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Don’t Be Snared by These 6 Common
Project Traps
by Adele Sommers
When your enterprise
decides to undertake a new endeavor —
whether it’s designing a new training program,
planning a new service, or revamping an existing product
— this endeavor is called a project. It
involves people, funding, resources, schedules, requirements,
testing, fine tuning, and deployment, plus a host of
other activities.
You
may have seen this phenomenon by now: projects are
risk magnets. Why is that?
 There
appear to be several factors involved. Managing project
risk is a process that seems to be poorly understood
by business owners and project managers. As a result,
projects frequently experience problems with understaffing,
schedule overruns, cost overruns, and unmet requirements.
This article (the first of a series) explains six
common traps that, when not fully recognized, can
lead to unpleasant surprises.
This
is what I’ve observed over many years as both a
project leader and participant:
1.
Each project is different in some way, shape, or form
from the last one.
If
all your projects were exactly the same, you could simply
use a cookie-cutter approach to crank ‘em out without
losing any sleep at night. Although projects may share
some similarities, a new project could very easily introduce
several new, unfamiliar elements that can completely
throw off your sense of balance — often without
your even realizing it until it’s too late.
2.
Projects are often constrained by finite conditions.
 Initially,
you might hear limitations such as, “We
only have $1,200 and three weeks to have you complete
all 18 training modules for this project.” (What?
You’re thinking that based on the requirements
you’ve heard so far, this project should take a
year and a half and cost three hundred grand!)
Speaking
of constraints, it’s not unusual for project
sponsors or clients to ask for:
1)
low cost and
2) fast completion
and
3) high quality and
4) many features in the final project deliverables.
Although
it’s understandable to want the greatest value
for the funding, unless the project is blessed with
an infinite schedule and a limitless budget, tradeoffs
become necessary. Usually it’s only possible to
achieve two or three out of four of these
goals on a typical project. The tradeoffs might constrain
the number of features, limit the quality, or both.
3.
People chronically underestimate their time and effort.
 Whether
it’s because of a perceived social stigma or a
cloudy crystal ball, people typically have a difficult
time deriving realistic project estimates. Given the
number of project unknowns, coming up with accurate
predictions can be tricky. (Smart project managers know
this and frequently add buffers derived from records
of actual past experience, commonly known as “fudge
factors,” to project bids.) To
complicate matters, people often feel pressured to further
“reduce the truth” — that is, to minimize
whatever their already low calculations tell them it
should take when they put together a bid.
Whenever
management pushes people to underestimate this way —
perhaps for fear of losing the project — the risks
can easily overwhelm and even destroy the project’s
success.
4.
Project requirements are typically fuzzy at the beginning.
Whether
you’re talking to a client, your boss, your colleagues,
or your clients to figure out what the project should
produce, whatever they say initially may sound as clear
as a bell in some areas but very sketchy in others.
Getting clarification on the fuzzy parts might entail
many conversations with many people, and much more time
than anybody ever imagined.
5.
Requirements invariably shift over time.
The
minute after you’ve cemented the requirements with
everyone’s agreement, “scope creep” begins.
This means that the project needs may expand, shrink,
or morph into something altogether different! These
situations arise because the very act of creating
something new can produce a result (or a series
of results) that may exceed or differ from what people
were capable of imagining at the start. And even when
the team guards against it, pressure to include “add-ons”
can stretch the scope beyond its limits.
6.
Nearly everything else about the project is dynamic!
 Aside
from the requirements changing, many other things can
stop, start, or fluctuate during the project. Experienced
people may leave and new people may come on board. Budgets
could get chopped. Schedules might get slashed or —
sometimes even worse — delayed. Resources may evaporate
or not materialize in the right forms. Politics can
sneak in and remove support, or require skipping critical
steps such as testing. The list goes on and on.
Studies
of failed projects have revealed how difficult it can
be to detect all of the red flags in advance. Unbridled
optimism can block everyone’s ability to see clearly.
Yet turning down an iffy project may be better than
letting egos rule.
What
to do? As we’ve seen, projects can involve
several highly dynamic variables. They often operate
under firm budgets and schedules. People tend to miscalculate
time, effort, and resources. Requirements frequently
expand, shrink, or change. And shifting circumstances
can pull the rug out from under everyone’s plans.
Add these together and many projects will cook up a
recipe for failure.
But
it doesn’t have to be that way. You and your team
can learn to avoid project pitfalls by paying
close attention to the cause-and-effect relationships
among these six important keys!
Copyright 2005 Adele Sommers
Want to publish this article in your newsletter
or Web site? Be sure to include: Adele Sommers,
Ph.D. is the creator of the award-winning “Straight
Talk on Boosting Business Performance” success
system at LearnShareProsper.com.
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Autumn
is absolutely my favorite time of the year! October
almost always offers a balmy, colorful respite from
the hot summers we experience in the inland areas
of the California Central Coast. Soon, the air will
be crisp and clear — and a wonderful stimulant
for starting new projects and hatching powerful, creative
ideas.
Boost
Your Product and Service Value!
