Posts under ‘Blog’

In Project Management circles there is an increasing awareness that some projects aren’t just about producing deliverables, they are about delivering “change”.  Project’s in today’s business world are often changing the way business is done and the failure to recognize how hard it can be to change work habits, or organizational structures, is one of [...]

Lesson Learned: Take control over the key players vendors assign to your contracts Category: Contract Management The following post is a “Lesson Learned” that comes from the analysis of the failed projects documented in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” or from the experiences the editorial team have had working with clients around the world. The post [...]

Lesson learned: Maximizing project throughput. Category: Resource management / Portfolio management. The following post is a “Lesson Learned” that comes from the analysis of the failed projects documented in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” or from the experiences the editorial team have had working with clients around the world. The post is published here to spark discussion and [...]

“As Project Manager, juggling all of the balls is important, but keeping your eye on the right ball is the key to delivering truly successful projects” – RG While understanding the causes of project failure is important, without a common definition of “success”, there is no clear basis for differentiating a success from a failure. Clearly [...]

Lesson learned: Hire for attitude and potential, not just experience. Category: Person skills development / hiring. The following post is a “Lesson Learned“ that comes from the analysis of the failed projects documented in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” or from the experiences the editorial team have had working with clients around the world. The post is published here [...]

Lesson learned: Be careful what you measure and how you measure it. Category: Project objectives / Decision making. The following post is a “Lesson Learned” that comes from the analysis of the failed projects documented in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” or from the experiences the editorial team have had working with clients around the world. The post [...]

The Sponsorship role is perhaps the most important in a project. The Sponsor owns the project and has a direct responsibility for ensuring that the desired business outcomes are achieved. In discussing project failures with people, one of the common complaints I hear is that the Sponsorship role is either non-existent or weak in their organizations. [...]

When it comes to improving success rates, the commercial aviation sector has been one of the most successful. In 1930 taking a commercial flight was risky business. When you board a flight today, the chances of an accident taking your life is about 1 in 30 million. Through rigorous accident investigations and a willingness to [...]

The decisions made during project initiation are among the most critical in a project. They set the direction for the project, establish the project’s objectives and establish how the project is to be approached. Mistakes made at this early stage can be fatal. Sadly all too many projects do go wrong at this early stage [...]

Lesson learned: Quantify a candidate’s experience. Category: Leadership development / hiring. The following post is a “Lesson Learned” that comes from the analysis of the failed projects documented in the “Catalogue of Catastrophe” or from the experiences the editorial team have had working with clients around the world. The post is published here to spark discussion and [...]