
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Challenge
It is challenging to manage complex technical projects and many fail to achieve their objectives, timelines, and budgets. Gartner statistics point to failure rates exceeding 70%. Key reasons for failure include:
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Misalignment of objectives and priorities between the project team and the rest of the organization
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Inadequate executive leadership committment and support
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Lack of clearly defined requirements that are understood both by the technical staff and their business partners
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Failure of risk identification and mitigation processes
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Implementation of techinical capabilities because they are available, rather than because they are necessary for the success of the project
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Inadequate management of scope changes, expectations, and task completion
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Insufficient project resources or time for task completion due to poor estimation or arbitrary decisions
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Failure to include user adoption as a critical project success measurement
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Lack of user involvement in project planning, failure to provide sufficient training, and not providing on-going support
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Failure to consider and integrate the organizational culture and processes into the project
Our Approach
Accelerated Knowledge manages projects with the traditional focus on "on-time, on-budget" and take project management further by.....
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Managing projects considering and mitigating against typical reasons for failure such as the reasons identified above
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Understanding that projects are completed by people. People whose needs and expecations deserve to be recognized and where possible, honored
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Providing clear, consistent, and regular communication of project status and issues.
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Adopting and fostering an attitude of "failure is not an option"
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Encouraging creative and flexible approaches to address project issues
Accelerate Results
Accelerated Knowledge adopts a practical and effective approach to project managment. In any project, the following key questions should be addressed:
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Who are the stakeholders and key decision makers?
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How will you know if the project is successful?
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What user adoption goal are you committed to delivering?
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How will you know when the project is done?
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Is the project team fully engaged and focused on success?
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What are the key risks and how will you mitigate them?
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What resources will you need?
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What will you do if you don't get all your resources?
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What is a realistic timeline for implementation?
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What are the major milestones and deliverables?