By: Kunal Shah, Senior Specialist Software Engineering, LTIMindtree

Every year, IT organizations see many projects fail and incur massive losses worldwide. In this blog, let’s learn about the important factors for project success.

IT organizations spend a lot of time and effort analyzing what went wrong, strategizing, and planning to ensure the future success of their project execution. While there are  infinite factors for a project failure, most failed projects have a few things in common. The biggest among them, in my opinion, are using quick fixes without proper analysis. It typically proves ineffective in the short term and can lead to disastrous effects in the future.

Below are the seven key project performance factors responsible for the success of a project.

• Focus on business value and not the technical details.
• Establish clear accountability for measured results.
• Have a consistent process for managing specific checkpoints.
• Have a consistent methodology for managing and executing projects.
• Make the customers a part of every phase of the project.
• Manage and motivate people to attain optimal performance throughout the project.
• Provide the team with the tools and techniques to get consistent outputs.

This document will try to provide my views on a few of these points, which I think are essential in executing the project more effectively.

1. Focus on business value and not the technical details.

Getting the right foot forward is essential when a project is kicked off. A project can only be delivered successfully when it starts on the right note. When beginning, a few important pointers would be to get the business requirement accurate to the very minute detail, be agile, i.e., use Agile methodology, and understand the business process in its entirety so functionalities can be simplified.

After implementing these, we should focus on the technical aspects like better fitment of the technology for the project, correct tools, etc. Sometimes, people choose the technology  they are familiar with rather than analyzing the best-fitting tech for the project to solve the business problem better. They do not focus on the bigger picture to get the most business value from a project.

Let me give you an example. We worked on a project aimed at automating manual processes for various businesses. We formed a team comprising individuals from the business and the technical side to bridge the gap for the project. The agile model was used so the project could constantly adapt to facilitate the changes. It also gave the business stakeholders more visibility on the product being created. It helped offer more ideas for what lay ahead. Each task was broken into smaller tasks for each individual to simplify the execution, especially for the technical team. This made each team member better understand and execute their task  while delivering  business value.

If the technical team had directly gone on to the implementation with their technical expertise without understanding the business value, they would not have been able to execute the project entirely to the business owner’s satisfaction and provide better solutions to the business. For a continuous relationship with the business, it is not just about solving the immediate problems but foreseeing and proposing new ideas and solutions to the business

2. Manage and motivate people to attain optimal performance throughout the project

One of the main factors for a long-term development project to lose momentum is the lack of motivation and interest. The flow of ideas and providing practical solutions stop and, in turn, affect the project’s performance. Here are a few ways through which we can keep our team motivated.

• Celebrate small wins – Bite-sized accomplishments are the key. We were able to find satisfaction in giving meaningful tasks at the end of each day. It did not have to be related to the project at all! Every cause for celebration boosts morale and motivates people to do better.
• Learn something new – Learning is something that never stops, it keeps us engaged. It can be anything, a new skill, technology, or even trying to mentor someone. The team should keep learning new skills that help them improve and grow.
• Reassess our goals – If we faced a project stall, dipping back into our career goals and job commitments was always helpful and inspiring. We were able to cross off some plans, update them, and use them to help solve some problems or answer lingering questions on our current project.
• Maintain balance – Sometimes, the best solutions are often found when we are not thinking about them. A balance should be maintained between our professional and personal life if we want to last long. We need to always keep in mind that a project is a marathon and not a sprint. We should pace it out to avoid burnout.

A project is like a machine. And a well-oiled and well-maintained machine will perform optimally. Team members are  parts of that machine. If they start wearing out, the whole machine will come to a grinding halt. So,  taking  care of the team members and keep them motivated for a project to succeed Is essential.

3. Establish clear accountability for measured results

Accountability is probably the critical most critical element fueling a truly successful project. For a team to work at maximum capacity, each person must be held fully accountable for their assigned tasks. Competence and skill are only a fraction of the equation. In reality, responsibility and the specificity of expectations and duties allow for the project’s collective success. Below are some ways to improve accountability.

• Ask for or provide clarity
• Set measurable goals
• Create a forum for updates
• Evaluate progress

4. Have a consistent process for managing unambiguous checkpoints

Project tracking prepares teams for potential roadblocks and opportunities. The lack of effective quality-centered mechanisms can significantly contribute to cost and schedule overruns. Hence, a successful project typically needs to have software measurement programs to capture productivity and historical data about the quality that can be used to compare it against similar projects and judge the validity of schedules, costs, quality, and other project-related factors.

5. Have a consistent methodology for managing and executing projects

A strong project framework promotes greater efficiency. Inadequate planning is one of the primary reasons projects spin out of control. Hence, there should be a detailed plan developed before executing a project. An appropriate methodology must be chosen that best fits the project. This step defines the entire outcome of the project. There is no going back from this step, so proper time needs to be spent since doing the right thing is the key.

6. Make the customers a part of every phase of the project.

Including customers in every project phase  is one of the critical factors for a project to succeed; the required adjustments can be made together as things change. The customers help provide meaningful inputs and information on every phase, and the feedback clarifies the project’s development. All the how, where, and what questions that come up from time to time for the development team can be addressed directly. The customer’s regular feedback helps the team incorporate all the new changes and avoid unforeseen future issues. Hence, making the customer a part of the team benefits the team and the customer since they are aware of the project’s progress and see their envisioned project coming to light. It also helps create trust between the customer and team.

7. Provide the team with the tools and techniques to get consistent outputs.

Empowered teams are resilient teams, ready to handle sudden changes. The project team must be skilled and experienced with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Access to expertise and tools must be available for those team members  fulfilling the requisite roles. We cannot expect a project to succeed with a good team of skilled individuals alone; the team needs to have the right tools and techniques to achieve the feat.

Looking ahead

Some time ago, only a few organizations successfully led enterprise agility transformations. However, the focus for companies has now shifted to including agility in their operating model, which helps them deliver the expected business value, drive performance, and gain a competitive edge. We need both process and people to achieve success. Hence, having a motivated and well-supported team allows flexibility within a defined framework for a project to succeed.