1.2 Introduction
Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them toward a certain goal.
—Walt Disney
When was the last time you managed a “big” project—e.g., bringing a DIY project to life, developing a new app, or planning a wedding? How did your project turn out? Before you answer, consider three questions:
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Did you bring the project in on time and on budget?
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Did the outcome meet your expectations?
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Did you make any mistakes along the way—mistakes where you thought, “Wow, how did that happen? I wish I could do that over”?
If your project didn’t turn out as well as you had hoped, you’re not alone. Even though everyone in business manages projects—i.e., they are responsible for turning great ideas into reality—over 67% of projects at organizations that undervalue project management as a crucial competence fail to meet value, cost, and timing goals. Managing successful projects is hard work. It requires leadership and a well-developed toolkit.
Consider the challenge. Table 1.1 highlights a few highly visible—and expensive—project management failures. Let’s take a closer look at one of these. You may remember the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was signed into law in 2010 to fix the deficiencies in the U.S. healthcare industry. For the ACA to work, customers had to be able to enroll online and easily select the right insurance plan for their needs. The key to the ACA’s successful launch was a software development project—Healthcare.gov.
| Failure | What Happened? |
|---|---|
| Berlin Brandenburg Airport | After 15 years of planning, airport construction started in 2006. The airport opened on October 31, 2020—nine years late. Conflict among stakeholders with different visions led to scope creep, delays, and cost overruns. |
| Boeing 787 | Billed as the Dreamliner, the 787 came to market two and a half years late and, by some estimates, $20+ billion over budget. |
| Challenger Space Shuttle | On January 28, 1986, the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded just 76 seconds after take-off. A faulty seal on one of the solid rocket boosters combined with the cold weather caused the tragedy. |
| Healthcare.gov | Healthcare.gov was developed to enroll customers in an insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. When the first enrollment period opened, the software didn’t work, tarnishing the ACA’s image. |
| Waterworld | This Kevin Costner epic began shooting before the script was complete. Multiple rewrites and a tough filming environment turned a 96-day scheduled shoot into 150 days. The movie came to market $135 million over budget. |
Yet, when the first enrollment period opened, only 1% of interested consumers could access Healthcare.gov. Imagine how frustrated the other 99% felt. Months later, when the system finally worked satisfactorily, costs had skyrocketed from a budget of $94 million to over $291 million. Subsequent software and hardware fixes raised the price to $1.7 billion. Late, over budget, and woefully inadequate, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), concluded that the Healthcare.gov failure was a result of poor project management.
To help you avoid such disasters, you need to learn how to manage projects. You may be thinking, “I wish there was an app for that.” Here’s a little good news: Such software already exists. Check out Monday, Zoho, or EasyProjects online. Each of these apps can help make your project visible so you can see what is really going on—and thus make better decisions.
But becoming a proficient project manager requires more than an app. You need to build a project management toolkit. That’s why you are reading this book. Other resources exist. You could, for instance, join the Project Management Institute (PMI) and become a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). In fact, PMI has designed a toolkit to help professional project managers succeed. It is called the Project Management Body of Knowledge, typically referred to as PMBOK.
Now, you may be wondering, “Why do I want to invest in learning project management skills?” Here’s one answer: You will save money, time, and frustration as you manage the many projects you will undertake in life. You’ll also enjoy the sense of accomplishment when a project turns out just the way you hoped it would. And here’s another reason: Skilled project managers earn an average of 22% more money than their non-project-savvy colleagues. To help you build project management skills so you can start making more money, let’s take a closer look at the basics of project management.