{"id":3474,"date":"2015-04-01T11:15:16","date_gmt":"2015-04-01T11:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/?p=3474"},"modified":"2015-04-01T11:15:16","modified_gmt":"2015-04-01T11:15:16","slug":"6-experts-share-the-1-thing-that-derails-a-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/6-experts-share-the-1-thing-that-derails-a-project\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Experts Share the #1 Thing That Derails a Project","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a number of things that can stop a project in its tracks and lead to its ultimate failure. Poor communication or lack of accountability may start off as a \u201csmall mishap,\u201d but they can end up silently killing your entire project.<\/h4>\n

When you\u2019re managing a complex project and working with different departments, external collaborators, and hundreds of details, mistakes are bound to happen.<\/p>\n

Smaller mishaps, like a missed deadline or misunderstanding between teams, can be resolved and usually don\u2019t derail the entire project.<\/p>\n

The #1 Thing That Kills a Project<\/h2>\n

Thankfully, there are experts we can learn from. So, to help you keep your project intact and avoid those mishaps, we asked six project management experts to share the number one thing that kills a project.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what they had to say:<\/p>\n

\n1. \u201cThe biggest thing that derails a project is poor communication.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"\"

Elizabeth Harrin, A Girl\u2019s Guide to Project Management\u00a0<\/a><\/em>
\nTwitter: @pm4girls<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

2. \u201cIt\u2019s lack of clarity.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"\"

Scott Berkun, best-selling author and popular speaker on philosophy, culture, business, and more.<\/a>
\nTwitter: @berkun\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

\n3. \u201cThe biggest \u2018project killer\u2019 I believe is a\u00a0lack of expectation management.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"\"

Peter Taylor, The Lazy Project Manager\u00a0<\/a><\/em>
\nTwitter: @thelazypm\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

4. \u201cThe silent project killer, and in my experience the thing that kills more projects, is multitasking.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"\"

Johanna Rothman, management consultant for software leaders.<\/a>
\nTwitter: @johannarothman\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. “The single largest project killer is uncontrolled scope creep and churn.”<\/h3>\n

\"\"

Thomas Cagley, process improvement consultant and blogger.<\/a>
\nTwitter: @TCagley<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u201cThe biggest thing that kills a project is not assigning roles and responsibilities.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"\"

Steven Baker,\u00a0oil and gas project manager.<\/a>
\nTwitter: @StevePMP\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0How to Avoid These Threats to Your Project<\/h3>\n

The key to a successful project starts with a strong foundation. Make sure you include the right people on your team and help them stay on track. There\u2019s no point in trying to consolidate team members to just a couple people if they\u2019ll be drowning in work and forced to multitask. You\u2019re better off including more people on your team who will be able to contribute in clear, specific ways and stay on track.<\/p>\n

To Peter Taylor\u2019s point, set expectations at the beginning of the project. Take the time to understand the companies, external collaborators and vendors involved, and establish realistic outcomes.<\/p>\n

Then, find a management tool that will improve team communication, provide visibility into the project, and define clear roles and accountability. Keep all your project information in one central spot, so everyone stays on the same page and has access to all the key details.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let one seemingly small mishap turn into a silent project killer.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are a number of things that can stop a project in its tracks and lead to its ultimate failure. Poor communication or lack of accountability may start off as a \u201csmall mishap,\u201d but they can end up silently killing your entire project. When you\u2019re managing a complex project and working with different departments, external […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":3,"featured_media":3483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[104,10,35,6],"class_list":["post-3474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-managing-projects","tag-project-management","tag-project-planning","tag-smartsheet"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Toy-Train-Derailed-resize.jpg",1024,748,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Toy-Train-Derailed-resize-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Toy-Train-Derailed-resize-300x219.jpg",300,219,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Toy-Train-Derailed-resize.jpg",768,561,false],"large":["https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Toy-Train-Derailed-resize-1024x748.jpg",1024,748,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Toy-Train-Derailed-resize.jpg",1024,748,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Toy-Train-Derailed-resize.jpg",1024,748,false],"wp_review_small":["https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Toy-Train-Derailed-resize.jpg",65,47,false],"wp_review_large":["https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Toy-Train-Derailed-resize.jpg",320,234,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"

There are a number of things that can stop a project in its tracks and lead to its ultimate failure. Poor communication or lack of accountability may start off as a \u201csmall mishap,\u201d but they can end up silently killing your entire project. When you\u2019re managing a complex project and working with different departments, external collaborators, and hundreds of details, mistakes are bound to happen. Smaller mishaps, like a missed deadline or misunderstanding between teams, can be resolved and usually don\u2019t derail the entire project. The #1 Thing That Kills a Project Thankfully, there are experts we can learn from.…<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Blog<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"GwenR","url":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/author\/gwenr\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smarterbusinessprocesses.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}