… Primarily because of articles like this one by CIO Magazine. I found this article through Ameel’s website, so hat tip to Ameel for that one.

Every once in a while someone publishes a “nn reasons why your IT project fails” article. Every time it leaves me with some longing for something insightful. In this CIO Magazine article, every one of the 14 tips provided are logical and rational. Each one of them is actionable. Each one of them is also useless.

The only tip which comes close to dealing with the true underlying problem is tip no. 14 on communicating with project sponsors and stakeholders. Even this only addresses it in a very rudimentary way.

What’s wrong with this?

Firstly, the points made in these articles are practical and useful. I believe they have some value. The problem is that they simply don’t go far enough.

As IT people and project managers, we are trained to be operational, logical, planned, rational and ultimately to solve problems. We read material which reinforces this world view of ourselves. In this instance, the article hands us a platter full of 14 problems to solve and some very palatable solutions. In fails in addressing the real hard questions we need to deal with in order to be effective leaders of IT projects.

This article, and others like it, provide us with a convenient scape goat. As long as we do these things (e.g. select the right project team, use repeatable processes, track changes), then we can avoid the real issues.

What about agile?

Agile deals with this partly by making it easier to “go with the flow” and safely absorb the changing nature of projects. Most of the documentation I have read on the subject focuses on creating processes to control and manage. Don’t get me wrong, these are really really important processes to put in place.

Where I fear we trip up is when we implement the processes expecting them to solve or at least help with our people issues. Again, there isn’t much focus on engaging with real people. How do we better relate to them? How do we learn to understand them and their own pressures and needs? How do we “do communication better?”

What should we be adressing instead?

In my mind, the real issue is a lack of dialogue. Not talking. Not listening. Not communicating. But real dialogue. The ability to put your own needs aside and engage on a deeper level with those you are working for. Only when we get to this space will we begin to see significant gains in IT project successes and real positive outcomes.

Often we need to hear things that we don’t want to hear. Often we need to say things others may not want to hear. As leaders of projects, we need to create a space where this can occur. An open, respectful and reflective space.

This is an area that I am only just begining to explore for myself. Because of this, I still find it difficult to explain in words. The area is one studied by Ronald Heifetz and is known as Adaptive Leadership or Adaptive Change. As I find the words and have the experiences, I hope to write and share more about this.

Until then, some of the following articles might help provide some insights for you: