Project Management

Task Despite the plethora of project management methodologies, tools and templates available and being applied, evidence indicates that there still exists a high proportion of project failures (as measured by schedule delays, cost overruns and quality concerns). Clearly simply using project management tools and techniques does not necessarily guarantee project success for the project manager. There needs to be a clear understanding as to why projects fail as well as the importance of having in place an effective project governance and control arrangement. As a result of the above context and expectations, the following tasks are required to be undertaken. 1) Research, analyse and identify why projects fail. Consider what is deemed to be a project failure. How is success/failure measured? Does your organisation provide metrics for project failure? Provide a definitive list of factors (i.e hot spots) that you believe are the reasons as to why 'value' is eroded and projects fail. Comment: If as a project manager you have a better understanding and can anticipate where anwhy projects are failing, this should assist in determining whcih areas require greater focus (and why). 2) Based on the results from your analysis, provide a suggested approach for how project governance and control arrangements can be improved in order to achieve project success. Hint: If for example, you identify a 'hot spot' from 1), to be - 'scope change/scope creep' and that this could be a possibility with your project (hence threat to your project success), then you will need to consider how you intend to control for this particular threat. What will you need to put in place in order to control for scope and ensure clarity in scope and definition. How will you handle scope changes, variation requests etc? Deliverables: A concise management report that is reflective of the 2 key tasks as provided above. Section 1 of your report should contain your research, analysis and findings from task 1. This should then be used as the basis to shape up section 2 of your report. Scope: Project management governance and controls Length and Presentation: 3000-4000 words