Top 10 Keys to Making Projects Successful  

By Dave Po-Chedley

The typical project manager has lots of responsibility and very little authority. To make things even more challenging, the typical project plan bears little resemblance to reality. Achieving successful outcomes under these conditions is not easy. Remember and apply these guidelines, and you’ll significantly increase your odds for success.

1. Find the deal breakers upfront.
Deal breakers are non-negotiable limits within which the project must be planned and implemented (e.g., no more than $300,000 total budget, Legal must approve all contract wording, etc.). Deal breakers won’t necessarily hurt your project, but finding out about them halfway through the project could be deadly.

2. Surface and test assumptions early and often.
“It ain’t what we know that hurts us; it’s what we know that just ain’t so.” Assumptions are a necessary part of any project. Untested assumptions can result in disaster (e.g., “I assumed the client was OK with staggered deliveries. It wasn’t a problem last time.”). Build actions into your plan to test all assumptions.

3. Find and feed the gorillas.
There are strong influential players who do no value-added work on a project, but can make or break a project through their influence in (or on) the organization. Sometimes they can play a positive role (e.g., champions, sponsors and advocates); in other cases, your failure may be their success. Either way, find out who they are and what it will take to turn them into supporters or, at least, neutralize their negative impact. Whenever possible, get them involved, ask for their advice, and keep them informed.

4. Make the team own the plan.
The best plans are the ones that are developed by the whole team. Use a special meeting to get the team together to develop a network diagram that shows dependencies between team members. Assign one person to keep it updated. Make developing the plan an event.

5. Get everyone on the team to think “sideways.”
Have the team communicate with internal/external customers to make sure each member understand what is expected of them. Make sure everyone manages their own handoffs. Get them to communicate with internal/external suppliers to clarify their needs.

6. Build the right scoreboard.
What’s measured is what gets managed. This is no less true for projects than it is for organizations in general. Make sure the project customer is involved in developing measures for quality, cost, schedule and customer satisfaction. If you can influence what goes up on the scoreboard, you have a measure of control over your success.

7. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Use formal communication to get information to everyone. Use informal communication to fill in the gaps. Use project review meetings like a huddle between plays in a football game. Set ground rules, document actions, and measure results of different communication methods.

8. Manage project changes: Just say YES!
Don’t tell the client why you can’t do it; tell them what it will take to make it happen. At best, they’ll decide on their own that it doesn’t make sense. At worst, they’ll appreciate all you had to do to satisfy their request.

9. Watch out for Murphy.
Look for the gremlins: the potential problems that could derail your project. Use preventive action to remove the causes of the big problems. When that’s not feasible, identify contingent actions that can be used if the problem occurs.

10. Set people up for success.
Individuals and teams can be set up for success (or failure), depending on how well they are prepared to contribute on a project. Make sure everyone on the team:

• Knows what is expected of them
• Has the resources needed to get the job done
• Knows how their work affects that of others
• Knows how to do what is asked of them
• Is rewarded for doing a great job

In summary, following the steps suggested here will not guarantee project success, but it will certainly help- a lot! Conversely, not following them will almost certainly lead to rework, conflict and finger pointing along with the predictable cost and schedule over-runs.

Interested in more from Dave on Project Management? Check out the 4A’s Project Management Series for webinars on how to consistently deliver profitability and client satisfaction.