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Why good projects fail anyway.

Nadim F Matta1, Ronald N Ashkenas

  • 1Robert H. Schaffer & Associates, Stamford, Connecticut, USA.

Harvard Business Review
|September 11, 2003
PubMed
Summary
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Large projects often fail due to unaddressed issues. Rapid-results initiatives, mini-projects mirroring overall goals, help identify and resolve problems early, ensuring project success.

Area of Science:

  • Project Management
  • Organizational Behavior

Background:

  • Large-scale projects frequently fail, with estimates suggesting over 50% do not meet their objectives.
  • Traditional project structures, involving parallel teams, often lead to convergence issues and overlooked critical tasks.
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) implementations are particularly susceptible to failure due to user adoption challenges and misaligned objectives.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce and evaluate the effectiveness of rapid-results initiatives (RRIs) as a strategy to mitigate project failure.
  • To demonstrate how RRIs can uncover unforeseen challenges during project development.
  • To provide insights into managing RRIs alongside traditional project management methodologies.

Main Methods:

  • Implementing a series of time-bound mini-projects (RRIs) with scaled-down versions of the main project's objectives.

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  • Integrating RRI teams to draw upon the work of parallel project teams.
  • Analyzing case studies, including a World Bank project, to assess RRI impact.

    • Main Results:

    • RRIs enable early detection of critical issues, such as user resistance or logistical complexities, within short timeframes.
    • The World Bank successfully utilized RRIs to maintain a long-term project and achieve early, visible results.
    • This approach facilitates the convergence of parallel project tracks by proactively addressing interdependencies.

    Conclusions:

    • Rapid-results initiatives are an effective strategy for improving the success rate of large, complex projects.
    • Integrating RRIs into project planning can proactively identify and resolve risks, leading to earlier and more substantial outcomes.
    • This methodology enhances project management by ensuring alignment and addressing potential roadblocks before they derail the entire initiative.