This article summarizes the underlying factors of internal and external project failure and presents preventive or corrective actions to tackle the unavoidable nature of wrongness in today’s business settings. The intent of this article is not to provide a widely-known list of project failure factors resulting from unmanaged schedule, budget, risks, and quality. It is however to identify hidden, underlying causes that are usually found in the arena of human nature. Optimum Consultancy Services www.optimumppm.com

1. PMI Houston 2016
Conference & Expo
June 6-8, 2016
NRG Park

2. Starting Right, Ending Wrong!
Optimum Consultancy Services
PMI Houston Conference– June 2016
2
5100 Westheimer Rd., Suite 200 Houston, TX
www.optimumppm.com l (713) 505.0300

3. INTEGRATED PROJECT AND CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
Almost all projects start with the intent to add value to the organization either through process improvements or end-consumer
products. But even when we start with all the right plans, there is a difficulty in maintaining those plans and achieving a true project
success. What are the causes of project failure, beyond the technical project constrains, and to what extend can those be mitigated?
This presentation summarizes the underlying factors of internal and external project failure and presents preventive or corrective
actions to tackle the unavoidable nature of wrongness in today’s business settings.
The intent of this presentation is not to provide a widely-known list of project failure and success factors resulting from unmanaged
schedule, budget, risks, and scope. It is however to identify hidden, underlying causes that are usually found in the arena of human
nature.
Nooshin Yazhari
Nooshin Yazhari, PMP
Founder and President
Optimum Consultancy Services

4. Known Facts…
• Most projects start with an intent to add value to the organization
either through process improvements or end-consumer products.
• By definition, every project is a unique endeavor. This means that,
strictly speaking, no one has done it before.
• Projects fail to realize their full benefits, despite having a well
developed and planned technical solution. A perfectly designed
technical solution with low adoption and engagement by end users
does not deliver value.

5. Technical Project Success Factors (from Project
Management Standpoint)
• On time
• On budget
• Meeting technical requirements
• Achievement of results and outcomes

6. Technical Causes of Project Failure
• Inadequate or no project planning
• Resource constrains (budget, time, staff)
• Underestimating complexity
• Lack of quality planning, assurance and control
• Lack of proper project Risk management
• Lack of project change control (scope and timeline changes)

7. There are “People” and “Process” dimensions of projects!

8. Soft Project Success Factors (from Change
Management Standpoint*)
• Speed of adoption by impacted employees/stakeholders
• Ultimate utilization by impacted employees/stakeholders
• Achievement of results and outcomes
* Extracted From Prosci® Methodology and Standards

9. Soft Causes of Project Failure
• Discrepancies in the “What”
• Misalignment of project goals and objectives with organizational strategy and priorities
• Misalignment between executive leadership, mid-level/department-level management,
and individual contributors’ understanding of vision, goals, and project objectives
• Unjustified ROI and value added
• Discrepancies in the “How“
• Not doing the “right” things “right”
• Lack of resource planning and prioritization from a holistic view (portfolio management
vs. project management)
• Lack of competent project and change management resources
• Undefined success criteria and the “right approach” to the project
• Lack of defined and enforced governance and processes

10. Continued - Soft Causes of Project Failure
• Human nature and judgment
• Human judgment is influenced by many factors such as personal agendas and interests
• People’s perception of the realities, understanding of the reality, cultural (obligations and
aspirations) aspects, professional experience and most importantly, the capacity to
remain objective with wisdom
• Lack of executive sponsorship, proper organizational change management,
and proper communications
• Lack of top-down accountability/ownership (starting from higher
executive/management levels)
• Uninvolved or uninterested project sponsorship
• Unmanaged stakeholders expectations

11. Continued - Soft Causes of Project Failure
• Wrong/inexistence metrics for project performance and benefits
• Measuring wrong KPIs/metrics such as peoples words and feelings
• Lack of Benefits Management framework to capture and communicate project benefits
(Managing Benefits training and certification is now offered in Houston)
• Environmental factors changes
• Regulatory changes
• Market/economy changes
• Not learning from our mistakes!
• Uncaptured/ignored lessons learned

13. Proposed Solution:
Integrated Change and Project Management
Methodology
People Process Tools
Organization Level Change Management
Inputs:
Defined Change
Technical
Solution
Outputs:
Adoption
Usage
Results and
Outcome
Benefits
Values
Individual Level Change Mgmt.
(Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement)
Project Level Change Mgmt.
Extracted From Prosci® Methodology and Standards

14. CONTACT US
(713) 505-0300 nyazhari@optimumppm.com
optimumppm.com 5100 Westheimer Rd. Suite 200
Houston, TX 77042
A
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