- 3 min read
Are your projects thriving? Or are they suffering from swelling budgets, sluggish progress, and strained deadlines? If your hard work is constantly in danger of flatlining, know this: you’re certainly not alone. There’s an epidemic of failed projects afflicting businesses of all sizes, with organizations hemorrhaging hundreds of millions of dollars in lost funds.
In the infographic below, we lay out the leading causes, tell-tale symptoms, and proven cures for project failure.
What do local advertising firms have in common with booming global enterprises? They all have to run projects. And where there are projects, there are people who need to manage them. Although it is integrated into most professional work environments, project management is still surrounded by a lot of misconceptions and myths. They say it's "just paperwork," or that "frequent meetings are necessary for project updates," and so on. However, research provides a different picture. Drawing from the results of multiple studies, our Wrike project management software team put together a new infographic that debunks the top five project management myths and shares a couple of useful productivity hacks along the way. Consider these myths busted! Know any other project management myths you want to see busted? Let us know about it in the comments!
Today, Gantt charts are a staple tool in project management software. They show up in project binders, on boardroom walls, and in project management plans — all because they are able to visually convey what would take paragraphs of boring text. But who invented them? What makes them beneficial for project planning? And what are the useful parts of every Gantt chart? Try Wrike for free Below we've put together an infographic to explain what is a Gantt chart, how it came to be, and why it's an awesome management tool that isn't going away anytime soon. Feel free to download it now and share it with your social networks, or read on for some more information about this ever-popular tool. What is a Gantt chart? Put simply, a Gantt chart is a visual tool used in project management that provides an illustrative timeline for tasks or activities involved in a project. Named after its inventor, Henry Gantt, this chart is essentially a horizontal bar chart that displays project tasks against a timeline. Each task is represented by a bar; the position and length of the bar reflect the start date, duration, and end date of the task. Gantt charts can also show dependencies between tasks, i.e., how the tasks are interconnected. This visual representation aids project managers in scheduling, managing, and communicating the project plan, making Gantt charts an essential tool in effective project management. The evolution of Gantt charts in project management Gantt charts have evolved significantly since their inception. Initially, they were used as a basic visual tool to track the progress of tasks. However, with the advent of digital project management software, Gantt charts have transformed into dynamic and interactive tools. Modern Gantt chart software now offers features such as real-time updates, drag-and-drop adjustments, and integration with other project management tools. This evolution has made Gantt charts and Gantt chart software an indispensable part of 21st-century project management. The benefits of Gantt charts in project management Gantt charts for project planning offer a visual overview of projects, enhancing planning and scheduling. They illustrate task dependencies, aiding in sequencing activities and identifying potential bottlenecks. By promoting transparency, they improve communication among team members and stakeholders. Gantt charts facilitate efficient resource allocation, preventing over or under-utilization. Moreover, they serve as a reliable tool for tracking progress and keeping everyone informed about accomplishments and upcoming tasks. They're a great tool for successful project management. If you’re wondering how to use a Gantt chart for project management, learn more about Wrike’s award-winning Gantt chart software here. Ready to try for yourself? Start your two-week trial now. Try Wrike for free
As a vendor of project management and collaboration software, we talk to a lot of project managers. And we've heard all too often that despite every obvious intention for a project to be successful, the reality is that sometimes things fall apart. My belief is that the more you are prepared to fail, the better suited you are to prevent it from occurring at all. So I asked project managers to share their stories on project failure and the reasons behind the big flop. Now I'm sharing their lessons with you, so that we're all clearly aware of what we're up against each time a new project begins. Here's what they attributed to the top reasons projects fail: 1. Poor communication "There has been one thing that consistently shows up on every project gone bad — poor communication. The other factors vary, but communication issues are always at the core of failed projects." —Tom Atkins, Founder, Quarry House Everyone knows how vital it is to proactively share information and knowledge during a project if you want to succeed; yet poor communication continues to trip teams up time and time again. If you and your team haven't set aside any time to focus on improving your communication skills recently, don't wait until the next project disaster to convince you that it's necessary. And who better to learn from than the champions of team communication — professional athletes. Take a few minutes to read this fun article and pick up some communication tips for your team: How to Communicate Like Super Bowl Champions 2. Underestimated timelines When you underestimate the timeline for a project, the result is more than just a missed deadline on the calendar. Workers have to be paid for more time, so your estimated budget goes over. Sales teams were relying on your timely product release, and now they've lost big deals. It's important to accurately predict your timeline — and Jazmin Truesdale does that with excellent risk management: "Projects fail due to underestimated time. Now, when I create projects I estimate 3-5 situations that could delay the project and how to deal with those situations and allot time for whichever would take the longest time to recover. Now 75% of my projects finish ahead of schedule." —Jazmin Truesdale, CEO, Mino Enterprises If you need help managing risk in your projects, start with our risk management guide: Project Risk Assessment (Ultimate Guide to Project Risk, Part 1) 3. Failure to hammer out the nitty gritty details "The nitty gritty is what is going to make you or break you. [Projects] start out strong and start to break down as we get closer to the deadline." —Jennifer Mansfield, Head of Customer Support, Qgiv Are you a big-picture thinker, or do you have a detail-oriented mind? Usually we only excel at one or the other, but if you want your projects to be successful, you need both. (I know, not your favorite answer.) If you're still missing part of the picture, then start reviewing past projects to see where your common oversights have been, and take those lessons learned to plan more accurately in the future. If the idea of recording lessons learned during your projects sounds daunting, use these tips and templates to help you get started: Why You Need to Record Your Project Management Lessons Learned: Tips & Templates 4. Unhelpful teams and technology just complicate things We're talking about teams and tools that cannot deliver on the expectations. Stop the madness! Fix your broken processes quickly — even if you eat the cost from ending a contract early. Trevor Ewen told me about a client project gone wrong when his consulting firm was charged with breathing life into a failing project: "In an effort to preserve an existing vendor relationship, we were forced to work with that vendor. In reality, we would've been much better off telling [the client] to pay the vendor to walk away. It was a win-lose. They delivered a broken product: we were required to fix it." —Trevor Ewen, Senior Software Engineer, Neosavvy Keeping yourself locked in with teams that create more problems means you're going to spend extra time and money hiring additional teams to fix their mistakes. Bail early, before they create more problems than they're worth. And the same goes with technology. If the tools you're using to run your team and projects are making work harder, then find a new solution immediately. There are many types of tools your team can use to make work easier: project management, document management, content management, portfolio management, client relationship management... the list goes on. 5. Management not paying enough attention As the project manager, you are the symbolic parent and champion of progress. And just like a child, projects need regular health checkups to make sure everything is growing as it should be. It's important to check in frequently with your team and offer your assistance when things are slowing down. Trevor Ewen's unfortunate failed project struggled without proper support from the project manager: "He was shirking his duties to better plan for a product release. This persisted for months, and with a remote team, it's never a good idea to put your head in the sand." —Trevor Ewen, Senior Software Engineer, Neosavvy To learn more about how to be a present manager and leader, read this article: 7 Leadership & Mindset Tips for Extreme Project Managers Do you have a similar story to share? Have you worked on a project that failed to live up to expectations? Share your experience and the reasons you think your project went wrong in the comments. The more we know and learn, the more we can plan to succeed. Thanks for passing on your knowledge! Related Reads: 5 Reasons Why Your Team Isn't Getting Stuff Done Lessons Learned from Project Failure at Denver International Airport How to Combat the 4 Main Sources of Scope Creep
