Caucus or Carcass

The Iowa Caucuses of 2008 are now history.  Congratulations to Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee on their wins.

Chris Dodd and Joe Biden have already "left the building."  One can expect others to start dropping like flies, too, since there were quite a few "single digit" vote garnerers out there.  It will be interesting to see the "candidacy projects" begin to get cancelled as funds and support run out.

A lot of people don't understand how and when to cancel a project.  Some projects continue on for years and years without accountability or deterimination.  There are some projects in Iowa's largest employers that have gone on for years without ever producing a major deliverable.

A lot of the problem with this decision process is having the right information early enough in the project.  As Peter Stevens said in his blog:

You can react. You can identify the problem and make adjustments. Why is the development proceeding so slowly? Are there enough people? Are they the right people? Maybe you can reduce the scope and still achieve your business goals. Maybe your developers are being distracted by other tasks.

He continues by adding:

Once management has learned that they have control, can react and can prevent disaster long before it occurs, they will no longer be tempted to kill the messenger. In fact, they will welcome the messenger and appreciate the methodology, because early warnings will ensure that management looks good when the project comes to a successful and timely conclusion.

So cancelling a project is about having the right information at the right time to react appropriately... to determine whether corrective action can be taken.  Sort of like being the campaign manager for Duncan Hunter.  Using the information available to make intelligent decisions is critical.  Part of the problem is that the decision-makers have never been availed of the accurate information about the project.  That leads to a lack of accountability within the project.

So ask yourself if you have the following information available:

• A list of key deliverables associated with the project
• The target dates of major milestones
• The budget (actual and planned) associated with the milestones and deliverables
• The resources accountable for completing each deliverable.
• The risks associated with each deliverable as well as the project as a whole.

If you can track this information, you will know whether your project is worth continuing.  It will keep you out of the "loser" category and help ensure your project is on the winning campaign trail.

Carpe Factum!

Comments

[Robyn]

Hi Timothy, I can really see what you're saying here about projects because I see it ever so much better when put in perspective of the caucus in Iowa! Thanks for a great post.