70% of projects fail, but we can do better
There must be Stakeholder buy-in
From my experience, the main reason projects fail is the lack of stakeholder buy-in. Lack of buy-in happens when there was no assessment conducted to define the problem, and as a result, no actual business case was created. If there is no assessment or business case, there are no defined business benefits to include success criteria tied to requirements.
If there are no defined benefits, there is no commitment of support through an itemized budget. If there is no itemized budget, there is no assurance that the best enterprise resources will be allocated to each effort. When a team does not have support from leadership, they ultimately cannot excel because they are not set up for success.
Four contributing factors to lack of Stakeholder buy-in
1. No Strategic Vision
Too much focus on technical detail without making business value a priority blocks stakeholder buy-in. Leadership needs to understand what the ROIs are for the business and that the ROI details should be laid out in a business case to explain the strategic initiative in vivid detail.
2. Ineffective Communication
Leaders must establish clear accountability based on measured results. This process includes interdependencies between projects, a benefits realization roadmap, and the criteria that will determine the degree of success achieved.
There should always be a detailed and complete communication plan with a schedule of expected meetings and frequency.
3. No Planning Methodology
Utilizing consistent project management processes helps manage otherwise ambiguous checkpoints. Leaders must establish benchmarks of productivity and gather quality historical data for analysis, such as schedules, costs, quality, and other project-related factors.
Implementing project management tools and technologies that include RAM (responsibility assignment matrix), WBS (work breakdown structure), Gantt charts, and other project tracking assets help establish a planning framework for a successful project.
4. Ineffective Teams
To build a team of trusted members, leadership must recruit, hire, and retain skilled professionals. It is easier to keep talent if the project is making progress, staying close to schedule, and perceived by stakeholders as meeting business needs. It’s also essential to ensure that the skilled professionals are working with the tools and technologies promised and are working in the project roles promised when recruited to the project.
