Why do my projects fail?

A friend of mine was asked the above question by a very senior leader. I suspect that the definition of success here would mean delivery on time and to the cost estimated before the project was approved. History (in the form of project surveys) consistently tells us that 70% of projects fail by these criteria. Worse than that, nothing ever seems to get better. So why do we keep doing projects? It’s because, without them, how would society ever advance? We keep doing projects because we need them – or the things that they deliver.

Better leadership and influencing skills are needed

Project controls can ensure that projects are delivered as well as possible – that resources are well used, with as little waste as possible. The roles in controls begin with preparation and planning, then looking at performance and using insight to turn hindsight into foresight – measuring, thinking and delivering the best outcome. This is done by:

Making credible estimates, plans and schedules, recognising and emphasising uncertainty
Assessing progress, spending and productivity
Forecasting and interpreting what that might mean
Leading the resolution of the issues to make things better
Learning from the past to improve both oneself and the wider organisation

The first three of these things are, I believe, done relatively well, within the limitations of circumstance and politics, by many, perhaps most, projects. Certainly, as a community, we do know how to do these things well. The areas in which we need to improve are in leading and influencing the resolution of problems.

The skills this requires include leadership, communication and problem solving. Further, we need to work in a culture that is open to this, and we need to operate with a clear understanding of the ethics with which we operate.

Great communication is critical

Those in project controls need to be leaders. There are different leadership and communication styles; there are things we can learn about leadership and different approaches we can take. To become better project controllers, these are the areas which we need to focus on for our own self-development, the areas we need to actively plan our own and our teams’ development.

It seems obvious to say that project controls have responsibility to communicate well with other parts of the team, but how much thought is put into how this is achieved? It is particularly pertinent, as planning and analysis lends itself to introspective traits, not always best suited to wider communication. Thus, the need to design how, when and what will be communicated.

Consideration needs to be given not just to delivering excellent tools, accurate forecasts and ready-made solutions, but also to designing our communication. A useful framework for considering the various levels of communication is VMOSA (vision, mission, objectives, strategies and actions), a series of statements, strategies and action plans that connect our vision for what we want to achieve with strategies and plans for doing so, not only to advertise our brilliance to the wider world (or project), but also to help give ourselves and our teams a sense of purpose.

Techniques and the behaviours

I was the lead author of Planning, Scheduling, Monitoring and Control, published by APM in 2015. Its aim was to explain the technical side of project controls in a way that could be understood by everyone, from a student to a senior manager or director. Reflecting on the success of that book, the authors felt that there was something missing, so our new book Project Controls in the 21st Century addresses the issues raised here, as well as considerably updating the technical skills and techniques covered in the previous book.

Its central theme is that, to deliver great projects, teams need to understand and practise sound techniques – to be leaders, communicators, problem solvers and cultural icons

Paul Kidston is co-author of Project Controls in the 21st Century. Get a 10% discount on the book