Top 10 reasons why a Project Fails

Reason #1 – Scope Creep

Scope is everything that you are going to do and conversely, not going to do. So once
you’ve figured out exactly what the project work is, usually via a Work Breakdown
Structure, you need to freeze it and zealously guard against unplanned changes to it. So
planned changes via a change control board are ok, since then the PM can issue a new
schedule, risk and budget plan as needed. Otherwise, you will surely miss your target
and make both the management and customer unhappy.
Reason #2 – Over allocated Resources
Often there are too few resources working on too many projects at the same time. In
conjunction with that, managers don’t seem to have a grip on what their resources are
doing all the time. Team members are left to figure out for themselves what projects
they should be working on and when. Better is for managers to meet weekly to discuss
resource usage perhaps using a spreadsheet to track.
Reason #3 – Poor Communications
Many people on a project will know the project manager only through his or her
communications. And they will know him by how his voice comes across over the
phone or especially by how well-written his emails are. If the project manager is not a
clear unambiguous communicator, chaos and confusion will ensue.
Reason #4 –Bad Stakeholder Management
Stakeholders have a vested interest in the project for the good or sometimes to the
detriment of the project. It is the project manager’s job not only to identify all
stakeholders, but know how to manage and communicate with them in a timely
fashion. A communication management plan helps here.

Reason #5 – Unreliable Estimates

Estimates are very often just guesstimates by team members who are trying to calculate
duration of tasks based on how long it took them last time. This may turn out to be
totally accurate or may be completely wrong. And if wrong, leads to a flawed schedule
and increased risk. Historical records kept between projects helps solve this.

Reason #6 – No Risk Management

Every project is unique and hence, has uncertainty. When we try to qualify and quantify
that uncertainty, we call it risk. It is incumbent upon the project manager to proactively
anticipate things that might go wrong. Once he has identified risks, then he and the
team can decide on how to respond to (e.g., mitigate, avoid) those specific risks should
they occur
Reason #7 – Unsupported Project Culture
I was once asked to consult for a company and discovered that a complex project was
being handled by an untrained secretary using 20 Excel spreadsheets. In this case,
management clearly did not fully understand what it took to manage a project either
in tools or using trained personnel. This is not easily solvable because it requires
education of management and a cultural shift.
Reason #8 – The Accidental Project Manager
This is similar to but not exactly the same as the unsupported project culture. In this
instance, what typically happens is that a technical person (software developer,
chemist, etc.) succeeds at the job. Based on that, gets promoted to project manager
and is asked to manage the types of projects they just came from. The problem is they
often don’t get training in project management and may well lack the social skills the
job calls for. And so they flounder and often fail despite previous successes.
Reason #9 – Lack of Team Planning Sessions
There is no more effective way to kick off a meeting than to have the entire team come
together for a planning session. This enables everyone to not only work together on
project artifacts (schedule, WBS) but also to bond as a team and buy into the project.
Reason #10 – Poor Monitoring and Controlling
Many project managers will create a schedule and never (or rarely) update it. Or if
they do, they’ll just fill in percent done, which is an arbitrary number often picked out
of the air by the team member. Better if they record actual such as date started, work
accomplished and estimate of remaining work.
 Solution to minimize Project failure Rate

 Solutions to these common issues are a combination of people,

processes and tools/Technologies. There is no 'magic button.'
Good processes should be implemented that are customized for
the business.
 If outside consultants need to be hired to help define these
processes, then they should be brought on board.
 Software solutions that support these processes need to be utilized
or invested in. Once invested in, the solutions need to be
supported by top management.
 Executive management must show leadership by spending the
time it takes to plan, set goals and strategies, prior to embarking on
projects.
 Project managers must be bold enough to contribute and give
feedback when executives' expectations are unrealistic.
 Team members must get on board once projects have begun and
task assignments have been communicated.
Project Management Framework 4
 PROJECTS / PROGRAMS AND PORTFOLIO
Projects :
Temporary ,Creates a unique product, service, or result
Temporary in nature.
Unique - Product , Services or Results.
Progressively Elaborated.

Program: A group of interrelated projects, managed in a coordinated Way

Collection of related Projects.
Controls are implemented and managed in a coordinated way.
Collective benefits are realized.
Projects share resources.
Each Projects has Project Manager.

Portfolio: A group of programs, individual projects, and related operational

work to achieve a specific strategic business goal.
 Collection of Program and Projects.
 Projects meets a specific Business goal or objectives.
 Ensures efficient use of Resource.

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Project management processes are grouped into five categories known as Project
Management Process Groups (or Process Groups):

• INITIATING PROCESS GROUP.

Those processes performed to define a new project or a new phase of an existing project
by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase.
• PLANNING PROCESS GROUP.
Those processes required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives,
and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the project was
undertaken to achieve.
• EXECUTING PROCESS GROUP.
Those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management
plan to satisfy the project specifications.
• MONITORING AND CONTROLLING PROCESS GROUP.
Those processes required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of
the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the
corresponding changes.
• CLOSING PROCESS GROUP.
Those processes performed to finalize all activities across all Process Groups to formally
close the project or phase

Project Management Process Groups 6

 INITIATING PROCESS GROUP

Establish Project Charter.

Assign a Project Manager

Formally authorize to start a new project or phase.

Identify stakeholder and stakeholder strategy.

Project Vision is created.

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 PLANNING PROCESS GROUP

Determine HOW part of all knowledge area

Create and Develop the Project Management Plan
Develop the Project Requirement in detail and agree the final scope
Develop Schedule.
Estimate Cost and arrive at authorized budget.
Agree what quality standard will be met by the project and how.
Define Project staffing plan
Establish the Communication requirement and how it will be fulfilled.
Identify what can go wrong (Risk) and plan to deal with them.
Document what product and services will be acquired from outside the project.
Gain formal buy-in from everybody involved in the project.

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 EXECUTING PROCESS GROUP

Execute as per project Plan.

Complete work package.
Implement approved change
Team building activities and boost moral and efficiency.
Perform Quality Audits.
Distribute Project Information
Manage Customer , team and other stakeholders.
Procure required project resources.

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 MONITORING AND CONTROL PROCESS GROUP

Measure Project Performance

Identify variances.
Create Dashboard and other Reports.
Handle Change Request.
Obtain formal acceptance of deliverables from Customers
Control Cost , Time Scope, Communication and Procurement.
Monitor the status of Risks and identify if new risk have emerged.
Monitor and manage stakeholder ( all new / modify approach)

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 CLOSING PROCESS GROUP

Close Procurements.
Obtain final sign off from the Customer.
Hand over the completed deliverables
Compile lesson learnt.
Measure Customer satisfaction.
Archive Project data and information for future references.
Release resources

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Project Scope Management includes the processes
required to ensure that the project includes all the work
required, and only the work required, to complete the
project successfully. Managing the project scope is
primarily concerned with defining and controlling what
is and what is not included in the project.

Scope Management
 Define Scope
”Define Scope is the process of developing a detailed description of the project and
product. The key benefit of this process is that it describes the project, service, or
result boundaries by defining which of the requirements collected will be included
in and excluded from the project scope.”

INPUT Tool & Techniques OUTPUT

1.Scope Management
Plan. 1.Expert Judgment
2.Project Charter. 2.Product Analysis 1.Project Scope Statement
3.Requirement 3.Alternative
Documentation Generation 2. Project Document
4.Organizational 4.Facilitated updates
Process Assets Workshop

Scope Management
What is a project scope statement?
What are the key items included in a project scope statement?

“A description of the project deliverables and the work required to create those
deliverables .”

key items included in a project scope statements are:

Product scope Description ,
Acceptance criteria
Deliverables ,
Project Exclusion,
Constraints,
Assumption.

What is the definition of product scope?

The requirements related to the product of the project

Scope Management
What is Decomposition?
Subdividing the major deliverables into smaller, more manageable components.

Decomposition of the total project work into work packages generally involves the
following activities:
• Identifying and analyzing the deliverables and related work;
• Structuring and organizing the WBS;
• Decomposing the upper WBS levels into lower-level detailed components;
• Developing and assigning identification codes to the WBS components; and
• Verifying that the degree of decomposition of the deliverables is appropriate.

A WBS structure may be created through various approaches. Some of the popular
methods include the top down approach, the use of organization-specific guidelines,
and the use of WBS templates.
A bottom-up approach can be used during the integration of subcomponents.

Scope Management
Scope Management
 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and

techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.

Project management is accomplished through the appropriate application and

integration of the 49 logically grouped project management processes, which are
categorized into five Process Groups. These five Process Groups are:
• Initiating,
• Planning,
• Executing,
• Monitoring and Controlling, and
• Closing.

Balancing the competing project constraints, which include

 Scope,
 Budget, Major Constraints
 Schedule,
 Quality,
 Resources, and
 Risks. Minor Constraints

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Project Management is the skills, tools and management
processes required to undertake a project successfully. It
incorporates:

A set of skills. Specialist knowledge, skills and experience are

required to reduce the level of risk within a project and thereby
enhance its likelihood of success.

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 PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
A project life cycle is the series of phases that a project passes through from its
initiation to its closure. The phases are generally sequential, and their names and
numbers are determined by the management and control needs of the organization
or organizations involved in the project, the nature of the project itself, and its area
of application.
Project life cycles can range along a continuum from predictive or plan-driven
approaches at one end to adaptive or change-driven approaches at the other.
In a predictive life cycle , the product and deliverables are defined at the beginning
of the project and any changes to scope are carefully managed. In an adaptive life
Cycle , the product is developed over multiple iterations and detailed scope is
defined for each iteration only as the iteration begins.
All projects can be mapped to the following generic life cycle structure
• Starting the project,
• Organizing and preparing,
• Carrying out the project work, and
• Closing the project.

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Project Management Framework 20
 Project Proposal
 A project proposal is a project management document that’s used to
define the objectives and requirements of a project. It helps
organizations and external project stakeholders agree on an initial
project planning framework.
 The main purpose of a project proposal is to get buy-in from
decision-makers. That’s why a project proposal outlines your
project’s core value proposition. It sells value to both internal and
external project stakeholders. The intent of the proposal is to grab
stakeholder and project sponsor attention. Once you have people’s
attention, the next step is getting them excited about the project
summary.
 It’s like an executive summary which provides a quick overview
of the main elements of your project , such as your project
background, project objectives, project scope, project
deliverables, among other things. The goal is to capture the
attention of your audience and get them excited about the
project you’re proposing.
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Project Background
The Project Background is a one-page section of your project
proposal that explains the problem that your project will solve. You
should explain when this issue started, its current state and how your
project will be the ideal solution.
Project Approach
Your project approach defines the project management
methodology, tools and governance for your project. In simple
terms, it allows project management to explain to stakeholders
how the project will be planned, executed and controlled
successfully.
Objectives: What are the intended outcomes of this project?
Project Scope: What are the steps or stages of the project? What
elements are included in this project? How will the objectives be
reached through this project?

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 Business Proposal vs Project Proposal
 A business proposal is a document that aims to attract a potential client
with what a company sells or does as a service. It explains product or
service features in consideration of what the client may need in its
business. So a business proposal explains how a company can provide a
solution to a specific customer’s problem. Companies can use a business
proposal template to standardize their documents.
 A project proposal, on the other hand, is a professional proposal
document that outlines what stakeholders, external or internal, should
know about a project. This includes, at the least, the timeline, budget,
objectives, and goals. It summarizes project details and sells an idea with
the aim of getting the approval of the stakeholders for the initiative.
 A business proposal usually comes first before a project proposal. The
business document introduces a provider company to a client company. If
the client believes that the selling company can provide solutions, it can
further request a project proposal to solve a particular business problem.

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 PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE ( PMO)

A department that centralizes and standardizes the management of projects .

OR
Centralized units to over see projects and program within the organizations
Establishes and maintain the standard of project management methodologies.
Support PM in planning , estimating , risk management and provide training .
Custodian of Organization Process Assets.

What are three possible formats for a PMO?

 Supportive
 Controlling
 Directive

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 Factors that leads to creation of a Project.

New Technologies :
Competitive Forces:
Material Issues :
Political Changes:
Market Demands
Economic Changes
Customer Request
Stakeholder Demand
Legal Requirement
Business Process Improvements
Strategic Opportunities or Business Needs
Social Needs .
Environmental Consideration.

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 The Importance of Project Management
 Meet Business Objective
 Satisfy stakeholders expectation
 Be more predictable and realistic.
 Increase chances of success.
 Deliver the right product at right time
 Resolve problem and issues well on time
 Reduced Customer escalations
 Response to Risk in timely manner
 Optimize the use of Organizational resource
 Identify, recover and terminate failing Projects.
 Manage the Critical path in professional way to save the
deadline
 Manage Constraints .
 Manage changes in better manner.
 Avoid gold plating and scope creep.
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 Impact of absence of Project Management

 Missed deadline
 Time and Cost Overrun
 Poor Quality
 Customer dissatisfaction/ Loss of Project
 High rework Cost
 Uncontrolled expansion of the Project window
 Lost of reputation of the organization
 Unsatisfied stakeholders
 Failure to achieve the Project Objective.

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