Thursday, October 20, 2011

Project Failure or Project Success – How Will You Know?

Frankly, more than 70% of the project managers, software asset managers, or IT asset managers that I come into contact with have literally no framework for identifying whether their projects have succeeded or failed. The primary reason?
Project managers, software asset managers, & IT asset managers frequently fail to accurately define what failure or success look like.
Further, many of the hundreds of IT asset management or software asset management projects I've reviewed over the years have completely failed to define their deliverables. If you don't know what you are trying to accomplish, you have no way of identifying whether or not you have hit the target. Of course, for the optimists in the group, this also means that no matter what you accomplish – its right.
Control failures are not listed in the recipes for a successful professional career.
So, try these simple steps toward more successful projects:
  • Always clearly identify the specific goals and objectives of the project. In their most simplistic form, these are your deliverables.
  • Ensure that your deliverables meet SMART criteria – specific, measurable, achievable/accountable, realistic/relevant, and time-bound.
  • Write a clear definition of “project failure.” Some people refer to the typical constraints of time, cost, quality. Others have more complex definitions (PMI has increased the old "Triple Constraint" number with the PMBOK 4th Edition).
  • Write a clear definition of “project success.” Again, the same basic constraints may come into play.
Now that you have clear goals and objectives (deliverables), begin monitoring and controlling your progress toward these deliverables from minute one of the project or SAM / ITAM initiative. When you recognize that you are deviating from expectations – fix the problem(s) immediately before everything accelerates out of control.

Example of Constraint "Controls" - Some enterprises will accept a project budget surge of up to 10%. Others expect all projects to finish precisely on budget. Some may even expect you to finish below budget. Whatever the parameters - get them documented so you can control to that degree of performance.

If you do nothing more than take these four very basic steps, you will improve the odds of successful projects. As usual with The Institute for Technology Asset Management deliverables, these common sense adjustments will cost you nothing to implement, yet they have the potential for enormous enterprise project management, software asset management, and IT asset management improvements.

For a simplified online self-paced session on SMART goals & objectives, visit www.TAMinstitute.org and look at InstituteTV under the Knowledge Center.