What’s Missing In Project Management

Why is there inconsistency in how organisations deliver their projects?

Most companies that derive their income from project business have experienced both, successful project delivery as well as some big failures that left the organisation crippled financially with bruised brand name and some hurt egos.

There are times when the project gets across the finish line and the supplier thinks ‘great, we’ve done’ it but the customer turns around and awards such low Net Promoter Score (NPS) that no one will consider doing project business with your company again.

And sometimes the projects get delivered on time, on budget (still delivering what the customer signed up for) but are so toxic that the organisation might lose their biggest asset: skilled expert employees.

So why do these things happen? Why is there inconsistency in how organisations deliver their projects? What is missing?

Complexity Offers Opportunity

Who wouldn’t wish to run an organisation that’s the preferred supplier in the market to any customer, where the standard of delivery is consistent (and I mean consistently on the upper side of the scale) across businesses and where the culture is that of an alignment and clarity (we know what we are doing and why), empowerment (I am authorised to make decisions), accountability (I am responsible), capability (I know how to do my job) and where learning from the past mistakes is allowed but repeating the same mistakes is not.

Who wouldn’t wish to be in charge of an organisation where the strategic goals are well known to everyone, aligned with the programs and project portfolios, with strong governance, efficient processes supported by tools that are lived by the employees because it all makes sense?

Projects are complex beasts; They start at an early stage, somewhere someone has the need to change something and that something is feasible enough for you to supply because you own the “know how/what” and it is your line of business.

The project lifecycle has phases and in a large corporation, the project teams might vary from bid to sales, sales to execution, and from execution to service. Along that journey circumstances might also change, the environment might change or the key stakeholders might change and so on.

Yet it’s still the same project the customer signed up for and that will make you, the supplier together with your customer, able to realize the benefits that keep you in the business.

With such complexity come opportunities! But to be ready for the opportunities so that these don’t just pass you by, organisations need to do a bit more in how they actually align and support their programs and project business!