December 2020CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM8 man, a plan, a canal. Panama.A great palindrome; and building the Panama Canal was a great project. Jungles, swamps, mountains, malaria, yellow fever, political and social unrest...all part of a centuries-long dream to connect the Pacific to the Atlantic...and also the result of effective project management.You probably have learned there are three main components to any project: scope, time and resources. Master this magic triangle and you will be a project management rock star! However, lack of these is not really the reason that projects succeed or fail.The initial Panama Canal project plan did not fully account for the time and effort needed. The exact path to take, the necessary obstacles to clear, the availability of resources and the final costs were not fully understood and each contributed to the challenges. The fact is, thousands of men died in the construction of the canal. The path was adjusted, the methods were improved and the costs were revisited. In the end, it was not the three sides of the triangle that won the day, but six key enablers that led to the success of the Panama Canal, and to success in today's IT projects.The six key enablers for IT projects are clear goals, stakeholder buy-in, energized teams, project transparency, individual responsibility and leadership. The three project fundamentals of scope, time and resources will generally PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUCCESS ­ 6 KEY ENABLERStake care of themselves if the project team and supporting organization practice these six key enablers.Clear goals. If you do not know what you are trying to achieve, it can be very difficult to achieve it. Clearly articulated goals provide team alignment, set unambiguous customer expectations and reduce unnecessary work. Lack of goal clarity is the number one cause of rework in a project. An undefined finish line is a major factor in dissatisfaction with project results, shifting deliverables and cost overruns. Do not confuse having clear goals being the same as goals never changing. In any project the goal may shift over time, but that is a desirable outcome and will lead to greater satisfaction if it shifts for the right reasons. To be avoided is a project team stumbling around in the dark, hoping to bump into a goal, happy to grasp hold of anything beyond murky uncertainty.Stakeholder buy-in. A project executed without an owner on board is at best a boondoggle and at worst a disastrous waste of resources and time. Who cares if your project is successful, or if it fails? That is your stake-holder. It is essential every project has the stakeholder identified and buys into the project, the desired outcomes and the activities it will take to get there. A well-aligned stakeholder provides DOUGLAS DUNCAN, CIO, COLUMBIA INSURANCE GROUPAIN MY View
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