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We have all seen statistics banded areound that are associated with the high rate of project failure. According to a study by Gartner, nearly 40% percent of IT projects fail or are abandoned before completion. There are many larger figures flying around on the same subject. But regardless of the figure - it is very high and a dark cloud over the project management industry.
Many project managers are afraid of being labelled as quitters or failures. It certainly takes more courage for a Project Manager to admit that a project is a failure than to accept it (with no choice) when they finally walk over the edge of the cliff.
To be honest, it is my view that continuing with a hopeless project is like flogging a dead horse and wasting large sums of money in the process. It is not good business sense.
According to a four-year survey of 672 senior IT and business managers conducted by the Center for Project Management in the USA, approximately only 20 percent of Project Managers have a process for identifying and cancelling failed projects. Do you have one?
It is natural for most project managers and project teams to have a task-oriented focus. Most project methodologies will anticipate project difficulties and suggest monitoring and controlling processes for the management of change, issues and problems.
But the resulting mindset for the project effort can often be so focused on getting the project back on track that it pays no attention to the fact that the project may very well be a dead horse that is still being flogged. It is wise to be open to the possibility that the project is a like a horse that will never run again. So stop flogging it!
It certainly takes courage to prematurely close a project because often you are likely to upset someone higher up the chain of command than yourself. Stopping a project is not for the faint of heart who are afraid to upset the boss, which is why you will often see an independent consultant who is external to company politics often step up to the mark and do the necessary.
There are many ailing projects that were the brainchild of a C-level executive still laying in dark corners of companies. They have often become useless, expensive and a drain on resources. No one has the courage to get the executive in question to face up to the fact that their project is not likely to succeed after all.
Many project managers are afraid of being labelled as quitters or failures. It certainly takes more courage for a Project Manager to admit that a project is a failure than to accept it (with no choice) when they finally walk over the edge of the cliff.
To be honest, it is my view that continuing with a hopeless project is like flogging a dead horse and wasting large sums of money in the process. It is not good business sense.
According to a four-year survey of 672 senior IT and business managers conducted by the Center for Project Management in the USA, approximately only 20 percent of Project Managers have a process for identifying and cancelling failed projects. Do you have one?
It is natural for most project managers and project teams to have a task-oriented focus. Most project methodologies will anticipate project difficulties and suggest monitoring and controlling processes for the management of change, issues and problems.
But the resulting mindset for the project effort can often be so focused on getting the project back on track that it pays no attention to the fact that the project may very well be a dead horse that is still being flogged. It is wise to be open to the possibility that the project is a like a horse that will never run again. So stop flogging it!
It certainly takes courage to prematurely close a project because often you are likely to upset someone higher up the chain of command than yourself. Stopping a project is not for the faint of heart who are afraid to upset the boss, which is why you will often see an independent consultant who is external to company politics often step up to the mark and do the necessary.
There are many ailing projects that were the brainchild of a C-level executive still laying in dark corners of companies. They have often become useless, expensive and a drain on resources. No one has the courage to get the executive in question to face up to the fact that their project is not likely to succeed after all.
About the Author:
Rob Llewellyn is a programme management consultant who has helped governments and leading organisations in Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Visit his blog to read more articles like the one above at www.llewellyn-group.com
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