How Not to Break Project Delivery

After years of delivering projects across industries, I’ve noticed the same lessons keep coming up. 

Here are five that can make or break successful delivery:

🌐 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲

Misalignment doesn't just cause project friction and failure, it also wastes budget, time and effort. Every project and programme needs to tie into organisational strategy. 

⚠️ 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. 𝐀 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.

Risk management isn't just a spreadsheet that has to be filled in every week. It's more than just paperwork. A PM needs to be able to foster a culture where risk identification is continuous, and everyone's responsibility. Don't just document risks, quantify, prioritise and build mitigation and contingency plans.

🚻 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬.

Stakeholder registers and communication plans need to be more than surface-level. Map relationships, and adapt messaging as stakeholder politics can derail projects. Identify hidden stakeholders, those with indirect influence, gatekeeping authority, or the power to disrupt progress. 

💡 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: 𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫.

Rigid adherence to waterfall or agile likely won't work. Most projects are a blend of both. Learn to blend approaches, and tailor governance to risk profile, complexity, and stakeholder needs. 

🚀 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡.

Successful projects are more than just on-budget and on-time, real value comes from benefits realisation. You can deliver the best project in the world, but if it doesn't deliver the benefits, then it's all been for nothing. Make sure there are measurable benefits at the start of the project, review them regularly and host post-project reviews with Business Owners.

Which of these have you seen most often in your project delivery experience? What would you add to the list?