software projects failure 1

Nightmare on Project XRestoring Projects in Crisis

Deb Jacobs

Project Engineering TechnologiesProject Engineering Technologies“helping companies help themselves”

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Project Engineering Technologies“helping companies help themselves”

Nightmare Projects

Hello Muddah, hello Faddah,Here I am at camp Grenada.Camp is very entertaining,

And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.

I went hiking with Joe Spivey,He developed poison ivy.

You remember Leonard Skinner,He got Ptomaine poisoning last night after dinner.

All the counselors hate the waiters,And the lake has alligators.

And the head coach wants no sissies,So he reads to us from something called Ulysses.

Now I don't want this should scare ya',

But my bunkmate has Malaria.You remember Jeffery Hardy,

They're about to organize a searching party.

A LETTER FROM CAMPWritten by: Allan Sherman and Lou Busch - © 1963

Popularized by: Allan Sherman

Take me home, oh Muddah, Faddah,Take me home, I hate Grenada.

Don't leave me out in the forest where,I might get eaten by a bear.

Take me home,I promise I will not make noise,

or mess the house with other boys,Oh please don't make me stay,I've been here one whole day.

Dearest Faddah, Darling Muddah,How's my precious little bruddah?Let me come home if you miss me,

I would even let Aunt Bertha hug and kiss me!

Wait a minute, it's stopped hailing,Guys are swimming, Guys are sailing!

Playing baseball, gee that's bettah,Muddah, Faddah kindly disregard this letter!!!

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Nightmare Projects?

Out of Control Project Project in Crisis Project Roadkill Disaster Project Project from Hell Death March Challenged Project

IT Fiasco Runaway Systems Project Troubled Project Chaotic Project Crunch Project Mission Impossible Project

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Agenda

Why Projects Fail?

Top Ten Signs Your Project is in Crisis

The Road to Project Restoration

Process Models

Project Management

Beyond the Nightmare

Timeline

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Timeline

1975

Fred Brooks, The Mythical Man-Month, written about the IBMs OS/360 software project

1960’s

IBMs OS/360 software project

Capers Jones, Programming Productivity -- Issues for the Eighties

1981 1984

Software Engineering Institute (SEI) established by Congress to address software engineering unpredictability and high failure rate

1989

Watts Humphrey, Managing the Software Process

1997

Ed Yourdon, Death March

1995

Initial Standish Group CHAOS Report, Research Paper Regarding Software Project failures

1998

Updated Standish Group CHAOS Report

1997

KPMG Survey of Unsuccessful InformationTechnology Projects

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING SOFTWARE PROJECT FAILURE AWARENESS TIMELINESOFTWARE ENGINEERING SOFTWARE PROJECT FAILURE AWARENESS TIMELINE

1991

Initial Software Capability Maturity Model published

Before 1935, the word computer meant a person who calculated in surveying or other related fields.

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Timeline:The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks

Written 30 years ago about SW project management – based on IBMs OS/360 SW project accomplished in the 1960’s

“… software managers often lack the courteous stubbornness of Antoine's chef.” – “Good cooking takes time. If you are made to wait, it is to serve you

better, and to please you.” Menu of Restaurant Antoine, New Orleans “Schedule progress is poorly monitored. Techniques proven and

routine in other engineering disciplines are considered radical innovations in software engineering.”

“… the man-month as a unit for measuring the size of a job is a dangerous and deceptive myth. It implies that men and months are interchangeable.”

Today, we still make the same mistakes

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Timeline:Programming Productivity--Issues for the Eighties by Capers Jones

40 articles from the 1970's through 1986 era on software productivity and quality

“If you can prevent defects or detect and remove them early, you can realize a significant schedule benefit. Studies have found that reworking defective requirements, design, and code typically consumes 40 to 50 percent of the total cost of software development. “

"If you don’t have time to do the job right, where will you find the time to do it over?"

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Timeline:Birth of the Capability Maturity Model

Software Engineering Institute was established by the federal government at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA– Software engineering community lacked a shared view of the

state of practice

– Agreement about what constitutes good practice

– Development activity and resulting products were unpredictable

– Success or failure was totally dependent on the staff assigned

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Timeline:Birth of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM)

Managing the Software Process written by Watts Humphrey – Introduced and discussed formalizing the maturity

framework which is the CMM we use today Watts Humphrey founded the Software Process

Program at the SEI

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Timeline:Capability Maturity Model

Capability Maturity Model (CMM): software process framework

CMM based on:– knowledge acquired from software process assessments

– extensive feedback from industry and government

Objective: help organizations achieve sufficient maturity to manage

technology introduction

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Timeline:Initial CHAOS Report Forward in CHAOS Report:

“The Roman bridges of antiquity were very inefficient structures. By modern standards, they used too much stone, and as a result, far too much labor to build. Over the years we have learned to build bridges more efficiently, using few materials and less labor to perform the same task.” Tom Clancy (The Sum of All Fears)

– CHAOS research inspired by bridge building approach where bridge builders learned from the myriad of mistakes,

software developers tend to “cover-up, ignore, and/or rationalize” their failures

– Moral: Learn from our mistakes

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“The project was two years late in development. We had thirty people on the project. We delivered an application the user didn’t need. They had stopped selling the product over a year ago.”

Timeline:Initial CHAOS Report

1995 CHAOS Report Results: U.S. spends $250,000/yr on IT development on

approximately 175,000 projects 31.1% of projects canceled prior to completion 52.7%cost 189% of estimate Cost of failures and lost opportunities cost trillions of

dollars each year Only 16.2% of projects completed on-time & on-budget

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SMALL VS LARGE COMPANIES SUCCESS RATES

Statistic

SmallCompany

%

LargeCompany

%

On-time and on-budget/Successful 28% 9%

Original features and functions 42% 74.2%

Projects challenged 50.4% 61.5%

Projects impaired and subsequently cancelled 21.6% 29.5%

Timeline:Initial CHAOS Report

1995 CHAOS Report Results:

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"The dismal track record of software projects is familiar to most IT managers, and even most senior corporate managers..."

- Ed Yourdon

Timeline:Death March: The Complete Software Developer's Guide to Surviving "Mission Impossible" Projects by Ed Yourdon

Ed Yourdon widely known as lead developer of structured analysis/design methods and co-developer of OO analysis/design methods

Death March Abstract: “How to survive a programming project

that seems doomed to failure, and how to tell when to bail out.”

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Timeline:KPMG Survey

Failure Project Statistics: 87% of failed projects exceeded schedule > 30% 56% of failed projects exceed budget > 30% 45% of failed projects failed to produce expected

benefits

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Timeline:1998 CHAOS Report

Study of 7500 IT projects by the Standish Group– 72% of IT projects come in late, over budget,

or not at all 28% of IT projects are cancelled or never

implemented out of the rest 46% are behind schedule, over

budget, or both

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Why Projects Fail?

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Why Projects Fail Standish Group Top Reasons for Project Failures

Incomplete requirements & specifications Lack of user input Lack of resources Unrealistic expectations Lack of executive support Changing requirements and specifications Lack of planning Lack of IT management Technology illiteracy

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Why Projects Fail

InformationWeek surveyed IT managers– Top 3 Reasons for Project Failure

Poor Planning or Poor Project Management (77%) Change in Business Goals During Project (75%) Lack of Business Management Support (73%)

“The plan is nothing; the planning is everything.”Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Why Projects Fail

KPMG Study (Canadian-based International service provider)– 3 Most Common Reasons for Project Failures

Poor Project Planning Weak Business Cause Lack of Top Management Involvement and Support

“What sometimes appears to be the end is really a new beginning”

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Why Projects Fail Management’s Seven Deadly Sins Why Projects

Fail - Gopal Kapur, president of the Center for Project Management (CPM):

1. Mistaking half-baked ideas for viable projects

2. Dictating unrealistic project schedules

3. Assigning under-skilled project mangers to high-complexity projects

4. Not ensuring solid business sponsorship

5. Failing to break projects into manageable “chunks”

6. Failing to institute a robust project process architecture

7. Not establishing a comprehensive project portfolio to track progress of ongoing projects

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Top Ten Signs Your Project is in Crisis

1. Lack of Communication

2. Inadequate Project Planning and Management of Plan

3. Unstable Requirements

4. Lack of Training/Mentoring for Managers/Leads

5. Unachievable/Unrealistic Schedules

6. High Turnover in Project Staff

7. Inadequate Use of Outside Resources

8. Inadequate Work Environment

9. Workforce Tied to Old Technology

10. Lack of Long-term Commitments

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1. Lack of Communication Communication is key to ensure that all stakeholders

understand what is expected Project Manager (PM) used as crucial interface to all

aspects of a successful project including:– End Users/Client/Customer– Project Staff– Executive Management

Project Manager (PM) must be

empowered and possess skills to

communicate needs and decisions

“That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.”

End User

ProjectStaff Executive

Mgt

PM

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“People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan!”Anonymous

2. Inadequate Project Planning and Management of Plan Lack of Planning or Inadequate Planning is the

most quoted cause for Project Failure Management of the Plan is key - planning is an

iterative process– When plan is OBE, it must be updated

Defining processes is crucial to success Risk Planning with contingency plans

look for what could go wrong and figure out ways to alleviate or reduce the impact if they do go wrong

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3. Unstable Requirements Poorly understood and uncontrolled

“requirements creep” are a leading cause of failure

Many tools are available for managing requirements both manually and automated– Recommend that every project use one regardless

of size Basic Requirements Mgt tasks include:

– gathering, analyzing, documenting and managing

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When Odysseus made his epic journey across the world, he left one of his best friends, Mentor, in charge of the education of his son, Telemachus. Through writings such as Odyssey by Homer, the word Mentor has come to mean an advisor.

4. Lack of Training/ Mentoring for Managers Taking a great technical person and putting

them in charge can cause some of the worst problems on projects

Recommend that each new software manager be given training, mentoring, or both in Project Management– Best proven method is combination of training

and mentoring

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Deadline: a line or limit that must not be passedoriginal meaning - a line drawn around a military prison, beyond which prisoners were summarily shot.

5. Unachievable/ Unrealistic Schedules Schedules are essential tools for each Project

Stakeholder (a primary tool for PM) Project’s Critical Path and dependencies must

be understood and tracked diligently Defined critical path - tell you how far you are actually

behind schedule - more than 25% lag is a good signal of insurmountable problems

Chunking or breaking large tasks into smaller more manageable tasks

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Brooks' Law: Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.

Fred Brooks, The Mythical Man-Month

6. High Turnover in Project Staff High staff turnover indicative of low moral

leading to project failure Build a team that works well together Build confidence and motivation in the team

and keep them focused– Myriad of methods for attaining that objective

New staff subtract productivity from existing staff hence keep current staff employed

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“I want to build sand castles and leave. I don’t want to be there when it needs to be painted. I want to hand it over and go on to the next one.”

Sherry Higgins , Top Gun at Lucent Technologies

7. Inadequate Use of Outside Resources

“Running leaner than ever, most organizations lack the technical, strategic and project management skills to handle the benumbing rate of technological and market change.” CIO Magazine Oct 15 1998

Outsourcing can:– provide technical and management expertise without the risk and

expense of a direct hire

– augment staff

Select resources that provide a transfer of knowledge to existing staff; don’t become too reliant upon one resource

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8. Inadequate Work Environment Lack of adequate equipment can be detrimental

to a project– Dissatisfied staff results in lower productivity– Inability to accomplish tasks

Provide thinking-oriented office space Each organization must determine most optimal work

environment based on their unique needs "Peopleware" by Tom DeMarco & Tim Lister: cubicles

hurt your productivity because it’s harder for people to get enough peace and quiet so they can concentrate

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“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark;the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” Plato

9. Workforce Tied to Old Technology “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried

anything new.” -- Albert Einstein The New Generation Gap no longer tied to age

– If staff is too tied to the old, they will never see the benefits of progressing

Emerging technology is the basis for developing progressive systems - the cornerstone for today’s advancements

Managers must walk a fine line between adoption of new technology and the risk involved

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10. Lack of Long-term Commitments Top Management

– Must be actively involved by providing periodic review with the Project Manager

– Lack of Top Management Commitment: lack of adequate resources ($, people, equip,…) lack of visibility for staff

Program Staff– High staff turnover– Low morale

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The Road to Project Restoration

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The Road to Project Restoration: Standish Group Standish Group Top Reasons for Project Success

– Most successful projects: > six month timeframe > six people > $750,000 cost

– User involvement– Executive Support– Experienced Project Management– Clear Business Objectives– Good Communications

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“...there are myriad ways to fail when building large software systems. There are only a very few ways to succeed. All of the paths that lead to successful software have these twelve essential attributes…” Software Quality -- Analysis and Guidelines for Success, Capers Jones

Capers Jones 12 Essential Attributes For Successful Software:

Software project management has been one of the most demanding jobs of the twentieth century. In the twenty-first century, there are indications that the difficulties of project management will grow even more taxing.

1. effective project planning2. effective project cost estimating3. effective project measurements4. effective project milestone tracking5. effective project quality control6. effective project change management

7. effective development processes 8. effective communications 9. capable project managers10. capable technical personnel11. significant use of specialists12. substantial volumes of reusable material

The Road to Project Restoration:Capers Jones’ Essential Attributes

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The Road to Project Restoration:Steve McConnell’s Ten Essentials Software’s Ten Essentials (he compared software to

hikers & developed this list):1. Product Specification - software project’s compass

2. Detailed User Interface Prototype - captures look and feel of product

3. Realistic Schedule - essential planning foundation

4. Explicit Priorities - essential features

5. Active Risk Management - prepare for and actively attack risks

6. Quality Assurance Plan - helps in correcting defects early

7. Detailed Activity Lists - schedule for comparing planned vs actuals

8. Software Configuration Management - manages code include backups

9. Software Architecture - promotes consistent design & implementation

10. Integration Plan - alleviates much of the integration nightmare

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Beyond The Nightmare:Road to Restoration

1. Build a Task Force

2. Analyze the Issues

3. Determine the Problem

4. Fix the Problem

5. Monitor Project

6. Start Over, if needed

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Road to Restoration:Build A Task Force Task Force = team of people charged with

determining and correcting problems– Keep task force small

Size can be one or more persons, dependent on: – scope of project and problems

– expertise and experience of team member(s)

– Selecting right members critical to success Wrong team members can cause more problems on

the project

– give authority to make changes needed“Too few people on a project can't solve the problems - too many create more problems than they solve.” Project Management Proverb

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“How does a project get to be a year late?... One day at a time.” Fred Brooks

Road to Restoration: Determining What Went Wrong? Each organization is unique; however, study

after study found that each organization’s failure projects follow a similar path

Search for the “real” problems/issues – Go below the surface

Examine the mistakes– Don’t finger point!!!

Apply Lessons Learned

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“THE PROBLEM with doing nothing is not knowing when you’re finished. “ Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Road to Restoration: What Can you Do To Fix It?

Decrease/Limit Scope of Project Use Modular, Build, Iterative, or Chunking Approach Revise Your Plan, Don’t Just Throw It Out Understand your Requirements Improve Training Get Buy-in From Staff, Users, and Executive Managers Capture/Deploy your Project’s Processes

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Project success is inversely proportional to size (The Standish Group CHAOS 1998)– > $750,000 = 55% success rate

– $1M - $2M = 18% success rate

– $5M - $10M = 7% success rate

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

> $750,000 $1M-$2M $5M-$10M

Project Success Based on Project Size

Decrease/Limit Scope of Project

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Break the project into small workable chunks Replanning a project can have a significant positive

impact Instituting an incremental build methodology has

proven to bring projects in line– allows for building a strong infrastructure then adding functionality

incrementally to ensure that it all works well together

Use Modular, Build, Iterative, or Chunking Approach

"If there is a better solution...Find it." -Thomas Edison

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Planning is an iterative process Schedules must be periodically updated to reflect the

current state of the project Team-involved plan - Project team must own plan Always have a contingency plan for potential risks NEVER abandon the plan when the pressure is turned

up, that’s when you need it most to keep track – Don’t let your project fall into the code-and-fix mode

“IT IS BETTER to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.” JACKIE JOYNER-KERSEE, Olympic track and field champion

Revise your plan, don’t just throw it out

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Fully understand each requirement Ensure that project staff and users agree on their

understanding of each requirement Control “requirements creep”

– Manage changes to requirements

– Obtain management approval for any added requirements

Start by documenting the requirements

Understand your Requirements

I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

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“We’re known for our on-the-job training.”

“Only an idiot would needs training.” WRONG WRONG WRONG There’s always room for more training. Train your engineers, train your managers, train

your users!!!

Improve training

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All project stakeholders must:

Walk the Talk At critical phases, you need everyone pulling

together from the same sheet of music Project Manager is key to playing the interface in

making this happen

“None of us are as strong as all of us.”

Get buy-in from staff, users, and executive managers

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“WHEN PEOPLE are highly motivated, it's easy to accomplish the impossible. And when they're not, it's impossible to accomplish the easy.” BOB COLLINGS


There are NO silver bullets– no lose weight without exercise or magic diet formulas

Changing project’s/organization’s culture is key Allow engineers to engineer and manager’s to

manage by giving them the tools they need Start with what you do already and make it better

Capture/Deploy your Project’s Processes

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Process Models Several Process Models Available:

– SW-CMM Software Capability Maturity Model - developed by the Software

Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University

– ISO Series of international standards used to ensure or at least enhance the

quality of all products from manufacturing of products to development of products

– SPICE

– SIX SIGMA

– etc.

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“Make a decision! Make a decision! People are dying all around you!”Christopher P. Higgins (based on his Army experience),

Bank of America National Manager Currency Services

Project Management Research shows that Project Management

is the Key to Successful Projects– Proactive Project Management Approach

Project Planning Risk Management Project Tracking and Measurement Requirements Management Communications

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Colin Powell's Rules of Leadership1. It ain't as bad as you think it is. It will look better in the morning. 2. Get mad, then get over it. 3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that, when your position falls, your ego goes with it. 4. It can be done! 5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it. 6. Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision. 7. You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours. 8. Check small things. 9. Share credit. 10. Remain calm. Be kind. 11. Have a vision. Be demanding. 12. Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers. 13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.From Leadership...with a human touch, (March 9, 1999). Copyright © 1999, The Economics Press, Inc., Fairfield, NJ 07004 USA. All rights reserved.

Project Management

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Project Management

The 10 Killer Flaws:1. Insensitivity2. Acting aloof3. Betraying trusts4. Overmanaging5. Being overly ambitious6. Inability to think long term7. Inability to adapt to a new manager8. Overdependency on a mentor9. Making poor staffing decisions10. Inability to deal with department's performance problems

Morgan W. McCall, Jr., Ph.D. - PM Flaws that Bring Career’s to Screeching Halt:

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Contact InformationQuestions, Comments, Suggestions, or Just Want to Talk:

Project Engineering Associates

Deb JacobsProject Engineering Management

Professional Consultant

“helping companies help themselves”

13410 South 32nd CourtBellevue, NE 68123402.293.9215

www.projectengineeringtech.comdebjacobs@projectengineeringtech.com

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