Friday, April 23, 2010

Why do projects succeed?

We've all seen "top ten" lists and read "why projects fail" rants. Here, we've discussed project failure as well as on Twitter #pmot, and LinkedIn. It may be (creating another "top ten") the number one item of discussion among project professionals. If not, it's certainly near the top.

Projects fail for every reason... all reasons. At some level there may be value in knowing what all those reasons are but--let's face it--when the list is written, it is everything.

Question is: When we have the list in front of us, what do we do with it? How valuable is that data? How do we know which particular item on the failure list is applicable to any given project... and especially the project we're starting now?

A lot of effort and analysis can go into crafting answers to that question. The answers are largely project specific. The answers are treated like any other project risk. If we're good at risk management, that effort might be useful. If we're bad at it, the effort is wasted.

The biggest obstacle (e.g. risk, failure point) we will face in a project is the one we did not anticipate. If we're good at handling unanticipated obstacles, we may go on to succeed. If not, we won't. The list won't help if the biggest threat is something not on the list.

So... Why do projects succeed?

That may be the more important question. The answer may lie in how well we handle unanticipated events.
Posted by: William W. (Woody) Williams

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