Execute these 5 Steps in all your projects and you will find that project success has become a habit. The customer looks forward to interactions with you and your team members, as they know that they will receive something of great value in return for the time and effort they spend with you. You will always delight the customer.

At the ITEC show in Dallas, TX during May 2001, Marjorie J. Cooper, PhD and Professor of Marketing at Baylor University spoke on “Avoiding Chaos: How to Improve Your Implementations” and Dennis Smith with Computer Business Solutions, Inc. in Dallas, TX spoke on “Why Application Projects Fail”.

One important observation is that both speakers agreed as to what causes success and failure. The three most important criteria for a successful implementation of an Application project are that it is on time, at budget, and have the proper functionality.

Dennis points out his top 10 reasons projects fail as being:

• Lack of user input
• Improper requirements
• Changing requirements
• Lack of executive support
• Incomplete technology
• Lack of resources
• Unrealistic expectations
• Unclear objectives
• Unrealistic timeframes
• New technology

Dr. Cooper suggested similar reasons for failure. Her list:

• Unavailable resources
• Changing priorities
• Too much rework
• Conflict of resources and management
• Scope compromised to meet budget or due date
• Individual or team burnout
• Work assigned without consideration of available time

Here are 5 Steps that will help you overcome project failure and delight your customer.
 

1. Deliver Value to the customer

You can deliver and add value to your customer when you:

1. Meet Expectations – Refer article “5 Steps to Better Manage Your Customers’ Expectations“
2. Satisfy requirements – The quality of the deliverable and product should be impeccable. Cross-check the letter and spirit of the requirements and ensure that there is no lacuna or reason for complaints. In case you find some problem, do let the customer know that you are aware of it & let him have the time frame by which you will fix the problem. Refer article “10 Tips to Gather Business Requirements“
3. Delight with unusual features – Be careful when you add features that they are of value to the customer. Do not add ‘delightful’, fancy features that the customer does not care for. When in doubt, just ask:
   • take surveys, speak to the customer;
   • make effective use of your marketing and sales teams for this purpose.
4. Manage Risks – Refer article “Manage Risks to Reduce Project Fires”
5. Solve problems with innovation and creativity.

 

2. Open multiple communication channels with customer

1. Open, frank communication of both good and bad news: speedy disclosure of bad news is mandatory so that together you can prepare mechanisms to lessen the bad effect of the issues and problems and work towards a win-win situation
2. Provides alternatives to mitigate the bad news.
3. Use Multi-media: email, phone, fax, tele conference, video conference.
4. Multiple levels: technical staff-technical staff, management-management, operations-operations, marketing-marketing.

 

3. Run company, projects on customer focused strategies

Refer to the article “Customer-centric Business Strategies“.
 

4. Measure and control parameters that customers consider important

 

5. Remember the interests of the other stakeholders too

• Project Team members
• Own company, project shareholders
• Distributor, Sales and Marketing staff
• Self

Neglecting any one of these stakeholders’ interests will prove detrimental to your customer in the long run.

Execute these five steps in all projects you manage and you will find that project success has become a habit. The customer looks forward to interactions with you and your project team members, as they know that they will receive something of great value in return for the time and effort they spend with you. You will always delight the customer.