Telecom & Technology Consulting
We live in a world where robots built for perfection make occasional mistakes. So do humans within IT departments. No matter how much they learn new technologies and become aligned with the C Suite, certain initiatives still fall short. The positive outlook, however, is that both CTOs and frontline IT personnel can use past failures to improve tomorrow’s projects.
It’s not as if technology leaders have been unaware of this problem. Not so long ago, they switched from waterfall methodology to iterative development, Agile, and countless sprints. While there has been some progress, too many initiatives continue to crash and burn. Sure, surveys indicate that approximately 80% of enterprise projects satisfy their anticipated business objectives. But that means around 20% fail. That’s unacceptable, by any standard of success.
Part of the failure rate is due to lack of project management expertise. This is especially true for small and midsize projects, which often don’t include truly experienced project managers. Instead, you might see a business analyst take on the PM role, but they’re simply not trained or qualified enough to do the job right.
Success improves when trained project managers lead the initiative. They’re better at scheduling, coordination, avoiding cost and scope creep, and most importantly, keeping all of the project’s parts working in unison.
Another issue is when the initiative isn’t connected to a business objective. Often, executives get too easily enamored with the shiny new thing – the latest technological trend. They look for ways to use the specific technology rather than first identifying a business goal and then seeking the best way to accomplish it. By arbitrarily deploying the trendy solution, chances of failure increase dramatically.
But whatever solution leaders deploy, they can’t succeed with the initiative without genuine business ownership. The business owner needs to be fully accountable in order to secure the necessary resources, as well as to oversee that process changes are adjusted correctly. The mistake, specifically for smaller firms, is having the CIO be the key point of accountability, as the business owner is ultimately responsible for operations.
Another way of thinking of it is having adequate business owner involvement in the entire project. They can’t only check in on the status of progress – they must pay daily attention to the rationale of decisions and how those choices sync with overall project objectives. If not, they may not be aware of indicators that the initiative is headed in the wrong strategic direction.
At the same time, it’s imperative to involve all key stakeholders, from planning to testing to launch. Projects fail when, for example, a certain division is unaware of the initiative. It’s a complete disaster: since the project’s scope didn’t include the requirements of a key business unit, the IT team either has to spend considerable time and money adjusting the deliverables, or worse, start from scratch.
It’s fundamental to ensure the project will have the necessary resources. Yet too often projects miss the mark when leaders underestimate the talent and tools required based on the project plan. To avoid this mistake, go back to another time-honored fundamental: Be patient, and spend as much time as needed for due diligence in order to assure that anticipated resources match project scope.
On that note, skilled Change Managers are a vital resource. While traditional Project Managers play a key role (as mentioned above), Change Managers understand how to inspire staff to embrace new processes and ways of working. Because of their experience, they can foresee potential obstacles that may hinder adoption of new systems and technologies. Perhaps most beneficial, they’re adept at illuminating not just why the change is favorable for the company, but how the shift will benefit workers in terms of efficiency and job satisfaction.
Mistakes will never entirely evaporate from the human experience; in fact, failed attempts are crucial for both learning and success. And the sooner we’re aware of how mistakes arise, the quicker we’ll achieve our goals.
