10. Summary

Summary

Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky says: “Knowledge is less that half the battle”.

Having learned about the eight imperatives to project success will result in absolutely No Benefit unless you adopt and implement these concepts.

This module covers:

1. A summary of the eight imperatives to project success

2. An approach to identifying the concepts and techniques which are most applicable to your project and organization, and how to implement them

The Eight Imperatives of Project Success

1.   The Accountable Executive. Based on several industry surveys, the person who can most influence the success of the project is the Accountable Executive (or the project sponsor). 

2. The Project Leadership Team. The Project Leadership Team should have the experience, authority, alignment,  execution ability, and relationship dynamics commensurate with the project size and complexity.

3. Objectives and Scope. Clear objectives and well defined and managed project scope are the second most frequently mentioned factor reported by many industry surveys as affecting the project success or failure. 

4. Executable Plan. In a 2012 survey PwC found that 30% of project failures occur because of inadequate project plans and poor estimates.

5.  Vendor Management. Depending on the nature of the project, the software vendor (if any) and the consulting firm are major contributors to the project’s success. Vendor selection, contracting, and on-going management can make the difference between success and failure.

6. Stakeholder Management. Project managers sometimes assume that stakeholders’ support is a given because it was mandated by executive management. But in order to reflect the needs and wants of the users that will ultimately result in business benefits, the stakeholders have to be tended to with great care.

7. The Project Team. Building and leading a project team that has a track record in successfully delivering large and complex projects takes considerable leadership skills. Research by Google identified the five factors which distinguish high-performing teams from mediocre ones.

8. Methodology and Process. Project methodology and processes have to be tailored to the size and complexity of the project. Although industry surveys have not mentioned methodology as a critical success factor, having the right tools will make the job a lot easier.

In this module you will learn:

a.   A summary of the eight imperatives to project success

b.   An approach to implementing the project health assessment framework

c.   An approach to identifying the project success factors most relevant to your project and your company, and how to implement them in practice