initiative. The concept of th= is project was to produce un-manned spacecraft at a faster rate with less cost. One of the major flaws of this concept was that various Project Managers we= re developing systems at the same time, and in a rush, without an opportunity = to determine what worked and what did not. By the time the first FBC missions failed in 1999 with the embarrassing loss of two spacecraft within a 3-month timeframe, many other such craft were already in the project pipeline and near completion (MacCormack, 200= 4).

Rare is the project without a timeline. A time restriction c= ould be unrealistic, as in NASA’s FBC initiative, or worse yet – not even realized until it is too late. In his article One Born Every Minute, Gobal Kapur, president of the Center for Project Management uses the colossal failure of Indiana University<= /st1:PlaceType>’s attempt to update their computer applications as an example of poor project management. Of the many mistakes made, one of the most profound was the apparent ignorance of an obvious looming time restriction – the start date for new classes. The Project Manager did not plan to either have the system in place by the deadline, or implement contingency measures if it was not. The result left thousands of students without access to promised finan= cial aid (Kapur, 2004).

Another potential roadblock to successful project management involves power struggles, especially in large, important projects that have= the CEO’s attention. Instead of coming together as a team, the Project Manager and his or her subordinates may find themselves working against each other. Important and complex projects “…attract fights over who will control the budget, or gamesmanship over the requirements, or early-and-often finger-pointing when anything goes wrong” (Hayes, 2004). These types of conflicts are inherent, and an effective Project Manager must be able to utilize team-building skills to focus the group on the ultimate goal.

Handling power struggles are one thing, but the Project Mana= ger must also deal with personality conflicts within his or her team. It is eas= y to understand the motivation of an individual striving for power or control, b= ut individuals also have personality traits that affect their motivations that= are not always so obvious. All of us possess our own unique characters, with various strengths and weaknesses. These differences can cause unexpected conflicts between team members. A Project Manager must be ready to employ conflict resolution strategies at the first sign of trouble within the team= , or watch helplessly while project milestones slip away as frustration builds momentum.

Finally, there is the innate human resistance to change. The Project Manager will likely encounter this resistance from both upper manag= ement and subordinates. When approached with a paradigm shift, most people comfortable with the old paradigm will regard this new method with suspicio= n or outright hostility. For people stuck in this mindset, nothing new ever work= s as good as the old, and having someone like this on your team, or worse – overseeing your project, will sink it. If forced to deal this personality trait, a strategy to employ would be to involve them right from the start, eliciting their opinions and getting them involved, and keeping them involv= ed throughout the project. If the Project Manager can convert the un-convertib= le to this new paradigm, all others on the fence will join in.

The role of Project Manager is a complicated one. He or she = must juggle time and budget constraints along with personality conflicts and pow= er struggles. Communication skills are the key. A successful Project Manager w= ill learn to communicate effectively with the company executives, and will learn the art of active listening with those on the front line. Along with communication skills, he or she must also be adept at team-building skills = and conflict resolution strategies. Considering the repertoire of skills needed= by one individual, and the obstacles in their path, it is amazing any project = ever is completed. It obviously requires a special person to take on this import= ant role.

References

Glaser, J. (2005, Januar= y). More on Management's Role in IT Project Failure. Healthcare Financial Management, 59(1), 82-84.

Hayes, F. (2004, Novembe= r 8). Chaos is Back. Computerworld, 38(45), 70.

Kapur, G. K. (2004, Nove= mber 29). One Born Every Minute. Compute= rworld, 38(48), 48.

MacCormack, A. (2004, Ma= y). Management Lessons from Mars. Harva= rd Business Review, 82(5), 18-19.

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