Six Essential Project Success Questions
What follows comes from over three and a half decades of legal practice. I’m no project manager, but I have learned (often the hard way) that there are a handful of essential questions you need to ask before setting out on an important project.
Of course, you also need to ask yourself other questions about the business case for engaging in the process and the professional issues which apply, but here we’re simply looking at improving your odds of a successful outcome.
I’ve also learned (often the hard way) that most of this logic is inherent in good enterprise software. However, the software can’t think for you, nor can it make the judgment calls. It’s just there to make life easier for smart people who already understand the process. If you don’t pay attention, it won’t save your bacon.
Here are the six questions:
1. What am I signing up for? Could this turn into a Tar Baby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar-Baby) ?
2. Does this need to be done at all? By you?
3. What is the minimum acceptable outcome? What are the costs and benefits of enhancing the minimum?
4. What are the essential components of your proposed solution?
5. What are all the external deadlines, if any? How can we be certain we won’t miss them?
6. Who is responsible for successful completion of each component? Do they know it? Do they have the skills and the wherewithal? What’s their deadline? What’s the accountability process? Have the necessary authority and resources been given?
Hope that helps!
Feel free to get back to me to discuss this further or if you think I could help your enterprise group.