Project failure starts at the begining

We are all familiar with countries, towns and destinations that are difficult to reach, either by road, rail or public transport and yet people exist there and thrive. It is not in another dimension or another planet, where predictable 'difficulties' are numerous e.g. expensive ad hoc rocket ship service, an atmosphere of sulphuric acid, temperature variations in the region of 'scorchingly off-the-scale', etc. No, our difficulties in reaching our earthly destinations are because we do not start from the correct location.

This is a lesson I learned when lost in Dublin and forced to ask for directions. It was made clear to me that to get to point B I should have started at point A and not the point that I was currently at, which was currently unknown and would henceforth be referred to as X. Thus, making the logic more mathematically predictive.

The start point and the end point, part of the defining structure of a project and thus lifting it away from the realms of a simple action or activity, are critical in the initiation and definition of the project and the associated project plan. You will never reach the end destination if the start is left to serendipitous happenstances.

• Plan the beginning of your project meticulously
• Involve as many of the stakeholders as possible
• Hold a workshop with all the allocated resources
• Seek out Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
• Do your research, technical, business, historical, etc
  
• Assess the Risks (qualitative and quantitative) and
  
• Look where you are going