Sunday 13 February 2022

Key elements that makes the project successful





Generally speaking, if the project completes the set goals and meets the three elements of the project: time schedule, cost control, and quality requirements, the project can be considered successful. But sometimes the results of a project are accepted by the customer and considered successful. For example, in the IT industry, it is very common for product development to exceed the original time and cost requirements, but if the final project is technically realized and accepted by customers, it is also considered a success. 

 

However, enterprises should still formulate project success or failure standards that are conducive to the development of enterprises according to their actual situation, such as project delays of no more than 30% of the progress to achieve the standard.


for investment projects, the so-called "project success" has different criteria for judging, the realization of the project itself is only one aspect, and the economic benefits, social impacts, and environmental impacts generated by the project will become indicators to evaluate the success of the project. r&d projects have usually passed the customer acceptance of the project as a sign of success, and the investment class is not limited to this, and may be carried out after the project is completed and operated for a period of time (such as 2 years), and the final judgment of the success or failure of the project is finally given in the post-evaluation of the project.


The way to achieve project success


the success or failure of the project is affected by four aspects, namely the environment within the project team, the organizational environment in which the project is located, the customer environment, and the natural and social environment. from a controllable perspective, the first three aspects usually need to be considered. examining the first three aspects in the entire project life cycle can obtain factors that affect the success or failure of the project.


the following is a summary of the methods for project success from several aspects, such as the project operating environment, project planning, project monitoring and project communication, process improvement and technological innovation, and project manager quality.

element 1: a good project operating environment


1) process:


at the latest, in the early stage of project initiation, a set of process systems suitable for specific projects should be defined, which is an institutionalized guarantee of project success. the process is continuously optimized and the simplest optimization process is used.

2) organizational structure:


choose the appropriate project management organizational structure, as well as team member selection, and establish an incentive evaluation mechanism. organizations that operate multiple projects in parallel on the same management platform tend to choose a matrix structure; for special investment projects with a particularly long project duration, they may also choose a pure project management model; projects with complex coordination of multiple sub-project groups and projects with relatively large technical bottlenecks should choose a strong matrix, that is, there is a full-time project manager to undertake management work, so that the technical manager spends most of the managers on overcoming technical difficulties.


"people" is the most critical factor in the success of the project, and the selection of members with the necessary skills, good integration with the group, strong sense of responsibility and dedication into the group will greatly promote the success of the project.


bundle responsibilities, performance, and rewards, implement management of goals, and adopt necessary incentives. an effective incentive evaluation system will greatly mobilize the enthusiasm of team members.

3) internal support environment



in most cases, the project organization does not exist as a separate economic entity, it relies on a specific management platform. this is an internal support environment relative to external customers. streamlining the operating environment of the project includes reporting channels, financial contacts, human resources and other functional management agencies within the company.



element two: there are no weak soldiers under the strong general



the project manager is the soul of the project, and the quality of the project manager includes continuous improvement of himself in three aspects: business and technology, leadership, market and customer awareness, and special attention to the construction of team culture.



a successful project manager should promote a charismatic team culture. in modern society, people have given more spiritual needs to work. a charismatic team culture should include recognition and respect, self-confidence and trust, a good balance of division of labor and cooperation, a pleasant and motivated atmosphere, adherence to common norms, multi-level communication and communication, etc. a good team culture ultimately achieves the role of attracting, retaining, and motivating talents.


element 3: plan first



"everything is predetermined, not predetermined? quot; it's about the importance of project planning. the result of project planning is the formation of a documented project plan. the planning stage is a stage that is easily overlooked, and after the task book is issued, it is hurriedly put into the project, often laying the groundwork for the setbacks and even failures of the project. the project plan should include the project content, time schedule, budget, supporting conditions for all aspects of the need, project risk prediction, etc.


it should be emphasized that planning is a dynamic process that must be maintained, otherwise the plan will survive in name only. for activities with a lot of uncertainty, the plan can be made a little rougher, and then periodically rolling and refined as the project progresses, which is the so-called "rolling planning method", which can effectively reduce the amount of planned maintenance. in short, even if "the plan can't catch up with the change", you must "keep up with the change".


Carefully identifying the basic data obtained for the project and making quantitative estimates as much as possible will make the plan more objective and scientific. Basic project data may include workload data, efficiency data, WBS (work breakdown structure), etc. that have carried out similar projects in the past.


element 4: vigorous management of control points



combine target management with process management. process management requires appropriate methods to provide transparency of projects and eliminate "project black boxes". the so-called "project black box" means that the manager only cares about and can only understand the input and output of the project, the operation process of the project is not understood, and the project lacks control. this situation brings great risks, once the project operation deviation, can only be found after the completion of the project, greatly increasing the difficulty of correction, and even can not be corrected. the monitoring of the project is carried out in the following four steps: obtaining the project process information, analyzing and judging, taking corrective measures, and verifying.



element 5: smooth communication



project plans, schedules and project scope must be easily accessible to project members to ensure that everyone is moving towards the same goal on a unified platform. to do this, the necessary internal mail system needs to be established or appropriate diagrams and templates need to be used to enhance communication.



element 6: realistic decision-making



the process of project operation should always be remembered not to be divorced from reality, including the formulation and decision-making process of plans at all levels, and the unrealistic project plans formed by "hot heads" or "market pressures" are often doomed to failure from the moment of planning.


it should also be noted that not a good thing is necessarily suitable for your project. trendy ideas, novel approaches, and popular tools don't necessarily contribute to the success of a project. the project manager must have a calm understanding of the internal and external environment in which the project is located.

element 7: ensure the smooth operation of the project



although there are differences in the management styles of different project managers, in general, the introduction of large changes in the project should be done in a gradual manner. this includes process improvements, the introduction of new technologies and organizational restructuring. similar changes should be adequately impact-analyses. if necessary, it can be piloted and evaluated, and then introduced on a large scale.

Element 8: the responsibilities and powers of project managers are equal



reciprocity of responsibilities and powers is the basic principle of management. most of the reasons for the mismatch between responsibilities and powers are due to the inability of superior managers to trust the abilities of subordinates and to achieve effective authorization. when a project is reviewed, it is often found that the project manager is not responsible for the problems that have arisen, and the root cause of the problem is often caused by the decisions made by the senior manager in the case of incomplete information.


Element 9: close cooperation between the project entrusting parties


the project principal clearly has some responsibility for the success of the project, particularly during the project requirements analysis phase. most projects should appoint a project manager from the client, clarify the responsibilities of both parties to the contract, and give close cooperation to the early stages of the project.


the attitude of owners who do not pay attention to the project until the time of project acceptance is dangerous.

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