This report was brought to my attention by Ron Rosenhead’s Project Management blog, and I stumped up the US$99 to buy it. The actual report is 4 pages long, but you get a free (hardcover) book with the purchase so that softens the blow a little.
The part of the report that I found most interesting was Standish’s thoughts about the causes of increased project failures. They acknowledge that some project failures may be due to the economy, however primarily they attribute the main causes to be lack of execution and focus and an increase in process, tools and red tape. Process isn’t helping, it’s hindering!
Clearly articulating the BIG RISK, Standish highlights that this current process mentality is a downward spiral; project success rates are low, so we put in more controls. This means less time managing projects and more red tape, which in turn leads to even lower success rates… You get the picture.
It’s not about the methodology
Our project management organisations are losing their perspective on what’s important. It’s not about the process or the methodology; project success is achieved when smart, capable project managers are allowed to focus and spend time on what’s important to get their projects delivered.
The Report provides Standish’s 10 Laws of Chaos and the 10 Chaos Success Factors, which are revised based on their survey data.
Tellingly, Formal Methodology has been replaced by Execution this year.
What could YOU do with your life if you had just a few more hours each day?
“project success is achieved when smart, capable project managers are allowed to focus and spend time on what’s important to get their projects delivered.” YES!
Hi Anita, thanks for dropping by!
Mike