1. Question The Need For The Project

The quickest, cheapest and simplest way of improving your organisation’s levels of project success is to stop starting new projects. Question whether your new project is really required right now. If you aren’t going to do anything different between this new project and a previous project, chances are that this one will fail as well.

Instead plan a strategy for improving your project success rates. Once you have begun to implement some of the changes the start new projects. For the time being, stop projects failing by simply not starting any new ones.

2. Always Prototype Solutions

The use of prototypes will improve the rates of project success. From simple pictures and diagrams to functional working models, prototypes will improve the frequency, quality and quantity of stakeholder feedback into a project.

Train project members to storyboard user scenarios. Look to include a web developer in the plan to create basic mock-up application screens. One of the first deliverables in any project plan should be a form of prototype. Start getting stakeholder feedback as soon as possible.

The most effective teams, build prototypes, get feedback and then incorporate the feedback into the next set of prototypes. By providing stakeholders with this level of attention and focus leads to greater support. Individuals like to see their vision and ideas presented as a tangible entity rather than as a set of bullet points in a document.

3. Don’t Always Use Standard Templates For Documentation

Project documentation rarely gets properly read and fed back on. Stakeholders are too busy to read the amount of information that they are expected to read through and comment on. Invariable most will simply skim through large documents, read the executive summary and provide some high level feedback. The risk of this is that the Project Manager and team believe that they have got stakeholder buy-in whilst in reality they have just been lucky (unlucky?) because an area of potential contention has been missed by a stakeholder. Let the team document what is required against a set of prompts not rigid templates.

4. Make Sure Everyone Is Together

Where feasible make sure all of the project team are located in the same office. The quality and ease of communication flows directly affects the levels of project success.

Teams located in close proximity with their suppliers and other project members benefit because:

* Face to face communication is proven to be the most effective form

* It reduces the time of feedback loops

* It builds stronger team relationships

5. Give Them Space

If you want a successful project then you need team members 100% focused on delivering. Put the somewhere where they can’t be distracted from usual e-mails and telephone calls. Ideally rent project space away from your offices. This prevents any distractions as well as encourages teams to focus on the task in hand.

Whilst stakeholders will have to travel to the project team it will ensure that once there they will devote their time to the project team’s needs.

6. Team Building

As the project sponsor make sure that you have an effective team working for you. Are they motivated to deliver the project? Do you know the team dynamics? Be prepared to change team members if the dynamics aren’t working. Also invest in team-building activities early in the project and on an ongoing basis. Read the rest of this entry »