Most are familiar with an oft referenced 1970’s observation of the all-too-true life cycle of big projects.  Although written in humour it holds the main reasons for projects failing and the phases may be mapped against Kipling’s six famous questions as follows:

Fail to Plan…Planning to Fail

It may seem overly simplistic, but projects start to go wrong ‘at the start’.  The saying by Benjamin Franklin over 200 years ago that “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” is true today.  But, is it really just the planning or knowing ‘what’ has to planned?

Embarking on a project without a plan may seem exciting and the enthusiasts who “have done it all before” and “have experience” love the adventure, and adventures can work.  Without a definition for the venture (i.e. the What) enthusiasm alone is a recipe for disaster.

IF the purpose of the plan is not defined then even the best-laid plans will go awry; failure is not on the horizon, it’s lurking in the long grass waiting to ambush you

Disillusionment

Should the project continue to the next phase of ‘disillusionment’ this means that nobody has had the wherewithal to stop progress, identify the problem, and start planning.

Unfortunately, once a project starts it takes a courageous person to stop progress and announce that the ‘sky is (really) falling’.  Those people (if they exist) may leave at this juncture as they are accused by enthusiastic proponents as being ‘prophets of doom’.  These prophets know that the slippery slope to failure is getting steeper and, as messengers who can be shot, they may well leave rather than be blamed or fired when the later organisational inquisition ensues.

Should the momentum to failure increase, the few who could have prevented it abandon ship, and the remainder try to do their best.  However, without knowing what they have to achieve the team will be in disarray, at crossed purposes, and any plan (if it exists) will not fit the project in hand.

Chaos

“Out of chaos comes order” goes the saying and, ultimately, somebody realises things are not going as they ought to (…we aren’t in Kansas anymore).  Clients may complain but the real catalyst for realisation of a problem project is cash flow: invoices are not being paid, the Cost Performance Index is awry, and, more probably, the Board are unhappy.  And we wonder, were the Board innocently uninformed or, purposefully and premeditatedly kept in the dark, or is it plausible deniability?  Was it conspiracy or cock-up…rumours as to why will abound.

In any event, companies then react in the time-honoured tradition and reorganise in an incredible belief that the hierarchy of control and power will fix everything.  Here we have Phases IV to VI whereby people are accused, acquitted, rewarded, or reprieved.  Scapegoats are side-cast, troublemakers are ‘dealt with’ and ‘yes men’ are put in place; the organisation is in a position to defend any accusations of failure and point the finger unanimously.

Reorganising

Reorganising with no real change is ineffective and resistance to realise failure is, eventually, futile.  As was allegedly written some 2000 years ago but rings true today:

“We tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization“.

With reorganisation and associated sackings and promotions the cycle may start again with renewed enthusiasm rather than a realisation of requirements.  New brooms may not necessarily sweep clean if they only redistribute the same dust; consequently, putting the right ‘who’ in right ‘places’ is essential.

Failure Forecast

If you don’t know what you must do, or why you are doing it, or when, or how or where or by whom, then you will be on the road to failure.

If these basic questions that define a project’s requirements are not identified, clarified, possibly questioned, and addressed at the outset there will, almost certainly, be repeated visits to disillusionment, chaos and reorganisation.

Unless this downward spiral is arrested, there will be a strong likelihood that there will be extended and painful lesson(s) in failure as the project struggles along a self-imposed rocky road that results from wild enthusiasm and not really knowing what is required (until it’s too late).

Bio:

MBA, MSc DIC, BSc; Chartered Engineer, Chartered Geologist, PMP

Over thirty years’ experience on large multidisciplinary infrastructure projects including rail, metro systems, airports, roads, marine works and reclamation, hydropower, tunnels and underground excavations.

Project management; design & construction management; and contract administrative in all project phases from feasibility, planning & design, procurement, implementation, execution and completion on Engineer’s Design and Design & Build schemes.