...Up to a third of large scale projects still fail due to poor project management skills...
Thursday 2nd April 2009 - ILX Group plc, the best practice training specialist, advises organisations to take a more proactive approach to improving project management skills. According to the ILX Group 50-75% of large scale projects continue to fail in the UK – either by missing critical deadlines, exceeding budgets, or simply failing to meet basic project requirements.
Eddie Kilkelly, Managing Director, Best Practice Division, ILX Group plc, said: “The primary challenge has always been to deliver the required output within the specified constraints of time, cost and quality. With improvements in training and access to technology, project managers have never been better equipped to succeed. The issue for some organisations is the ability to set aside time to train staff.”
Kilkelly adds: “We understand the day-to-day pressures for many managers and that’s why we deliver a flexible training module which allows individuals to learn through e-learning, mobile learning and classroom support.”
ILX check list for better project management:
1. Brief your Sponsor/ Project Board - Agree on how you should work together to deliver the project then you will get early support and commitment. Find out what decisions you can make, when sponsors want to be involved, and how much authority you need to get the job done.
2. Manage Expectations – Assess if it is really possible to deliver by the date required? And if it is technically and financially possible? Explain clearly what the outcome will be otherwise the likelihood is that your management team will be expecting everything.
3. Build a community of Project Managers - You may not have done this sort of project before, but someone will have. Share experience and information, give support. Develop the network you need to get the best outcome.
4. Develop and agree standards and processes - If the processes you follow for risk management or configuration management are organisationally agreed then all managers should be aware of these before they become your sponsor.
5. Simplify the communications - Face to face is always most effective, but do confirm the key details needed. Find out what sponsors need to know and how should this be presented. Don’t drown your sponsor in detail; provide sufficient information to allow understanding and control.
6. Use Audits as coaching opportunities - If the auditor finds something they are not happy with - then ask how it might be improved.
7. Don’t value documentation by its weight - The purpose of all documentation is to communicate so that you can obtain a decision, an approval or support. If the intended audience doesn’t read or understand your documentation then it has failed. Keep it short and readable.
8. Always define the outcome in the users’ language - Ensure the users have clearly and measurably defined their requirements in their terms. Use their measures to show completion.
9. Use technology appropriately - Technology can make the management task a lot easier, automating some of the day to day processes. However don’t be a slave to the machine - if it’s not helping, don’t use it. Just because the technology does it that way doesn’t make it the best or most appropriate method for your project. It’s a question of scale again.
10. Maintain focus – both on the process you are following and the expected outcome. It’s human nature to want to get on with the job but remember that the process also exists to stop you if things change or go wrong. Equally, the process should ensure that you continue to do the right things for the right reasons.
ILX Group plc is the single largest provider of PRINCE2 training in the UK. All ILX Group PRINCE2 courses have been accredited by the APM Group. It delivers a full range of PRINCE2 public classroom courses and also provides some of the best mobile learning* and e-learning in the industry.
