THE NEED FOR SPEED VERSUS THE NEED FOR INFORMATION

When a promising new idea excites an organization, it can be difficult to take the time to plan in detail before pursuing the idea. Planning takes time, and everyone wants to get started right away. When time is tight or problems loom large, it is difficult not to just jump into a project or make it up as you go along. Sometimes project particulars seem so obvious that success is simply taken for granted.

Too often, failing to adequately plan before launching a project ultimately costs the organization a great expense. The truth is that it is difficult to understand exactly how simple or complex an undertaking might be until you take the time to describe it in some detail.

Imagine two hikers looking at the far horizon as they contemplate a short trip across a small valley. The trip is so short that they can see their destination from where they stand. They gaze across the land before them and discuss how they will wind their way down the hillside toward their destination, through the trees, and across a small stream. This couple is in an ideal situation, both as hikers and project managers. Their destination is clear; the trip will be short; they have only two people on their team; and their goal is easy to visualize.

Most projects are more difficult to plan, however, and time always seems tight. Consider the same hikers in a new situation: Now they have a driving need to get out of town and across that valley in a hurry. Even though the couple is somewhat familiar with the route, they have no time to plan. Gathering a few obvious essentials, they get started without checking the weather. A heavy storm develops, and the weather-plagued trek eventually requires more food and equipment than the couple packed.

Consider the task of planning a convention for thousands of attendees. The budget is sufficient, and time pressures are minimal. A professional event planner sits down with the project sponsor to work through a long list of considerations as she develops the project charter for the project, including:

Staff requirements

Pre- and post-event activities

Public areas, registration areas, and meeting rooms requirements

Exhibit hall layout and set-up

Business licenses, health and fire permits, and food regulations

Clean-up and trash removal

Telecommunications/data transmissions requirements

Audio, visual, and other technological services.

Addressing each topic takes time, but the experienced event manager understands that the time is well invested when the result is a clear, detailed project charter that communicates the project's objectives and resource requirements.

In one respect, a convention for thousands of people is no different than planning a hike for two. If you understand the project sponsor's vision, have a clear set of objectives, and understand the expected deliverables, you can determine how best to execute the project.

Consider a manager who attends a convention and previews a new piece of software. She returns to her office determined to implement the software, convinced it will make her organization more effective and competitive. Without much consideration or planning, she instructs an IT project team to begin work to implement the software.

The software may in fact have considerable promise, but before long the team and the company are bogged down in a seemingly endless, complex software implementation project. The project has cost much more than the manager initially imagined. The manager and the project team are both frustrated, and soon the project is shut down and declared a failure.

Software development and implementation projects are notoriously complex. Project failure rates in the industry are inordinately high and frequently are the result of spontaneous requirements and technology-driven solutions, rather than well-considered goals, objectives, and planning. In the previous example, a few days of deliberate consideration in advance might have established more realistic expectations and resulted in a comprehensive project charter that supported a good project effort, rather than costly, unproductive knee-jerk excitement over the latest technology.

Realistically, schedule demands may be a factor in any project, particularly when the project addresses an important or urgent business problem. The importance of knowing exactly where you are headed before starting any venture cannot be overstated. Planning upfront will save time and money over the long term.

Too many project stakeholders skip this process, however, even when it could save them substantial time, effort, and resources. That is why the project charter is an essential element of pragmatic project management.