Quote for the week: “Planning without action is futile, action without planning is fatal.” — Cornelius Fitchner

IS YOUR PROJECT UNDER BUDGET OR UNDERWATER?

In-depth surveys by the Project Management Institute (PMI) indicate that approximately $80 billion dollars per year is lost in challenged and failed projects in the U.S. The reasons are myriad - lack of human and material resources, tepid buy-in from senior management/stakeholders, poor governance procedures, or skeletal planning. William Volpe, my PMP associate, asserts that 50% of the project life cycle needs to be spent in the planning phase. In reality, perhaps 10% of the life of a project is invested in planning, all but grounding any chance for a successful arrival at your destination.

Comprehensive planning includes not just a document life cycle, but thoroughly documented policies and procedures, defined roles and responsibilities, how resources are shared, prioritization, the “hand-off” points of a project, document templates and work instructions, stress testing, and quality control. 

Finally, there has to be a communication plan that includes a conflict resolution process and contingency arrangements. Why? It's estimated that 80% of mistakes, miscues, missteps, malfunctions in the workplace, call them what you may, are due to sloppy communication. Causal factors can be lack of complete documentation, lack of consensual definitions, or the silent killer of projects...withheld communications.

It is imperative to have a very clear, documented protocol in everyone’s hands that protects those who protect the integrity of the project, allowing candid communication of errors and exposing concealment of facts. Each project participant must have the official freedom to “blow the whistle” of admission, with limited or no negative repercussions; and for anyone withholding information essential to the project’s success, consequences must be detailed and enforced.

According to 55 percent of project managers, effective communication is the most critical success factor in project management. Nothing will maximize the success potential of a project more than a complete communication plan.