| Does your organization see every opportunity as a | | | | although this will involve more coordination. |
| "must-win" project, even when it's a poor fit for your | | | | 5. Are too few personnel and resources available for |
| in-house talents? If so, this is one of several | | | | the project? |
| viewpoints that can blind your company to potential | | | | Project managers routinely lose sleep at night over |
| problems ahead. In Part 1 of this series, we explored | | | | what would happen if key project members were to |
| how to recognize six common project traps. Now in | | | | leave. Or if the funding or resources were to get |
| Part 2, we'll review 10 major mistakes to avoid (or | | | | chopped or significantly delayed. It's one thing to |
| risks to flag) when choosing, estimating, and staffing | | | | have snafus occur later in the effort, but it's another |
| your projects. | | | | to start off unrealistically. So try not to |
| First, it's important to recognize that your | | | | underestimate your needs. |
| organizational culture sets the tone for how you | | | | 6. Will coordination with many different collaborators |
| approach projects. For example, does your company | | | | be needed? |
| always expect people to do more for less? Does the | | | | Involving many people means complex hand-offs. If |
| management routinely insist on or agree to | | | | your project will include client or third party |
| unworkable schedules? Are team members | | | | collaborators, how will people interact? Should all |
| encouraged to underestimate their realistic efforts? If | | | | parties remain in direct communication? Or should |
| so, these are signs that your organization may have | | | | each group have a single point of contact? Also think |
| a "must-win-at-all-costs" view of projects. You may | | | | about the division of work, and each group's |
| want to consider how idealistic but impractical | | | | responsibilities to the others. |
| expectations could set the stage for project failure. | | | | 7. Are the primary collaborators unfamiliar to the |
| In any case, if your business faces challenges with | | | | project team? |
| project budgets, schedule, quality, or features, try | | | | If it does become necessary to recruit one or more |
| asking these 10 questions the next time you're | | | | new contributors, will you be able to verify whether |
| considering a project: | | | | they can do the job? If the unfamiliar parties have |
| 1. Is the project non-compelling or a bad fit for the | | | | stretched the truth about their capabilities, you may |
| project team? | | | | be in for trouble. If there's a way to have them |
| A bad fit means that it doesn't fall within the general | | | | prove themselves first, that's ideal - or else have a |
| professional or technical arenas in which your | | | | contingency plan. |
| company has accomplishments or your colleagues | | | | 8. Are project team members discouraged from |
| have expertise. Note that if your projects normally | | | | raising concerns? |
| entail working with subject matter experts who | | | | Before and after the project starts, team members |
| would supply the information you need, this is not as | | | | will identify all kinds of challenges. Do you want |
| great of a concern. | | | | people to raise red flags when they see potential |
| 2. Will the project scope entail operating in unfamiliar | | | | problems, or do you prefer everyone to keep quiet, |
| territory? | | | | maintain a stiff upper lip, and work 24/7 if needed? |
| Even if it's a reasonable fit, if a project involves | | | | The team culture will determine whether the |
| requirements your team has never worked with | | | | members verbalize and address in a timely fashion |
| before, you could be overly optimistic in assuming | | | | the many pitfalls that can appear along the way. |
| everyone can come up to speed quickly enough to | | | | 9. Are there insufficient review and test cycles in the |
| be successful on the project. You may need to seek | | | | schedule? |
| outside expertise, although this can introduce its own | | | | Allocating enough time for review and testing |
| risks (see #6-7 below). | | | | iterations commonly presents a challenge. Regardless |
| 3. Are project requirements, such as product | | | | of your initial planning, if project delays begin to add |
| features, complex? | | | | up, what will people want to cut? Can you afford to |
| A project that requires many complicated features | | | | reduce testing and still deliver quality? |
| to interact correctly vastly increases the potential for | | | | 10. Are there no standard protocols for managing |
| problems. One risk strategy could involve agreeing to | | | | scope changes? |
| phase in and test the complexity over time. Another | | | | When the inevitable "add-on requests" materialize, |
| could be to negotiate a reduction in the number or | | | | consider how they'll affect the project. Unless you |
| difficulty of the features to be completed. | | | | have a tool, such as a project change request, to |
| 4. Are the requirements pitted against an aggressive | | | | adjust the official budget and time frame, you'll |
| schedule? | | | | always be at risk for cost and schedule overruns. |
| Time limits of some sort exist on almost every | | | | If you answered "yes" to one or more of these |
| project, and drive nearly every other project | | | | questions, it means that each is an area of risk that |
| expectation. Will there be enough time to implement | | | | you'll need to manage to ensure project success. |
| the requested features at the desired quality level? If | | | | Either create a workable plan for managing these |
| not, you may want to negotiate a longer schedule, | | | | risks, or consider whether pursuing the project is in |
| agree to reduce the requirements, or phase in some | | | | the best interests of your organization. |
| features later. You could bring in more people, | | | | |