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How to avoid the perception of failure

15/2/2011

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Have you ever been in a situation where you felt that you and your team delivered a decent project (especially given the circumstances) but the customer or sponsor was less than impressed?

If so, you’re not alone!

Many projects fail in the eyes of the stakeholders because the project’s success criteria weren’t clearly articulated which means that ‘their’ view of what makes the project a success is different from ‘your’ view. To avoid the perception of failure, everyone needs to hold the same image of what project success means.

As a project manager it is your job to elicit the success criteria and to get consensus between the sponsor and stakeholders as to what their relative priority is. The relative priority is important as you are likely to have to make tradeoffs as the project progresses. And bear in mind, that sometimes your stakeholders may not be fully aware of what project success means to them and how they would measure it. It is your job is to heighten their awareness and help them find that out!

When judging if a project was successful or not, we firstly look at whether the stated goals and objectives were met, and whether the project was delivered within the agreed parameters. Which business benefits and products were the project supposed to deliver and to which quality? What was the agreed end date (if any) and which constraints existed around the budget? These are all examples of a project’s success criteria.

But other factors than time, cost and quality may matter to your project’s success; for instance how the project was delivered and how it arrived at its end goal. Imagine a project which delivered real benefits on time, but which was executed in a haphazard way with poor communication and lots of disputes. Would your stakeholders perceive that as successful?

“To uncover the things that really matter to how your project will be judged, ask each of your stakeholders what would make them perceive the project as a success. Some people may give you a textbook answer, so challenge their response and dig deeper.”

Remember, that ultimately the success of your project will be measured by whether your sponsor and stakeholders feel they got the benefits they wanted in a way which they expected. So to avoid the perception of failure, not only do you need to clearly define the objectively stated criteria; you also need to turn any subjective feelings and statements into quantifiable and measurable conditions. Only then do you truly know what is expected of you.

When stakeholders judge if your project was a success or not, it is not always a straightforward or logical matter. You may have delivered a great project, but if the project sponsors, stakeholders or users somehow think your project has failed; then it has. So, spend time with your stakeholders and understand what matters to them. Feel what they feel and see what they see, and do your best to honour their expectations.

When analysing the success criteria, make sure they relate back to the project's purposes and that they are as specific and measurable as possible. That will make it easier for you to deliver against them.

Also ensure you highlight the assumptions which these criteria are based upon. For example; in order to deliver a certain product at a certain time and cost, imagine that you have agreed with your customer that they will provide you with specific resources to do so. If these resources are not provided in line with what was agreed, you need to raise it as an issue with your steering committee in order that your boundaries (and acceptance criteria) can be adjusted to cater for this change. Always communicate these assumptions and constraints to the steering committee as it will help them appreciate the complexities of the project and the challenges of your role.

And finally; make sure everyone knows about all the good stuff you are actually delivering. Promote your project and celebrate and communicate every little success. Don’t let false modesty deter you as that could give people the impression that you are not delivering anything.

Questions …
· What are your project's top 5 success criteria according to your sponsor?
· How confident are you, that these are the only criteria your project will be judged against?
 · What are you doing to guard yourself against the perception of failure?
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Does project management bliss exist?

2/2/2011

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We have all been there. We have all had a goal that we accomplished. We set out to achieve something specific. We knew what we wanted and we figured out how to get it. We planned out the steps and took the required action. We anticipated and dealt with potential roadblocks and we spoke to people whose help we needed. And as we moved closer to our goal and made progress, we felt great. We were in control and we had all the energy and support in the world. And when we finally achieved what we set out to, we felt brilliant. We were happy about the outcome and proud of having achieved what we wanted. 

We all know how it feels to do something well and to succeed in our endeavours.  That is what I call bliss. Achieving what you set out to and achieving it in a fulfilling way.


When we are in a state of bliss we are focused on the end result and we inspire people around us. We feel a rush of energy and we have the drive, confidence and attitude to make things happen. There is no anxiety or negative stress. There is no need, because we are in control and we know we are on the right track. In this state we work effectively and spend our time where it is needed the most. It means that we have the right balance between task and people management and that we have enough knowledge and insight to visualize the end goal and to lead the team to achieve it.

Project bliss is more than effective delivery of projects to objectively stated success criteria. It is not only being successful in the eyes of the client and project stakeholders, but being successful by our own measure. It is feeling good about who we are and what we do, and it is delivering the project in a way which resonates with each individual and reflects our core beliefs. When we are comfortable with ourselves and our contributions we create a win/win situation where positive synergies are created between us and the project we manage.

In the many years I have been involved in project delivery, I have seen a lot of stress and little bliss. I have seen overworked and worried project managers struggling to keep everything under control. They work hard and they work long hours. They know the theory and they know a lot about planning and tracking a project. Yet somehow, many of the projects fail to deliver what they set out to.

But project management bliss does exist. I have seen some very complex projects executed in a successful and smooth manner. They were almost always lead by an inspirational and driven project manager who fully embraced the project’s vision and who was able to influence difficult situations; a project manager who was confident and at ease and who understood that managing yourself and people around you is as important as managing tasks.

What does bliss mean to you, and how can you become successful and blissful at the same time? What is the difference that makes the difference?

Some of the answers may be complex and dependent on the individual project and situation, but when we dig a little deeper we find that some of them are straight forward and easy to implement. We just need to keep asking and keep exploring. We can be successful and blissful at the same time, but we need to have the desire to learn and the willingness to adopt new attitudes and habits.
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    Susanne Madsen

    Susanne is a project leadership coach and the author of The Power of Project Leadership (now in 2nd edition). Read more..

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