5 steps to ensure project success
According to KPMG survey of Project Management practices (New Zealand), “70% of all the organizations have suffered at least one project failure in the prior 12 months!”
According to a study published in The Guardian Newspaper (UK) on the topic Investigation into Government waste in the UK since year 2000, it was reported that “$4 billion was spent by the government in wasted efforts as a result of failed projects.”
These statistics reflect that project failure is a common thing in corporate companies from all across the globe. And, this is the reason that the role of a project manager becomes even more important. After all, it is the responsibility of the project manager to ensure that every project not only starts with a bang, but also meets the required deadlines and ends up in success.
So, what’s the trick to ensure that every project is a success? Well, there ain’t just one thing that you need to do when it comes to achieving success with every project. Here is the complete list of things that you need to do for the same -
1. Inspire and be inspired
Inspiration is the bug that you need every one of your team members to be bitten with. A great team leader is the one who can marshal the troops and inspire them to come out in flying colors every single time. If you want your team to achieve more than they did before, then inspire them to try things harder than they ever did before. I’d be suggesting talk to them personally, discuss the things that are bothering them and suggest what better could be done; be the friend they need when stuck in crisis.
2. Define it, want it, believe it
Starting a project without having clearly defined goals is like going to a war without having the right ammunition. Failure, as a result, is quite evident in such cases. A well-defined plan embarks the beginning of a project where people have clearly defined goals, and therefore can put in their best efforts to achieve the desirable results. Get the entire team together before the beginning of a new project to discuss what’s expected from the project, what could be done to make it successful, create a road map for each step and share their accountability for assigned tasks.
3. Get the right pieces at the right place to solve the puzzle
Completing a project successfully is like completing a big puzzle. You cannot achieve success unless you have all the pieces at their right places. As the project manager, it is your responsibility to bring the right set of wheels together to get the cart moving. Assign tasks to team-members based on their areas of expertise to get maximum output from the resources and desired outcome from each task. After all, you cannot expect a coder to do the designing work and a writer to do the coding part.
4. Communicate, communicate, and then communicate some more
According to the findings of a recent study carried out by the Project Management Institute, “Organizations risk $135 million for every $1 billion spent on a project. And, $75 million of that $135 million (56 percent) is put at risk by ineffective communications.” Clearly, the corporate world is in dire need of solutions to bring effective communication to the game. Project management software and online collaboration tools can play a big role to eliminate the differences in expectations, any last minute surprise or poor knowledge of status of tasks. Think about employing one for your team.
5. How do you gauge success?
Achieving success in a project is one thing, but the big question is how do you measure success? Is it the monetary benefits that you attained as a result of it? Or is there any personal learning curve? This is where as a project manager, it becomes your responsibility to clearly define what success in a project means to the organization, as well as your team. This will help you to not only take consistent action in the direction of your goals, but at the same time help you multiply the results as well. Set parameters to measure success at the beginning and analyze whether they were achieved at the end or not. If not, what went wrong and why; so that you don’t repeat the same mistakes again.
Think over these pointers and I’m sure you will have a better idea about the problems that lead to failure in your projects, and how can you work for changing the scenario.
Do you have any other trick up your sleeve? Share in the comments section below.
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