6.9 Success and Failure of Projects

Projects are all the more successful …

• the more the project stakeholders are involved in the project, 
• the more clearly the objective of the project is defined,
• the more aware all project participants are of the goals and tasks, 
• the simpler and more practical the agreed standards are,
• the better plans and reality are synchronized,
• the more certain the statements about the project status are,
• the more clearly roles in the project are defined and lived, 
• the more the project is supported by the line,
• the more clearly the “rules of the game” are agreed upon and lived by, 
• the better the project team is able to deal with conflicts, 
• and the more competent and experienced the project manager is,
• the more the project team learns from the experience of this and past projects.

Projects can fail because …

• the project objectives are unclear or not clear enough,
• the date is chosen too “sporty” in the sense of “you’ll manage” – or the date is even completely unrealistic,
• the available budget is insufficient, 
• the planning for the project is too rough or too precise,
• the planning is completely unrealistic because the project must be successful on paper,
• the project organisation is unclear,
• the responsibilities within the project are unclear,
• the responsibilities for the project outside the project are insufficiently clarified,
• the project team should just get started,
• no one’s really up for the project.