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Getting It Done
Abhay Padgaonkar (August 21, 2006)

Simply stated, execution is the gap between promises and results. And while there are several common-sense project management fundamentals that improve chances for success, it’s quite evident that they aren’t so commonly practiced. Let’s review.

“If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” — John Wooden

Getting things done sounds so simple, doesn’t it? After all, don’t we all do things every day? Then why is it that there is such a high failure rate when it comes to project execution? In the book Execution, the authors describe the fundamental problem as this: “People think of execution as the tactical side of the business, something leaders delegate while they focus on the perceived, “bigger” issues. This idea is completely wrong. Execution is not just tactics — it is a discipline and a system. It has to be built into a company’s strategy, its goals, and its culture. And the leader of the organization must be deeply engaged in it. He cannot delegate its substance.”

The widely disseminated Chaos Report from the Standish Group claims that a staggering 31 percent of software projects are canceled and that 53 percent of projects will cost 189 percent of their original estimates. In addition, only one of six projects has a chance of success — defined as on time and on budget, with all features and functions as initially specified.

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September 2010:

What are the main reasons that projects fall behind schedule?