On Product Development and More...

I recently attended a webinar entitled, "Stop Playing Games! Overcoming Politics on Projects" facilitated by Rick Morris, author of Stop Playing Games! A Project Manager's Guide to Successfully Navigating Organizational Politics.

Rick asserts that "project fail because of context, not content" (a concept he learned from reading Radical Project Management, by Rob Thomsett).


Rick claims that the typical factors for measuring software success (meeting requirements, delivering on time, delivering on budget) are insufficient. That it ignores whether the project is delivering sustained and actual business value. He emphasizes the importance of "managing the message up" and "presenting management with realistic options".

Following the webinar, I decided to check out Thomsett's website and found an excellent article discussing the Causes, Patterns and Symptoms of Project Failure.

The article asserts that, for a project to be successful, it must achieve the following criteria:

• Satisfies stakeholder groups
  
• Meets requirements
  
• Meets quality expectations/requirements
  
• Within cost [paid, unpaid and business expert costs]
  
• Within deadline
  
• Delivers sustained and actual benefits
  
• Provides the team with professional satisfaction and learning
  

The article also discusses common causes for project failure and describes a degradation pattern that is observed on failed projects. It's a must-read for anyone who actively manages projects.

Certainly, nothing new here. However, it does re-emphasize the importance of having a project manager who understands business drivers and can not only effectively communicate with project team, stakeholder and sponsors, but also influence those same parties so as to avoid those symptoms of failure cited by Thomsett's research.