Are you a good detective.

Success and Failure, are the reasons clear ?

It is still early in the year but already the usual topics are being raised on forums.
Several times every year we see the topics of project success and failure emerging as though this is something new.

At the same time there is a steady stream of projects that fail, far outweighing those that succeed, but maybe that is just my perception based on reported issues.

International research however tends to support my contention, specifically as it relates to IT development projects.

Then again, maybe I should not be surprised as history shows that we appear to be unable to learn from history.

Being involved in any project initiation requires us to be good detectives as this is often the first point of failure.  

Enough time is required to investigate and understand the 'scene of the crime". It must be investigated by people with experience in such investigations. They need the support of others who will have specialised skills to assist in forming a comprehensive picture and understanding of all the elements involved in the "crime".

Continuing with the detective narrative, a defined process is required to gather and record all relevant information in an organised manner.  Homicide detectives call this a "murder book", or so I am told.

The purpose of an investigation is to reach a logical conclusion leading to action of one sort or another.

Projects are no different and far too often not enough time is allowed to do the required investigation or lack a defined mechanism to record "evidence" and reach a logical conclusion. At times the expert skills required are simply not available or not allocated.

Some years ago I briefly worked on a project, but soon discovered that the CEO had a predetermined objective in mind and our work was just window dressing. This is more common than most people would like to admit and always result in project failure at some level.

In the case of most government departments, they are bereft of skilled IT and other specialist staff at all levels, specifically at senior levels ( flowerpots) , resulting in an over reliance on external consulting firms, who operate in a very nice "closed loop" environment.

( Flowerpots = marginally decorative but functionally useless.)

Frequently this leads to project failure and massive time and budget over-runs, yet the government refuses to address this obvious problems.  They continue to waste hundreds of millions of dollars whilst pleading poverty in other areas. Once again the lack of ability to learn from history remains a key feature on the road to failure.

Another major problem is the involvement of incompetent stakeholders and senior staff. To be politically correct I should say they are "under-skilled" or maybe "knowledge deprived".

As a good detective one should be able to resolve the "crime" in some understandable manner and to that end let us consider. We have identified a clear road to failure and by definition also a clear path to better outcomes.

A short list of what we know would look like this -

• Senior management with predetermined, but hidden, objectives. 
• The influence of incompetent senior managers and senior level staff.
• Decisions made for extraneous reasons unrelated to the proposed project outcome.
  • ( I once had a senior government official tell me "why would I buy product from a company in Brisbane, when I have a choice to get it from Germany. When I buy from Germany it will require many trips to inspect, negotiate and more. That surely is much better than a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop or lunch at a local restaurant"
• Poor scope definition and unskilled staff involved in the process.
• Poor control systems, process and procedures.
• Incompetent consultants, often only interested in selling their available offering, rather than identifying the best solution to the problem.
  • Note - A sure sign of incompetence is any claim of unique complexity, whoever makes this claim should not be trusted.

The second major point of failure is predicated on the old perception that people don't know what they don't know.

There is an easy fix with massive benefits. Schedule time, before the project kicks off, to do some basic project management training for all the people involved in the project. The benefits are huge, the training creates the starting point for ongoing project communications and clarity not just on terminology but also understanding the reasons why certain "trivial" things are important.

Governments tend to be an easy target as their failures are reported more frequently than those in the private sector.

It is worth noting that most Government projects fail under the guidance of external consulting firms ( private sector ) where frequently the same constraints prevail.

It is up to us to have the courage to speak out when we encounter the BS that is likely to result in project failure and we can elect to become better detectives and encourage others to do the same.

The links included below highlights preventable waste and amplifies some of the issues addressed above. Your comments and ideas will always be gratefully received.

As census failure blame points at IBM, why we shouldn't be surprised by its failings

Departing public service digital chief Paul Shetler says levels of contracting in APS is 'eye watering'

Fox hunt: Tasmania's multi-million-dollar program likely based on faked evidence.

Ultranet corruption inquiry: Up to $240 million of money wasted in failed online portal, IBAC says

What happens to all the billions that are paid to the big consulting firms?

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