When you are in charge of running a project team, the responsibility of the success of the project often falls onto you. It is not always possible to run a successful project with certain elements sometimes being unavoidable. Project managers are often under an intense amount of pressure and so struggle to keep up with the various parts of the project. This then means that finding the reason for failure can be quite difficult. There are many different reasons for failure ranging from a lack of communication between clients or team members to work being rushed because the deadlines are unrealistic. To help project managers understand how to improve, we have come up with some reasons why a project might fail and how you can avoid them in the future. Keep reading if you’d like to find out more!
Lack of Organisation
If the project in question is a very large one, then it is likely that are a lot of people working on it and a huge number of individual tasks. Task management is very important and when tasks are not prioritised, team members can fall behind. When you are running a project, you should be making sure that all of the different tasks are being accounted for and they are completed in line with the individual deadlines. One of the ways that you can manage the tasks that need to be completed in your project is by using some workflow software like Kanban boards.
If you’d like to know what Kanban is and how it works, we’ll take you through the basics. A Kanban board is used to organise various tasks depending on their progress. Team members can view the board to see what needs to be done and what they can improve on. Kanban boards are great for those types of projects that require team members to work together very efficiently. Using this type of board will help to prevent your project from failing.
Rushing Towards the Deadline
Having deadlines that are fast approaching can be very intimidating and can often force you to rush through your work. Cutting corners is never a good idea as it means that the end product is likely to be of a lower standard than you are capable of. Clients will not be happy if you rushed the work just to simply make the deadline. If you want to make your project a success, you need to organise your time in a way that lets your team produce some great quality work within the deadline. This can be achieved by automating tasks that you might think need to be done manually. This will free up some of your time and will allow you to focus on making the project more of a success. Rushed work can also occur when project managers put a lot of pressure on their team. The team might find that they struggle to keep up with the pressure and so opt for sub-standard work. Make sure to show your team that you are organised and that they shouldn’t rush their work.
Lack of Communication
In any sort of business, communication is very important in making sure that everything goes smoothly. This is especially important when it comes to running a successful project – you will not succeed if you do not communicate. What you actually need to communicate to your team depends on the type of project that is being done. You might need to communicate deadlines, rules or even updates from the client. A lack of communication often means that things are not done to the best standard and that problems take longer to solve. If you are easily contactable and the proper communication channels are set up, then it is more likely that your project will be a success. You should also make sure that your team are able to easily communicate with each other, especially if they are not working together in an office. Make use of some of the great messaging and team connectivity tools that are available to use. If you can, organise meetings or a one-to-one with your team to ensure that everyone is on track to completing the project successfully.
Ignoring the Client Needs
One of the most important reasons why a project fails is a lack of understanding of what the client needs. Often project managers begin a project without talking in depth with the client about what is expected of them. This can then mean that when the project is completed, it is not exactly how the client wants it. When this happens, it can add extra time to your project and incur more costs. This is why it is important to make everything clear at the begging of a project. You should make sure to sit down and make a detailed plan which will then be approved.
Although you might want to get creative on this project, it is important that you don’t go too far off base. One of the ways that you can avoid this is by staying in close contact with the client throughout the project. Hold regular meetings or send updates through email – there are so many ways that you can do this. If you take the time to let your client know about what you have done so far, there is less risk of your project failing in the end.
Poor Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is something that is very important when you are starting a project as a project manager. Risk assessment is often ignored in project management meaning that lots of problems that could have been avoided cause issues throughout the project. If you spend the time coming up with a list of things that could go wrong during your project, you will able to put measures in place to try and avoid them. This doesn’t need to be done alone, the different members of your team can use their experience to help you overcome any potential issues. Performing a risk assessment check right at the start will help your project be successful and you will be at less risk of failing at the end. Make sure to find out how to do a proper risk assessment before you begin managing any sort of big or important project.
Final Summary
Sometimes, there is nothing worse than spending months working on a project and trying your hardest to find that it fails. This is especially annoying for those people who are in charge of running the project and ensuring that it goes smoothly. In project management, your responsibility is to make sure that every base has been covered, you must ensure that your team knows exactly what to do and when they need to do it by.
Your client is the most important part of any project and so you need to stay in contact with them to ensure that the final product matches what they have asked for. Proper planning and effective use of time can really make a difference so don’t waste time on small tasks. Organise your workload, download some new project management tools and your next project is sure to be a success!