This is a question, which I have rarely seen properly answered in any PRINCE II manual.
As with many things in life, the theory and the practical application of a concept are often two distinct sides of the same coin, which can lead to some serious difficulties. Over the years, I have audited many projects /programmes of work and most, if not all, of those which were subsequently discovered to be failures were characterised by poor /non-existent risk & issue management.
More often than not the project /programme managers responsible for these process failures, when challenged, refuse to accept that they had been running a project /programme of work with little, if any, risk and issue management present.
Read more...
Project Sponsors ask yourself this question – ‘would you rather identify that a project cannot be delivered within the timescales you would like before you have spent £thousands of your budget, or after you have spent all your organisation’s cash and just a month before expected delivery? Bit of a no-brainer eh?
Then why oh why do we in IT repeatedly find ourselves having to work towards what we know is an unachievable deadline and certain project failure?
Read more...
When troubleshooting sick IT projects /programmes and departments, I have always tried to introduce into client organisations measures that help foster the development of cultures, values, and associated processes conducive to making successful project delivery a repeatable proposition. It is without doubt the most challenging and difficult aspects of any troubleshoot.
I have become more and more convinced over the years that the following values and behaviours are crucial components of successful project /programme management :-
Read more...
With annual IT Project Failure Rates running at 70% + it is clear that improvements in the professionalism of IT project staff and management should be a part of the solution.
In my post Can Government Policy Reduce IT Project Failure Rates Part 2, I described how the government could assist in making this disgraceful state of affairs a thing of the past. One of these was to make it a legal requirement for certain key IT Professionals to have Chartered Qualifications before being allowed to work on IT Projects /Programmes of work above a certain budgetary value.
Read more...
When I think about this subject, the first thing which comes to mind is a saying coined by my partner:-
“If the sex in a relationship is good then it feels like 30% of what is needed to make a good relationship”
“If the sex in a relationship is bad then it feels like 70% of what is needed to make a relationship good”
It might seem strange mixing up sex with Project Management philosophy 
but it is clear to me that if you have happy motivated & skilful staff it feels like they are only 30% of what is needed to make an IT project successful. If your staff are poorly motivated and unhappy then it feels that they are 70% of what needs to be corrected to make an IT project successful.
Read more...
