Reasons for project failure – Gotthard tunnel versus new Berlin airport
Whether in mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, IT software development or public sector construction projects, project managers everywhere are struggling to achieve successful results. education.telefony-taksi.ru management also permeates our private lives. Building your own home, organizing a birthday anniversary or planning a vacation trip to Scandinavia. They all possess the traits that characterize a project. A project is limited in time and always has a beginning and an end. It is unique, innovative, complex and due to its difficulty usually requires a special project management.
If there are such features for a project definition, then there are also universal reasons that determine the success or failure of a project? Yes, there is! Successful project managers know how to make projects fail, that is, they know the reasons to make projects fail. From this knowledge they derive their courses of action to be successful. This article avoids the gloomy description of failure, too many negative aspects block the forward thinking, proactive and self-confident project manager in his daily business. This article goes one step further. He describes three maxims for successful project work.
Switzerland or Germany – where do the better project managers work??
On 01. June 2016, project managers in Switzerland opened the new Gotthard Tunnel after 17 years of planning and implementation. At 57 kilometers, it is the longest rail tunnel in the world. Although the total cost of the construction project is 12.4 billion francs, the largest investment project in the history of Switzerland met all targets. The project managers overachieved their schedule, opening the line a year ahead of schedule. education.telefony-taksi.ru managers in Germany can only marvel at this. The most prominent example of failed project work is Berlin's major airport. Originally, the planners estimated a cost volume of around one billion euros. As early as June 2015, they approached six times that amount. Originally, the first planes were to take off for the public in October 2011. The opening has already been postponed four times due to construction and planning errors, especially in the fire protection system. There is no end to the debacle. For the time being, flying will probably not happen. Experts also consider a start-up in summer 2018 to be highly unlikely.
Another German lighthouse project with an unclear outcome is Stuttgart 21. The project aims to transform the above-ground terminus station in Stuttgart into an underground through station. The controversial rail project is already exceeding cost and schedule targets. It is expected to cost 500 million euros more and be finished later. German project art is a tragedy. If one were to look for reasons for failure, it is as if one needs someone to blame for disappointing results. This backward-looking approach is common in Germany but does not lead to the desired results. The professional project manager seeks answers to the questions: How can I make my project work successful?? How to achieve my goals? Who can help me and what will support me?? As early as 2008, the German Association for education.telefony-taksi.ru Management examined factors that determine the success or non-success of a project. The study concludes that there are three essential factors that guarantee the success of a project: the position of the project manager, clear goals and communication.
Clear position of the project manager
The company's structures limit the project manager's radius of action. In a strong corporate matrix, the project manager acts very effectively. In addition to the managers of the traditional departmental and divisional structures, he makes the main decisions himself in his project. In a weak matrix, it is difficult for the project manager to work independently. He has less influence on the project process, his decision-making scope is limited. education.telefony-taksi.ru managers are not responsible for the project work in all companies. "Organizing that little bit. I can do that myself", it sounds from one or the other executive floor. In many companies, it is common for division managers, department heads or group leaders to manage projects. The professional and expert, the project manager, does not get his way. In the worst case, the project manager mutates into a pure administrator who slavishly implements the bosses' instructions.
Basically, the position of a project manager depends on his or her personality and professional qualifications. If the client assigns the project to an incompetent project manager, for example, because he or she is not trusted with a line task with personnel responsibility, but was promised a promotion, failure is inevitable. The likelihood of successful project work increases when the project manager is motivated and socially intelligent in pursuing his or her project goals because he or she has the mandate to make decisions independently. The probability increases further if he is a doer type and feels fun to realize new things.
Clear goals for project management
Even the longest journey begins with the first step. Before you start with the project work, define the framework conditions. Be clear about what you are aiming for and what deliverables need to be provided. The more concretely you know what you want to achieve, the more planned you can proceed. Set intermediate goals and benefit from their positive effects. Because interim goals give structure to your work and ensure that you maintain an overview in difficult situations. The project manager is well advised to define the project goal SMART. The letters stand for: specific, measurable, executable, realistic and scheduled. Avoid formulating goals unclearly or vaguely. Avoid keeping an escape door open for yourself. Because then power and energy get lost in different directions. Agree on goals with the project owner in writing and document them in such a way that every team member can find them again later. Ideally, use a tool that supports you in your work. This will save you time that you desperately need for communication and stakeholder management. Remember to review the defined target points from time to time. If there are new insights, adjust them. Then it's almost like playing a game of darts. If the player has adjusted the arrow well, it will find its way to the red center of the target all by itself.
Open and active communication
American actor Bret Morrison said, "Of all the skills available to us, communication is probably the most powerful." When people work together, they communicate with each other, but this does not always go smoothly. This is why misunderstandings, misbehavior and disputes are part of a project manager's challenges. Let's assume the project is about to enter an important phase. Management must decide which project to continue to support with resources. The project manager must act quickly and purposefully if they do not want to be cut off from the money stream. All project members have to pull in the same direction to quickly find answers to questions from the company management. For this purpose, the project manager prepares tables, graphics and information to provide arguments why the project must not be stopped. Ideally, he uses historical data archived in a project management tool for this purpose. Using this software, the project manager forecasts future budget needs. At the latest during the forecast evaluation, it becomes clear whether he, his team and the stakeholders are pursuing common goals. Only then will they act in the same direction. Therefore, the project manager is well advised to communicate constantly in all directions. Only if he knows the interests of those affected and involved can he respond to them.
Tip: Maintain an open and proactive communication style in your project. Especially in hectic project business, let information flow, don't keep it to yourself. Do not neglect interpersonal relationships. Do not allow team members to get caught up in career struggles. Avoid meetings with profiling neurotics who torpedo any agreement, any resolution. Ensure transparency and communicate at regular intervals to all those affected and involved where your project is in terms of content. With your open communication, you signal appreciative behavior towards project staff and stakeholders. You will benefit from this in critical situations.
How we support your project work
Our project management tool TimO is a system for project-related work in the company. It simplifies the management of your projects by helping you with project control, project time tracking and project accounting. The system is easy to use. This means an enormous reduction in workload for you. Save valuable time for the really important things: open communication with team members, clients and stakeholders. Use the project management software to plan tasks, work packages and milestones. You and your team can keep track of the tasks at hand at all times. Gantt chart helps you track important deadlines on the timeline. It helps you deliver your deliverables on time. education.telefony-taksi.ru team members at different locations feed the web-based system with up-to-date data, no matter where they are located. Thus, all employees who have been approved for the system can access the same data, regardless of their location. And best of all: you can adapt the project management tool to your needs.