WHYPROJECTS

FAIL+ FOUR TIPS TO SUCCEED

Presented by:Kevin Wordon

Digital Transformation LeaderAustralia

McKinsey & Company AND UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD STUDY

Study of 5,400 large scale IT projects across the world. Average budgets of $13 million.

70% 45%17%

56%

70% of organisations suffered at least one project failure in the last 12 months

Failed to deliver

Posed a severe company threat17% of projects went so badly that they threatened the very existence of the company

Significantly over budget45% of projects ended well over budget with 7% also over time.

Delivered less value56% of all projects delivered less value than predicted at planning stage.

WHY DOProjects FAIL?A project is considered a failure when it has not delivered what was required, in line with expectations. Therefore, in order to succeed, a project must deliver to cost, to quality, and on time; and it must deliver the benefits presented in

the business case.

PROJECT FAILURE

POOR DECISION MAKINGPoorly timed decisions and too many stakeholders often delay or derail projects.

1

LACK OF CLEAR GOALS OR VISIONFailure to understand the why results in failure to deliver what the business needs.

2

UNCLEAR REQUIREMENTSUnclear, vague and conflicting requirements can dramatically increase costs and time.

3

PROJECT TEAM ISSUES Poor team dynamic, lack of expertise, and poor management can often hinder success.

4

DECISION MAKINGStay committed to your decisions, but

stay flexible in your approach.

Understanding the varying levels of PROJECTDecision MakingUnderstanding the complex reality that technology team’s face requires us to go beyond the relatively simple “task centric” view and look at projects in an entirely different way BUILDING A HOUSE

PHYSICALACTIVITY

Informationacquisition

Decision Making

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

CONDUCTING A CENSUS

PHYSICALACTIVITY

Informationacquisition

Decision Making

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFERUnderstanding the varying levels of

PROJECTDecision Making

PHYSICALACTIVITY

Informationacquisition

Decision Making

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

PUBLIC EDUCATION PROJECT

Understanding the varying levels of PROJECTDecision Making

PHYSICALACTIVITY

Informationacquisition

Decision Making

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

TECHNOLOGY PROJECT

Understanding the varying levels of PROJECTDecision MakingFrom strategy development all the way through to developing code decision making is the primary activity that absorbs the majority of effort that goes into an IT project.

AGILE DECISION MAKINGTHE OODA LOOPThe phrase OODA loop refers to the decision

cycle of observe, orient, decide, and act, developed by military strategist and USAF

Colonel John Boyd.

According to Boyd, decision-making occurs in a recurring cycle of observe-orient-decide-act. An entity (whether an individual or an organization) that can process this cycle quickly, observing

and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than an opponent, can thereby "get inside" the opponent's decision cycle and gain

the advantage.

AGILE DECISION MAKINGTHE OODA LOOP

AGILE DECISION MAKINGTHE OODA LOOP

OBSERVEQuickly observe and document what is unfolding within the organisation or project.

ORIENTAnalyse and understand information gathered and then assess its potential impact on business

DECIDEPeople need to be empowered to make decisions at the lowest practical level.

Provide implicit guidance and control. Anticipate surprises and external /environmental influences.

Your team should challenge existing customs and beliefs and strive to avoid complacency.

If the decision does not cause irreversible resource impacts there is a case for acting first to see if the proposed change works.

ACTFind ways to act quickly. Avoid silos and grass root resistance. Be aware of funding.

Decentralisation can help, as can encouraging informal cross-functional networks.

CLEAR DIRECTION & COMMON GOALS“Fuzzy business objectives, out-of-sync stakeholders, and excessive rework” mean that 75% of project participants lack confidence that

their projects will succeed.

2011 Geneca study of 600 people involved in software development projects.

Gather your team, find out what you are supposed to do and the specifics to get it done.

Translate the vision

Develop a fair incentive scheme to reward team members. Continually encourage innovation and best practice.

INCENTIVISE the vision

Build a feedback loop and a minimalist steering committee with key stakeholders and SME.

Steer the vision

Don’t get caught up in the day-to-day management of your project and forget to sell to your constituents.

Sell the vision

SHARED VISION AND DIRECTION“Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them towards a

certain goal.” Walt Disney

CHANGEAdvocates

Source key SME (Subject Matter Experts) who can be turned into advocates

of change post project implementation

“Managing changes in a large organization has been compared to re-

engineering an aircraft while it's in flight”

CLEAR Requirements“No matter how good the team or efficient the

methodology, if we’re not solving the right problem, the project fails.” Woody Wilson

Defining your requirementsYou can’t truly solve a problem until you truly understand the

nature of the problem you’re solving.

Every project needs a starting point. Defining initial requirements quickly will speed up commencement.

DEFINE initial requirements

Provide high level project outcomes to the business. Leave the finer details with the project team.

COMMUNICATE OUTCOMES

Empower project lead to “park” trivial, but often resource consuming requirements. Be open to change and agility.

ENCOURAGE AGILITY

Utilise your steering committee and SMEs to approve critical requirement changes quickly.

FOSTER PROJECT INCLUSION

How communication transcends from requirements to

delivery

DREAM TEAMA KPMG (NZ) survey of 100 businesses found that 78% of respondents believed that team dynamics played an important role in the failure or success

of their projects.

THE PAC PRINCIPLE Find people who want to be on the project, have the necessary skills to

appropriately complete the project, and have the time available to focus on the job at hand.

1. PASSIONPeople who have some passion for the project and its outcomes.

2. ABILITYPeople that have the ability to do the work that is required to successfully complete the job

3. CAPACITYEnsure team members have the time to focus on tasks and are not overloaded

Take ownership

Share knowledge and experience

Customer centric mindset

Strive for continuous improvement

Can be agile where

required

Behave with integrity

Hold each other accountable

Continually provide and value feedback

TEAMVALUES

Ability to quantify & rationalise decisions

SUMMARY

MAKE AGILE DECISIONS

“A project is complete when it starts working for you, rather than you working for it”

Scott Allen

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