RESCUING FAILING PROJECTS - WordPress.com · Who am I? (professionally) D av id L eig h d leig h @ roforic orp.c om 7 0 3 -3 6 2 -6 1 3 3 O S U Ind u st rial E ng ineering Robotics

Copyright 2013, Rofori Corporation

RESCUING FAILING PROJECTS

David Leigh

rofori

Who am I? (professionally)

David Leigh [email protected]

703-362-6133

OSU Industrial EngineeringRobotics / Process Automation Lab

Manager & Teaching Assistant

Mobile InternationalAssembly Line Worker &

Draftsman

Moore Business FormsStaff Industrial Engineer

Master’s ProjectDevelopment of Intel 8086 Assembly Language Industrial Robot driver software for the IBM PC

SBIRE

Consultant - US Army US Air Force rapid response support

IDIQ contract (RRCSR) Proposal

HDS

Product Manager – Smart Power Grid Wireless Residential Metering & Control

Devices (Canadian Deployment)

DOLE-Judication Integration

Edison’s Jewelers & Distributors

Warehouse Management & Operations

McDonnell DouglasSenior Mfg Process Automaton Engineer

Vice Chairman of the McDonnell Douglas Corporation Mfg Automation Standards Committee

A-12 Tulsa Team IT Group Leader (Navy Attack Aircraft Final Assembly, GD / MD Team)

Rofori CorporationPresident

12/82

Bachelor of ScienceMechanical Engineering

TelosProduct Manager:

Ruggedized Military Specification Portable SUN Workstations (US Marine Corps.), Sun Laptop Workstation (US Air Force)

ISO-9000 Certified Manufacturer

New Business Start-up, Wireless Networking Mobile Thin Client for US Air Force Flight Line Maintenance (Before 802.11 “WiFi” became a Standard)

Vantage Technologies

Project Manager for Document Management & Imaging Solutions

“Troubled Project” Rescue SpecialistMicrosoft SharePoint

Deployment & Support

easyTIMESHEET Product

Deployment, Integration, & Support

OSU Mechanical EngineeringBSME - CAD/CAM & Robotics

R&D

1978 – 1982 1983 – 1987 1988 – 1992 1993 – 1997 1998 – 2002 2003 – 2007 2008 – Present

8/86

Master of ScienceIndustrial Engineering

& Management

US DOL OALJProgram Manager

NetBase CorporationVP Solution Services / Principle Consultant

USDA FSA BudgetProject Manager / Principle Consultant

Farm Credit AgencyProject Manager / Principle ConsultantLoans Consolidation Warehouse


Topics

Project Failure Rate

What is a project, and what is Success?

Who is responsible?

Signs of Trouble

Is it Hopeless?

Recovery plan


Project Failure Rate

30% to 70% project failure rates depending upon industry

Smaller is better:Failure rate of large IT projects (budgets > $1 m) is almost 50% higher than for smaller projects (budgets < $350 k)

YOU will be faced with a Troubled Project


A ProjectA project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or event

The end is reached when the objectives have been achieved (Successful), they will not or cannot be met, or the need no longer exists (not-Successful)

Success is measured by • timeliness • budget compliance • product and project quality • degree of customer satisfaction

VALUE

Copyright 2013 Rofori CorporationCopyright 2013, Rofori Corporation

A ProjectA project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or event

The end is reached when the objectives have been achieved (Successful), they will not or cannot be met, or the need no longer exists (not-Successful)

Success is measured by • timeliness • budget compliance • product and project quality • degree of customer satisfaction

VALUE

Copyright 2013 Rofori Corporation

Inherent Risk?

Quality, Satisfaction, and Value contain both

Objective and Subjectivecriteria aspects…

Which are evaluated by the

Stake Holders?


Top 5 Causes of Troubled Projects

1. Requirements: Unclear, lack of agreement, lack of priority, contradictory, ambiguous, imprecise.

2. Resources: Lack of resources, resource conflicts, turnover of key resources, poor planning.

3. Schedules: Too tight, unrealistic, overly optimistic.

4. Planning: Based on insufficient data, missing items, insufficient details, poor estimates (defect rate?).

5. Risks: Unidentified or assumed, not managed.

By Michael Krigsman for Beyond IT Failure | March 15, 2011Copyright 2013, Rofori Corporation

Who is Responsible?

“The project manager is responsibleand accountable for setting realistic and achievable boundaries for the

project and to accomplish the project within the approved baselines.”

PMBOK V5, Section 2.2.3, page 35


Signs of Trouble

Common: Behind Schedule

Over Budget

Earned Value Measures (SV, CV, SPI, CPI) rates worsening

Not so Common: High / increasing defect rates

High / increasing rates of new requirements or changes

High / increasing rates of Risk identification or remediation

Indication of Stake Holder dissatisfaction / disengagement


Aside – Insidious Cost of Poor Quality

Delivering with a “Fix it Later” Strategy doesn’t only cost you once:

Re-work is Unplanned work = Scope Increase

Limited resources are dramatically More Limited

CPI and SPI < 1, and decreases rapidly

Example: HealthCare.gov

What is your planned defect rate?

How have you accounted for defects in your resource allocation, budget, schedule, and risk register?


Stake Holder Expectations

VALUE

High

Low

Reality

Stake HolderExpectations

Identifiable Negative Gap = Trouble!

(Lack of Credibility)

VALUE

High

Low

RealityStake HolderExpectations

No Gap = Good chance to proceed

(You Have Credibility)


Can it be Saved?

Remember this

The Project can be saved if the Stake Holders believe

the resulting VALUE of continuing > Revised Plan

But there are conditions …


Conditions for Recovery

Honest and Credible Project Manager

Accurate Current State Effectively Communicated

Project Deficiencies Accurately Identified

Credible Remediation Plan

Effectively Managed Expectations

Expectation Gap is not too Large to Overcome

Trust Sufficiently Restored with the Stake Holders


All of the above are required

Lack of Effective Communication +


New Technology R&D

“Proven technology” vs. New Software product

Major difference in expectations


Top 5 Causes of Troubled Projects

1. Requirements: Unclear, lack of agreement, lack of priority, contradictory, ambiguous, imprecise.

2. Resources: Lack of resources, resource conflicts, turnover of key resources, poor planning.

3. Schedules: Too tight, unrealistic, overly optimistic.

4. Planning: Based on insufficient data, missing items, insufficient details, poor estimates (defect rate?).

5. Risks: Unidentified or assumed, not managed.

By Michael Krigsman for Beyond IT Failure | March 15, 2011Copyright 2013, Rofori Corporation

Actions to Take

If the problem is:

Requirements, get control of the Scope and Change Management. Every change has Cost/Schedule/Capability impact

Resources or Schedule, Show the original plan… Mandated constraints results in an unrealistic plan – it is

just a “we’ll try” (increased risks)

Problems arise, real life – Murphy’s Law

Improve rate and depth of defects

Planning, Improve accuracy or add “Safety Factor”

Risks, Focus on Identification, Avoidance and MitigationAlways effectively communicate issues/risks to Stake Holders ASAP


What should we do?

Acknowledge the challenge and difficulty of aligning expectations and

perceptions across a diverse set of stakeholders, which is a fundamental

obstacle to project success.


Constant Effective Communication

“Communication has been identified as one of the single biggest reason for

project success or failure.

“Effective communication … is essential.”

PMBOK V5, Section X3.4, page 515


Efficient communication means providing only the information that is needed.

Effective communication means that the information is provided in the right format, at the

right time, to the right audience, and with the right impact.

PMBOK V5, Section 10.1, page 290

Don’t confuse Efficient with Effective


Summary

Truth, Honesty, and Effective Communication builds Credibility

Effectively Managing Stakeholder Expectations builds Success


Documents

RESCUING FAILING PROJECTS - WordPress.com · Who am I? (professionally) D av id L eig h d leig h @ roforic orp.c om 7 0 3 -3 6 2 -6 1 3 3 O S U Ind u st rial E ng ineering Robotics