The 6 Keys To Project Success And The Laws That Govern Them
We all wonder from time to time about our projects.
What were the underlying elements at work during the process that enabled a successful outcome to be delivered? Sometimes it’s easy to isolate those driving forces in hindsight, but it’s not always possible to analyse whilst you’re actually ‘living’ the process. I’ve put together 6 important keys to project success and the laws that govern them that might explain it all.
6 Keys To Project Success…
1. Someone with influence at management level, and the will to use that influence, must care about the project outcome.
2. Clarify what success is.
3. Expose assumptions.
4. Let people (up, down and sideways) know what’s happening, likely to happen and why.
5. Make it crystal clear who has to do what, when and why, and the consequences of success and failure.
6. Only work on targeted activities.
… And The Laws That Govern Them
1. You can’t achieve success if you can’t say exactly what it is.
2. People cannot work on two distinct tasks at the same time – and be effective.
3. People take time to shift between tasks. Ignoring this will result in delays, frustration and compromised outcomes.
4. If the solution is unknown, a date for completion is worthless. Instead use a date for decision about continued investment.
5. People will pay attention to and work on what is relevant to them.
6. People work for and with people. Money isn’t enough.