Chapter 7. Analyze Project Success

"We came, we saw, we kicked ass."

” Dr. Peter Veckman (Bill Murray) ^[1]

^[1] Ghostbusters , Ivan Reitman, Director; Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, Writers, 1984.

The first step in planning a project using eXtreme concepts is to discuss, define, and negotiate what the measures are for project success.

Traditional project management models start by defining the requirements for a project. In addition, traditional project management defined project success using the so-called iron triangle: to requirements, to budget, and on time. To be fair, recent updates to traditional project management added a fourth factor: quality. The iron triangle has caused more projects to fail than any other project management myth. As we'll show you, it ignores stakeholders, the team and, most important, the added value or benefits expected from the project. Project after project has been constrained during development to meet a budget or deadline, only to fail on implementation.

eXtreme project management takes project success to a more complex and relevant definition of success ”meeting client expectations (see Figure 7.1).

Figure 7.1. Define success

Simply, the question "What are your requirements?" is the wrong question. The right question is "What is your world?" Once the project manager and the team have begun to understand the client's organizational culture, pressures, concerns, and way of working, they can begin to get a clearer idea of the client, making it much easier to understand the requirements.

To understand a client's business system, the project manager and team need to understand the organizational culture, the client's dreams, and the client's expectations.