Why Do Projects Succeed or Fail? Discover What Really Makes a Difference Hello Mark, For too long, project managers have believed that the right planning leads to the right results. Yet time after time, independent research shows that the current approach to project management fails to produce the outcomes managers expect – and clients want. It’s clear the traditional solutions to project management are not working. The key to improving project performance is not planning, but execution – creating and sustaining processes and behaviors that deliver consistent, quantifiable results. Fortunately, the processes and behaviors to deliver consistent execution results are well defined and quantified. These form the Project Execution Maturity Model. This identifies the elements that drive effective project execution excellence, giving you a measurable means to assess your status, to target areas of improvement, and to make meaningful progress in the way you deliver projects. You'll learn: What processes and behaviors lead to lower operating costs, increased throughput, and significant gains in on-time delivery performance How to confidently identify and work on the right elements to change Why achieving greater project execution maturity drives increases to your organization's financial performance How to replicate success, project after project, by learning how to move your organization from ad hoc project management to control of projects, portfolios and continuous strategic improvement

1. Why do
projects succeed
or fail?
Part 1 –
Basic Collaboration
The Behaviors that
Make a Difference

2. What I want to share:
2
The Premise of the Solution
Project Execution Maturity Model – 3 Levels
Understanding Basic Collaboration

3. What does “failure” mean?
Scope
̶ Did the project deliver all
the features?
Quality
̶ Did the outcome function as
it should have?
Business Benefit
̶ Did the project deliver the
results?
Budget
̶ Did it cost as much as it was
supposed to?
Schedule
̶ Was it done when we wanted
it to?
3

4. Most Managers Struggle with
Schedule and Budget
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Scope Quality Business Benefit Budget Schedule
Project Success Rates & Length of Time Using a PMO
PMO >= 6 yrs PMO <= 5 yrs No PMO
4

5. Successful projects are NOT the
result of successful planning
7
Successful projects are the result of
skillful execution.

6. Performance Is a
Function of Capability
Project Management
Capabilities
Ability Behavior Result
8
Project Management
Maturity
Project
Performance
Business
Performance

7. Purpose of “Best Practice” Models
 Quantify capabilities that deliver
the desired results
 Facilitate comparison to your
practices
̶ Determine what is and what isn’t
working
̶ Establish a case for action
̶ Develop a plan for improvement
9

8. Many Project Management
Maturity Models
Over 30 different models, based on
various paradigms
Seem to be useful
̶ Widely adopted
̶ Many organizations report advancements in
maturity
10

9. What Do We Want in a Model?
12
The principles for delivering on time and on budget
Clear relationship between principles and desired effects
Behaviors that exemplify those principles
A path to maturity
Level 5
Optimizing
Level 4
Managed
Level 3 Org.
Focus
Level 2 Basic
PM
Level 1 Initial

10. Project Execution Maturity Model – Principles for
Execution & On Time Delivery
13
Date
Mgmnt.
Schedule
Risk
Delivery
Promising
Managing
Bottlenecks
Remote
Collaboration
Priority
Control
Collaborative
Execution
Control WIP
Functional
Alignment
Probabilistic
Planning
Subcontractor
Management
Capacity
Management More
Mature
Less
Mature

11. Basic Collaboration
14
Emphasize Velocity
The work before you
The team before you
Near term
More
Mature
Less
Mature
Priority
Control
Collaborative
Execution
Control WIP
Functional
Alignment

12. Improved Coordination
15
 Inclusion of remote teams
 Emphasize On Time Delivery
 Inclusion of schedule risk in execution decisions
 Medium Term
More
Mature
Less
Mature
Date
Mgmnt.
Schedule
Risk
Delivery
Promising
Managing
Bottlenecks
Remote
Collaboration

13. Integrated Planning & Execution
16
Closed Loop planning & execution
Probabilistic scheduling
Finite resource planning
Life of project, full portfolio
Probabilistic
Planning
Subcontractor
Management
Capacity
Management More
Mature
Less
Mature

14. Basic Collaboration
17
Increase Velocity
Priority
Control
Collaborative
Execution
Control WIP
Functional
Alignment

15. Basic Collaboration Solves:
18
Lack of direction
Unclear accountabilities for results
Slow progress
Answers the most basic questions:
̶ What is the status of the work?
̶ Are we making progress?
̶ What do we need to do to move forward?
̶ Who is going to do it?

16. Collaborative Execution
19
Priority
Control
Collaborative
Execution
Control WIP
Functional
Alignment

17. Collaborative Execution
Working together to
achieve shared goals.
20

18. Informed Collaboration
 Individuals and teams see
beyond their own tasks to the
overall direction of the project
 Agreement on the situation
 Roles and accountabilities of
each team member are clear
 Focusing on what needs to be
done today, rather than the
past
21

19. Collaborative Execution
What if I don’t?
Slow response to project
problems
Slow progress
Increased project lead-
times
22

20. Building Collaboration
Accurate / shared assessment of the situation
Accountability for results
Plan-Do-Check-Act
23

21. The Situation Must Be Made Obvious
Accuracy – Where are we now?
Shared – Do we agree on it?

22. Purposeful Collaboration
 Focus on what is slowing or halting progress
 Only investigate the issues
̶ “What are the red issues?”
 Ask what we need, not who to blame or why
̶ “How does it hurt the project due date?”
 Try to identify next steps, not resolve the issue
̶ “Let’s have a separate meeting to figure this out”
 Actionable!
 Keep it short!

23. Collaborative Execution
What if I do?
Quick response to
project problems
Increased completion
velocity
Reduced project lead-
times
26

24. Functional Alignment
27
Priority
Control
Collaborative
Execution
Control WIP
Functional
Alignment

25. Functional Alignment
The project team
shares
̶ A common goal
̶ Agreement on the rules
of the game
Subordination of
individual to team
objectives
28

26. Functional Alignment
What if they aren’t?
Reduced velocity
̶ Time to clarify accountabilities
̶ Difficulty obtaining resources
̶ Low team engagement
Poor resource productivity
̶ Misallocation of skills
̶ Response delays
29

27. Metrics Align Behavior & Purpose
30

28. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Totaltasksbycategory
Blue
Green
Yellow
Red
(Complete)
(In Progress)
(Minor Issue)
Results Trending Based on Behavior

29. 0
5
10
15
20
25
NumberofIssues
ResolvedBefore
NeedingEscalation

30. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
#ofIssuesnotidentified
untilescalationrequired
Short Notice Issues

31. Functional Alignment
What if they are?
 Increased task completion
velocity
̶ Clear accountabilities
̶ Resources allocated as needed
̶ High team engagement
 Improved resource productivity
̶ The right people working the problems
̶ Quick response to problems
34

32. Priority Control
35
Priority
Control
Collaborative
Execution
Control WIP
Functional
Alignment

33. Priority Control
36
A unified work
prioritization
system which
reflect the global
priorities
Used for all
projects and
supporting tasks.

34. What/Who Controls Priorities?
37
Priority??Operations
Project
Managers
Product
Planners
SAP
P6
My Buddy

35. Priority Control
What if we don’t?
Work performed out of
sequence
Plenty of task switching
(multitasking)
̶ Delays
̶ Longer completion times
Reduced productivity
38

36. Setting the Priority
 Establish the criteria (delivery date?)
 Who controls them?
 What if there is
disagreement or
confusion?
 Quality problems or
delay – does this change?
 What about emergencies?
39

37. Priority Control
What if we do?
The right work at the
right time
Much less task switching
(multitasking)
̶ Increased velocity
̶ Shorter completion times
Increased productivity
40

38. Manage the Flow
41
Priority
Control
Collaborative
Execution
Control WIP
Functional
Alignment

39. Control Work in Progress
Managers control the release
of work into the system based
on the capacity of the
constraint
Managers promote policies
that reduce multi-tasking –
̶ Clean Start
̶ Clear Priorities
42

40. Controlling Work in Progress
What if we don’t?
 Increased complexity of task
management
̶ Increased management effort
(meetings!)
̶ Work performed out of
sequence
̶ Plenty of task switching
 Increased project lead times
 Delays in task completions
 Task rework.
 Task over-processing
 Reduced productivity
43

41. WIP controls the release of new
projects
45
must be limited.
Project XX
Estimate
(WIP = 4)WIP Controls:
1. Limiting work
2. Release at the rate of consumption

42. The Clean Start Queue
46
TBR (To be released)
It is a prioritized queue
of work that needs to
be done when
resources are
available.
The work has met the
defined “clean start”
requirements

43. Controlling Work in Progress
What if we do?
 Simplification of task
management
 Reduced project lead times
 Tasks can be quickly
completed without delay
 Rework reduced
 Task over-processing is
eliminated
 Improved productivity
47

44. Basic Collaboration - Summary
48
Collaborative
Execution
Working together to achieve shared goals
Functional
Alignment
Each team member subordinates to the
overall objectives of the project
Priority
Control
Local work priorities reflect global priorities
Control WIP
Work is released into the system as it is consumed.
Clean Start

45. Improved Coordination
49
Date
Mgmnt.
Schedule
Risk
Delivery
Promising
Managing
Bottlenecks
Remote
Collaboration
More
Mature
Less
Mature
Deliver on Time

46. Integrated Planning & Execution
50
Probabilistic
Planning
Subcontractor
Management
Capacity
Management More
Mature
Less
Mature
Optimize Performance

47. Project Execution Maturity Model
Fills the gap in existing models
̶ Schedule
̶ Budget / Cost
51

48. Basic Collaboration
Improved Coordination
Integrated Planning
& Execution
52
Road Map to Value

49. Directly Building Capabilities
that Drive Performance
Project Management
Capabilities
Ability Behavior Result
53
Project Management
Maturity
Project
Performance
Business
Performance

50. Basic Collaboration - Results
54
All of the work in the system is in control
Project teams have a clear view of the project work, its
status and risk
Local resource teams are aligned with project priorities.
Accountabilities for results are clear
Priority
Control
Collaborative
Execution
Control WIP
Functional
Alignment

51. Tracking 54%
improvement
Average
Quoted
Lead Time
Results after 10 Weeks
Engineering Lead Time reduced
From 24 months to 11 months
54% improvement in
engineering lead time &
little variation

52. Financial Impact (USD)
LT impact with
additional
sales
• More with same
• New sales - reduced lead time
= new projects + aftermarket
0 24 months
Original
Original
New
Sales
1.4
Additional
sales
• More with same
• New sales – additional productivity
= new projects + aftermarket
+27%
Capacity
? ? ?
SCU A B C
1.9
to
2.8
Improved
effectiveness &
efficiency
• Same with less
• 27% reduction of project lead times
translated into cost savings2.1
Bottom line:
≥ 5.3mm

53. Why do
projects succeed
or fail?
The Behaviors that
Make a Difference