Finding the balance for Project Success
View(s):Projects transform organization’s vision in to reality. Broken down in to portfolio, programmes and projects, they work towards specific goals and ensure that the organization’s vision is realized. These are the project based organizations where all strategies are implemented as projects. Here there is no room for failure. Every project is important. One failing project can damage the image of the organization in no time.
The challenge is to keep winning. The challenge is to ensure all projects create the value they expect to create.
Ask the question, what are the common characteristics shared by successful projects? On time delivery, completing within the agreed budget, delivering the requirements within the expected quality, or repeat businesses can be some of the very common characteristics shared by many of these projects. But, will those factors themselves guarantee the success? How do we find the right set of ingredients and mix them to deliver successful projects that meet the customer expectations.
The Ingredients
Every project needs a project manager and the team committed to work hard and meet the project goals as promised to the client. Team is the most important ingredient for the success of any project. Even if the organization has the best tools, best technology or the solution, it’s the people of the organization that makes or breaks the project.
Communication plays a key role in project success. In projects, communication is about identifying stakeholder communication requirements, and answering the questions, who needs what information, when they need it and how we are going to give it to them. Communications in projects is linked with every interpersonal skill of project managers and the team, including leadership, influencing the organization, motivation, team work that makes up key set of ingredients for the project success.
Success ingredients for a project must contain the nine areas of project management, introduced by project Management Institute USA, www.pmi.org as the project management global standards. These areas are the scope, time, cost, quality, HR, communication, risk, procurement and integration where everything should be planned, monitored and controlled to achieve continuous project success. Still many organizations manage projects without a project management plan and other detailed plans leading to unnecessary failures in the project. It’s important that organizations moving towards more ‘agile’ – more flexible approach to project management also understand that project success depends on the key set of ingredients that can never be neglected.
Recipe for Success
Project Managers and the teams must continuously work on having the right mix of ingredients and balancing them to deliver project success. Some project managers spend too much time on managing time, some project managers are concerned with the cost and some spend too much time managing people. Success requires these ingredients to be mixed carefully with careful attention to all the areas of project management. Project Managers who are technically capable might not be capable of handling people leaving morale and motivation at a stake.
Look around to see how successful projects delivered the success. They all had these common characteristics. They all had project plans, a project manager and the team dedicated to work towards success. New dimensions of project management can shine over us, but there should be a balance. Bring this balance to your projects. Implement your organizational strategies successfully as projects, and ensure your projects create the value they expect to create.
- Dr. Madhu Fernando
| Ask the question, what are the common characteristics shared by successful projects? On time delivery, completing within the agreed budget, delivering the requirements within the expected quality, or repeat businesses can be some of the very common characteristics shared by many of these projects
Dr Madhu Fernando is the Managing Director/CEO of Innova Strategies, Project Management Institute USA Registered Global education provider. Dr Madhu can be contacted on madhu.fernando@innovastrategies.com |
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus