Questions:
What Are The Problems In Project Initiation That Can Lead To Project Failure?
What Do Project Managers Feel About Project Initiation Issues?
How Can Project Failures Be Avoided With Resolution Of Problems At The Initiation Stage?
Project initiation is a critical phase of project management as it builds a strong foundation needed for the project success and the project manager has to take steps that affect the chances of success. Several project failures are associated with project initiation issues and research says that 65% of project failures result from problems in the project initiation stage. To be successful in projects, project manager needs to understand the problems that can occur at the initiation stage that can lead to failure so that these issues are avoided. This research would explore project initiation problems from Project Manager Perspectives (Rahman, 2005).
The aim of this research study is to explore the project management challenges at the project initiation stage that can cause failure as per project manager.
The objectives of this research would be
In the project initiation phase, a high level project plan is developed, the probable risks that are likely to affect the project outcome are explored, and strategic viability of the project is tested. The stage emphasises on the strategic requirements of the project. High level deliverables of the project are identified in this stage that act as foundation for making estimates.
Project initiation stage takes the inputs for development of plan from the key personnel through interviews, document reviews and lessons learned from the old projects. A stepwise process is followed that begins with an interview with the customer. In this interview, the strategic vision of the company and the objectives of the project are understood. The objective of this interview is to determine the key problems faced by the customer that are to be solved with the project. Proposed solutions can be reviewed and the scope of the project can be verified by the customer during this interview (Wiegers, 2005).
After the interview is done, an internal research can be conducted where other people in the company can also be involved for understanding the current state of the organization including it processes, functions and resource structures. In the case of highly complex project, subject matter experts may also be involved in the research process. Based on the research findings, project requirements are developed with focus on the objectives that the project sponsor wants to achieve (Ding, 2015).
At this point, lessons learned from previous projects act as point of reference and these can be obtained from a project repository. The project manager would thus review the lessons recorded earlier and based on the same identify possible risks on the current project to develop a plan for risk management. This could include the review of the risk logs and registered to identify potential areas of concern. The identified requirements are reviewed by the project manager such that objectives and expectations of project stakeholders can be clearly identified and project scope is finalized (Jordan, 2012).
The project manager is responsible for understanding the needs of the customers and reviewing the project requirements as well as the business case such that the objectives of the project and expectations of the stakeholders can be identified. The project manager needs to identify all the possible project requirements that could be incomplete contradictory, unfeasible or unclear and can cause hindrance in the successful completion of the project at later stages. The project manager defines the final deliverables of the project and communicates them to the project sponsor. Once the scope and budget of the project is approved by the project sponsor, the project manager defines the roles of each project team member clearly considering their levels of authority, experience and expertise in handling project. It is the responsibility of the project manager to develop a cohesive team that is motivated to achieve the success on the project (Levine, 2016).
The roles and project plan are communicated to the project team and the stakeholders by the project manager. Thus, project manager plays a very crucial role in bringing success to a project. A project manager takes care of the project scope, cost, and schedule and customer expectations while managing the project. Typically, a project manager would first develop the project scope and project plan and then assign roles while providing guidance to the team as a leader. The progress of the project is then monitored by the project manager who has to ensure that all deliverables are met as per time and if there are problems stopping it from happening, appropriate measures are taken to resolve then. In case of any variances on the project scope, schedule or cost, the project manager would come up with the recommendations on corrective steps. In case there are any conflicts between team members during project execution, the project manager would also negotiate the resolution (City of Chandler, 2000).
There are some key processes involved in project initiation such as creation of the project description, project feasibility study, project concept document, and creation of the project charter. Project statement is a high level statement of the project which describes the characteristics of the project deliverables including processes and products. It also includes the purpose of project execution but it only presents the overview of what would be included in the project. The detailed descriptions of the project processes are provided only in the detailed project plan which is created later based on these descriptions.
Project feasibility is an important part of the project initiation process. The objective of feasibility study is to explore constraints, assumptions, and alternatives. Project feasibility study has four key components that include problem description, overview of the approach, solutions, and recommendations. The project concept document includes list of deliverables including what has to be done, why it is important for the project and the business value it would provide on the completion of the project.
When taking decisions on projects, certain barriers are faced by project managers in the initiation phase of the project such as:
Project Team Frustration: The staff of the project may not have the desire to start working on the design of the solution that is proposed on the project. This can be due to the frustration that may be caused due to several reasons like unnecessary delays, complications, and more in taking decisions for the initiation of the project. If the project initiation is not done properly, it could also lead to frustration in the project team as people would not have the clarity on the objectives and what can be expected from the project.
Management Non-Commitment: The project may lack commitment from the top management because of little transparency and lack of appropriate knowledge about the project in them. If they only know the rough estimates and overview of the idea, it cannot motivate top management. Lack of commitment from top management would put initiation processes on hold as they are important for not just getting the approval but also for gaining a clear understanding of the requirements of the project. Lack of commitment is one of the major causes of failure that cannot just affect the project at the initiation stage but also at later stages of the project.
Customer Indecision: The customers may not be very clear about the requirement and thus, may not provide the definitions and concepts on what is needed for the product or services that would be delivered through the project. This lack of understanding would cause delays in decisions as the customer would not be able to assess the requirements clearly which would make it difficult for the project manager to initiate the project and prepare the charter for approval. Customer indecisions often happen on projects when the customer is not clear about what the customer wants to achieve with the execution of the project. At this point strategic objectives of the organization can be useful for the planning.
There can be more problems that can pose challenges before the project manager making it difficult to move forward with planning for the project such as:
Lack of commitment from stakeholders: If the stakeholders buy in is not obtained then it can cause difficulties for the project manager in getting the project requirements in detail that is necessary for the planning. For success of the project, it is essential that the expectations and needs of the stakeholders are met. Thus, project manager needs to ensure that proper communication reaches stakeholders such as their buy-in is achieved.
Scarcity of Resources: The project may not have sufficient resources required for completing the deliverables. Finding the right people for the project is difficult and thus, limitation of resources can make it difficult for the project manager to identify sufficient resources for allotment to the project.
Lack of Consensus: If the consensus is not obtained between the stakeholders on the objectives of the project then it could lead to problems in creating plan and initiating the processes for the project. Different stakeholders would have different ideas on what the project should attain and what it should not. Lack of clarity on the objectives of a project can kill the project even before it starts.
Lack of Business Strategy: If there is no specific business strategy of the customer company that has to b followed then defining strategic objectives would be difficult and if the project outcomes would align with the strategic objectives of the company would remain a question. In the situation where strategic goals are lacking, the starting point for the creation of the project plan would not be clear which would make it difficult for the project manager to make the proposal in the initiation phase of the project. Moreover, getting funds for the project would also be difficult as the business case of the project would not be able to justify its importance, viability, feasibility, and cost (Corporation, 2011).
There can be certain mistakes or mismanagement of the initiation phase that can result into the failure of a project such as:
References
City of Chandler, 2000. Project Management Methodology Guidelines, s.l.: Chandler.
Corporation, O., 2011. Why Projects Fail: Avoiding the Classic Pitfalls, s.l.: Oracle Corporation.
Ding, R., 2015. Defect-Free Project Initiation. s.l.:China Electric Power Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Jordan, A., 2012. The 9 Secrets of Successful Project Initiation , s.l.: AtTask .
Levine, H., 2016. TECHNIQUES FOR PROJECT INITIATION , Sunnyvale, CA: Scitor Corporation.
Meggs, T., 2016. Major project initiation – making the right start, s.l.: MPA.
Rahman, R. A., 2005. Why IT Project Fail , Muscat: Audit Bureau of Jordan.
Wiegers, K. E., 2005. Project Initiation Handbook, Portland, Oregon. : Process Impact
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