How do you save a failing project when it seems like there's no turning back?
How to Save a Failing Project: Chaos to Control provides the knowledge and insight you need to recognise a project in trouble, determine what to do about it, and transform it into a success. You'll also discover methods, techniques, and tools to keep a project from getting into trouble in the first place.
? Understand the value of a project plan - and of updating this plan continuously as you execute the project
? Recognise signs that the project is deviating from the approach needed for successful completion
? Develop a set of metrics that provide insight into the health of your project
? Identify and implement steps to get your project back on track
? Prevent the fatal missteps that can lead to project failure
? Position your team for project success
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Ralph R. Young, DBA, is an active leader and contributor in systems, software, and process engineering. Dr. Young is the director of Engineering Process Improvement, Systems and Process Engineering, Defense Group at Northrop Grumman Information Technology, a leading provider of systems-based solutions. He supports internal and external projects to improve their capabilities to use process improvement techniques, implement effective requirements practices, and develop innovations to facilitate project management. Dr. Young is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and earned a Master of Arts in economics and a Doctorate in Business Administration at The George Washington University. He is the author of Effective Requirements Practices (Addison-Wesley, 2001) and The Requirements Engineering Handbook (Artech House, 2004).
FOREWORD,
PREFACE,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS,
INTRODUCTION,
PART I Project awareness: How to Recognize a Failing Project,
CHAPTER 1 why Projects Fail,
CHAPTER 2 Is Your Project Out of Control?,
Part II Project Planning: How to Recover a Failing Project,
CHAPTER 3 Analyzing Your Project,
CHAPTER 4 why create a Plan?,
CHAPTER 5 creating the Plan,
CHAPTER 6 Building a Team,
CHAPTER 7 Identifying the Products,
CHAPTER 8 Identifying the work,
CHAPTER 9 Establishing a Schedule,
PART III Project Execution: How to Minimize the Risk of Future Failure,
CHAPTER 10 Executing the Plan,
CHAPTER 11 Managing External and Internal Expectations,
CHAPTER 12 Managing Scope,
CHAPTER 13 Managing Quality,
CHAPTER 14 Optimizing the Plan,
FINAL THOUGHTS A Recommended Approach for Project Success,
ACRONYMS,
GLOSSARY,
REFERENCES,
INDEX,
Why Projects Fail
The data on project success rates are alarming. According to the Standish Group's CHAOS Report, based on biennial surveys of software project outcomes, about 75 percent of all software projects are delivered late or fail. The data also show that since 2002, the rate of successful project completion has dropped significantly.
Delayed projects are not problematic simply because they are late. On a late project, significant planned functionality is often discarded in an effort to stay on schedule and keep costs down. So the average schedule overrun of about 120 percent and average cost overrun of 100 percent shown in Figure 1-1 are significantly understated. Completing projects often takes more than twice as long and costs twice as much as we estimate! How can it be that we haven't made progress in delivering software on time or under budget? In 1981, Barry Boehm provided a seven-step approach to estimating software projects in Software Engineering Economics. Yet most projects today do not use even this level of discipline in preparing estimates.
Steve McConnell, author of Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art, writes, "The industry data show that the software industry has an underestimation problem. Before we can make our estimates more accurate, we need to start making the estimates bigger. That is the key challenge for many organizations." Industry expert Capers Jones writes that the root cause of project failure is poor project management, not technical issues or the competence and ability of technical personnel.
The failure to adequately plan using useful and effective measures is the root cause of project failure. This book will enable you to save a failing project. Even better, it will enable you to manage projects while reducing the risk of failure.
Key Factors Leading to Failure
While many factors lead to the failure of a project, in the authors' experience, a few specific, easily recognizable factors signal serious problems that jeopardize project success:
* Poorly defined requirements
* Scope creep
* Stakeholders have different expectations
* Stakeholders have unrealistic expectations
* There is no real need or demand for the product
* There is a lack of user involvement in the project
* Change management is lacking or ineffective
* Poor quality control
*
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
£ 5.39 shipping from U.S.A. to United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speedsSeller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.8. Seller Inventory # G1567262392I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.8. Seller Inventory # G1567262392I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GreatBookPricesUK, Woodford Green, United Kingdom
Condition: good. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers. Seller Inventory # 7760362-5
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Item in very good condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00089362096
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00085996228
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GreatBookPrices, Columbia, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: good. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers. Seller Inventory # 7760362-5
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: One Planet Books, Columbia, MO, U.S.A.
paperback. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Ships same day or next business day! UPS shipping available (Priority Mail for AK/HI/APO/PO Boxes). Used sticker and some writing and/or highlighting. Used books may not include working access code or dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 001077302U
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: Textbooks_Source, Columbia, MO, U.S.A.
paperback. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Ships in a BOX from Central Missouri! May not include working access code. Will not include dust jacket. Has used sticker(s) and some writing or highlighting. UPS shipping for most packages, (Priority Mail for AK/HI/APO/PO Boxes). Seller Inventory # 001077302U
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: OM Books, Sevilla, SE, Spain
Condition: Usado - bueno. Seller Inventory # 9781567262391
Quantity: 1 available