Project Governance and Failure

Governance and failure

Key issues, obstacles, and solutions

Presented by: Michael Krigsman, CEO, Asuret, Inc.

© Copyright 2009 Asuret Inc. All rights reserved.

Agenda
Bio

State of failure

Achieving success

Asuret governance and

failure analysis simulation
Key governance lessons


This lecture, and the associated governance failure
simulation, was presented to a Master’s level class in strategic
project management at University College London on March
25-26, 2009. The class was led by Dr. Andrew Edkins, UCL
Senior Lecturer.


Bio:
Why IT ?
CEO of Cambridge Publications, documentation and

training outsourcing (from 1988)
Key Innovations:

Manage documentation with software development rigor

Apply consumer-level values to system documentation


Fixed-price, fixed-scope projects (Microsoft, Intel, SAP,

IBM, many VC-funded startups, etc.)
Over 100 customers and hundreds of projects

Software industry: projects late, over-budget, internal

battles, etc.


Bio:
Why IT ?
Developed SAP’s rapid implementation tools starting

1995 (AcceleratedSAP and more)
For 10 years, developed SAP’s consulting

automation tools
Developed implementation tools and methodologies

for IBM
Created methodologies of all sorts

BUT… Failures persist despite millions of dollars

invested in tools and methodologies. Why??


Asuret:
Measuring causes of failure
Failures arise from business, organizational, political,

and cultural reasons
Can’t fix what you don’t see

Solution: Expose the hidden causes of failure through

unique approach to data collection, measurement,
analysis, and process


Blogging:
IT failure
Key assumptions:

IT failure is common and resonates with many people
1.
Data-driven approach to blogging: case studies, statistics,
2.
practical advice, insight and analysis
Objective and balanced: not sensationalistic
3.

Major challenges:

Discussing failure is taboo: Hard to gather information
1.
Gaining trust: Don’t reveal secrets
2.


Use of media:

Social media: Blogs, Twitter, conferences, and discussions

Traditional media: Magazines, newspapers

Analysts: Close associations


Recognized industry “influencer:”

SAP, Oracle, Saleforce.com, Lawson, etc.


Goal: Trusted, independent, and objective advisor



State of failure


State of failure:
Governance issues are
No organization is immune to failure

30% - 70% of IT projects are late, over-budget, or

don’t meet planned requirements

“IT project managers cannot accept all of the responsibility of
delivering projects successfully. Top management and steering
committees have a significant role to play in managing project risk.

Ambitious-sized projects, moving targets, and managerial turnover
present challenges for IT projects that stretch even experienced
project managers. Effective oversight of projects can help project
managers respond to these challenges.”

Academic research report (November, 2007)


State of failure:
Methodologies and tools are enough
Project failures persist despite PPM, ITIL, PMI, CMM,

and other business process improvements
“Distortions” interfere with process: poor judgment, politics,

and personal agendas
Extreme case: “Successful” process / failed outcome


“One of the major weaknesses uncovered during the analysis
was the total reliance placed on project and development
methodologies.

Processes alone are far from enough to cover the complexity
and human aspects of many large projects subject to multiple
stakeholders, resource and ethical constraints.”

British Computer Society (June, 2008)


State of failure:
are common
Lack of alignment:

Business / IT

Management / project staff

Vendors / customers



Preventing failure

Preventing failure:
Removing to success
Diagnose and measure the real sources of failure

Share knowledge and lessons learned to

improve success rates
Embed innovation around IT project success

in the organization
Evaluate your organization’s collaboration capabilities



Preventing failure:
Removing to success (cont’d)
Increase appropriate communication to reduce information

silos
Connect social networks to support continuous

organizational improvement
Facilitate rapid, effective, and ethical decision-making

Align IT with measurable business results

Change project culture, not corporate culture



Preventing failure:
beyond IT
What problem does the project solve?

Who is the project champion?

What does the stakeholder map look like?

What PM toolbox are you going to use and what drives it

(procurement issues)?
How will the project be governed (who, how, when)?

How will the project be controlled (planning, monitoring,

reporting)?
How will success be judged or measured? (who when, how)



Asuret Failure
Analysis Simulation


Asuret failure simulation:
Measuring 7 of success
Organizational, political, and cultural factors are critical

Hard to measure

Project
Management
Executive Change
Sponsorship Management

Stakeholder Third-Party
Involvement Relationships

IT
Business Resource
Project
Case Availability
Success


Asuret failure simulation:
Specialized
Wisdom of crowds

Requires carefully-selected group to avoid

“stupidity of crowds”
Measurement through “indirection”

Reduce bias for charged issues

Simple questions based on observable situations


Stakeholders consensus workshop follows analysis

Ensure analysis is accurate and complete

Gain consensus to avoid decision-making gridlock


Goal: insight, clarity, consensus



Key Governance Lessons


Key governance lessons:
knowledge
Governance: people, collaboration, and responsibility

IT and construction governance are fundamentally the

same
Measurement and diagnosis are not sufficient to

create future success
Consolidating / aggregating lessons learned is

essential to achieve continuous improvement
Goal: Create shared organizational memory

Engage stakeholders

Improve collaboration and communication across silos



signs
Forward-looking warning signs of failure:

Ambiguous or diffuse project ownership

Stakeholder complexity

Conflicts of interest

Inconsistencies (hardest to discern in advance.

(For example: Taurus stakeholders not required to
participate in project; Clissold fitness for purpose problem–
architect didn’t understand target population needs.)


The point
Be fearless and brave to do what’s right

But, also exercise good and wise judgment

(don’t needlessly destroy your career)


Let’s have coffee!
Michael Krigsman
CEO
Asuret, Inc.

Email: mkrigsman@asuret.com
Web: http://asuret.com
Blog: http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures
+ 1 (617) 905-5950


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