Business - Tips and Advice: Why projects fail and how to prevent it from happening
by aprilcheaw
FeedTheVillage.com - Tips and Advice: Why projects fail and how to prevent it from happening
People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan. Most projects fail when they do not meet the following criteria for success: -They are nor delivered on time -They are over budget -They do not do what they were supposed to do Only a few projects achieve all three. Many more are delivered which fail on one or more of these criteria, and a substantial number are canceled, having failed badly. So what are the key factors for success? Organizations and individuals have studied a number of projects that have both succeeded and failed and come common factors emerge. The sad fact is that most projects fail because we do not recognize that good business principles should be applied to projects the same way they are to running the business on a daily basis. Most project managers try to defend themselves by saying that project management is different when in reality nothing could be further from the truth. Projects are the building blocks that make up the overall structure of the business and when a project fails, part of the overall business structure fails too. The three keys to project success There do seem to be three factors that all successful projects have in common. Each of these factors is key to any project's success. Each project can be viewed as three-legged stool. All three legs must be in place for the stool to stand sturdily. In a systems project, these “legs” or critical success factors consist of the following: -Top management support for the success of the project. -A sound methodology for accomplishing the stated goals of the project. -Solid leadership by someone who has successfully completed a similar project. Without each of these solidly in place, the stool will topple and the project will fail.
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