I came across a recent CIO.com article on Why IT projects still fail that references a KPMG technology survey and interviews with some high-level leaders. While I was initially hoping for some interesting insights, I discovered that the article was full of a familiar set of surface level “problems.” In fact, the problems are all simply solutions disguised as problems.
Lack of project management expertise
Little or no executive support
No business sponsor accountability
Lack of business sponsor engagement
Not involving all stakeholders
Not enough resources or not the right ones
Lack of in-person collaboration
Disjointed handoffs
I’m sure in the past, I have claimed that one or more of these items was the problem. The handy thing is that there is an obvious answer to all of them. Just do the opposite! We just need more…
Project management expertise
Executive support
Business sponsor accountability
Business sponsor engagement
All stakeholders involved
All the right resources
In-person collaboration
Smooth handoffs
Surely, if we just do all these things, our projects will be much more successful. Right?
The discussion in the article doesn’t delve further into why these situations arise in organizations. Even worse, I would wager similar articles have appeared in CIO.com and many other venues over the years. I’d even wager that organizations have tried these solutions but that the “problems” have come roaring back. (Why else would this kind of article come up over and over again? The word “still” is in the title!)
The fact that the same “problems” (solutions) keep coming up is a sure sign that there is a deeper problem that is creating the symptoms that we see. The deeper problem is likely creating all or most of the effects that are appearing in the system. It was Drucker, I believe, who said, “The system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.” If we don’t resolve the core problem, we are sure to keep seeing the same problems over and over.
To my eye, it seems like a lot of these challenges are related to organizations trying to do everything - they believe they need to respond to every request or upset or demand from elsewhere in the system. There is a hesitation to say, “No” or “Not now.” Or they release more work to hedge their bets in case some initiatives fail. (Or to “use up” the budget.) As a result, you get everyone and everything spread way too thin. And what happens then? Sponsors and executives don’t have time for all the projects. Decisions get delayed. Project leaders (product leads; scrum masters) get stretched and don’t seem to be able to resolve local issues. And the inevitable effect of projects taking too long and not delivering the expected value.
What if you could focus on the critical few projects? What if the organization had confidence that the projects would deliver value to the organization (the customers!)? What would decision-making look like? What if people had time to focus on one thing at a time?
I don’t have all the answers, but the list in this article just bugged me. They aren’t the real problem - just representing symptoms that won’t go away without addressing the root cause of the system’s behavior.