3rd Sector Skills

Why do projects fail? And how on earth can you make sure that your project don’t fail? Simple answer – you can’t. But you can improve your chances of success dramatically, by considering some of the reasons that projects go wrong, and avoiding them – easy! I know this sounds like a bit of back-to-front thinking, but trust me, it does make sense.

Projects fail for many reasons, and the weird thing is that no matter how big or complex they are, the most ‘popular’ reasons tend to be the same; and the top five are…..

• Project team unsure of project objectives;
• Project team unsure of project deliverables;
• At the end of the project, the objectives were only partially met;
• The planned schedule tended to run late;
• The budget was exceeded.

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One of the little wrinkles in project planning is the difference between the duration of a task, and the effort required.Stuart’s mean beef stew is a great illustration.To make it you take a small pile of stewing steak, chop it up and shove it in a casserole with some beer. Leave it to cook for a few hours, then chop some onions, add tomato puree and bits and bobs, stir it into the mixture, and Bob’s your auntie. It’s stunningly tasty, and dead easy to make, and it doesn’t matter much if you vary the ingredients a bit.The duration of the task is about 4 hours, because you can use cheap cuts of beef which take ages to cook. The effort is about 30 minutes, because for most of the time you are in the garden with a beer waiting for the beef to cook.When you’re thinking about your project and worrying about effort & duration, just remember the beef stew, and all will be well.If you want to try the recipe, there’s a link in the box on the right hand side of the home page,  under the title “Project Management”.  Enjoy!