PJM310 CSU Global Campus Why Projects Fail Discussion Post Response

Please respond to discussion post 1 and 2 with at least 200 words and 1 APA Citation for each.

Required

Chapters 12, & 13 in FILLER TEXT
Part 1, Chapter Section 4.7, Part 1, Chapter 12, and Part 2, Section 6 in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge

Recommended

Stawnicza, O. (2015). Distributed team cohesion – not an oxymoron. The impact of information and communications technologies on teamness in globally distributed IT projects. FILLER TEXT(2), 23-39. Retrieved from http://www.sciencesphere.org/ijispm/archive/ijispm-030202.pdf
Barnwell, D., Nedrick, S., Rudolph, E., Sesay, M., & Wellen, W. (2014). Leadership of international and virtual project teams. International Journal of Global Business, 7(2), 1-8. Retrieved from https://csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/docview/1563997555?accountid=38569

POST 1:FILLER TEXT

Hello Calss,FILLER TEXT

The statement that “we cannot terminate the project now as we have already spent 50% of the project budget” is a fallacy. Why would a financially responsible company “throw good money after bad?” The reality is that sometimes projects fail. These failed projects need to be terminated prior to their planned completion dates.

Why Projects Fail

Projects fail for numerous reasons. Hasan (2019) states that several factors can contribute to project failure. These factors include lack of proper scope; communication issues; poor planning; unrealistic expectations; incompetent project manager and team; and poor risk management and oversight. Of course, there are many other reasons why a project may fail. The important thing is for the company to acknowledge that the project has failed and to decide if it needs to be terminated.

Reasons Why Projects Need to be Terminated

According to Meredith, Mantel, & Shafer (2017), projects need to be terminated if any of the following situations occur:

The project takes on a life of its own
Project activity slows so that no meaningful work is happening
The project is indefinitely delayed
Project requirements exceed the company’s technical capabilities and outsourcing is too costly (Meredith et al., 2017)

Bowen (2018) states that once the company decides that a project needs to be terminated, the company must follow project termination procedures. These procedures are usually included in the original project plan. The most important step of these procedures is the creation of a final report. The final report provides a written record of the project, why it failed, and any lessons learned in the process (Bowen, 2018).

References

Bowen, R. (2018, November 18). Project termination: How and when to terminate a project. Retrieved from https://www.brighthubpm.com/monitoring-projects/51…

Hasan, S. (2019, January 15). Top 7 factors that contribute towards project failure. Retrieved from https://blog.taskque.com/causes-project-failure/

Meredith, J.R., Mantel, S.J., & Shafer, S.M. (2017). Project management: A managerial approach (10th ed.). Hoboken: Wiley

FILLER TEXT

POST 2:FILLER TEXT

Hi Everyone,

Any project, at any time, can be terminated. Meredith, Samuel J. Mantel, & Shafer, 2017 states that there are four fundamentally different ways to close out a project. Closure by extinction, closure by addition, closure by integration and closure by starvation. Termination by extinction occurs when the project is stopped due to its either successful or unsuccessful conclusion (Woodard, 2015). Terminating a project after 50% of the budget has been spent is closure by extinction. The project has been deemed to be unsuccessful, failed testing, better alternatives became available or it simply will take too long and cost far too much to continue to complete. Not all projects make it to the end, and this necessitates frequent reviews during their life cycles. Important decisions are made at these review points to hold, fold or continue with the project, if it is feasible to do so.

When termination occurs without completing objectives, there are several emotional elements involved for those connected to the project. The most obvious is that the termination represents a failure for those involved (Woodard, 2015). Emotional response is probably the number one reason why a project manager would not want to close out a project by extinction on the unsuccessful side. It is important for organizations to have systems in place to help individuals and teams cope with project termination. Although the termination may be purely a business decision, it is incumbent on everyone involved to share in the “pain” associated with termination, no matter its cause and effect.

References

Meredith, J. R., Samuel J. Mantel, J., & Shafer, S. M. (2017). Project Closure and Realization Benefit. In Project Management: A Managerial Approach (pp. 488-510). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Woodard, P. (2015, September 1). Project Management – The Effects of Termination. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/project-management-…