How to Kill Failing Projects

A colleague posed this topic:

It is estimated that only one-third of projects are fully successful, even with dramatic improvements in project management methodologies over the past several years. Most of us have been involved in projects that are not meeting the objectives and are consuming valuable resources (people, infrastructure, dollars). And yet, even when indicators suggest that a project is headed for failure, it is difficult to kill the project and reallocate resources to other, more fruitful efforts. I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has on this subject. I would be particularly interested in hearing from those who may have been faced with this situation and successfully dealt with it.

My response:

In my view, the operative phrase is proactive honesty. Ideally, a leader (project manager, product manager, CxO or other) will have established and be tracking to performance points necessary for success. The earlier a problem is detected and surfaced, the greater the chance that necessary corrections can be put in place. Projects that are beginning to move over budget or schedule may benefit from brainstorming among the project teams. This may surface ideas to reduce time and costs and aligns team members behind the project.

As an example, I was once faced with having to cut staffing in half for an already bare bones project. I fully expected to kill the project and reassign team members when I took the problem to my team that afternoon. To my surprise, they came up with ideas and signed up for the extra hours necessary to make the project successful. As a contrasting point, half of this same team had come from a doomed project that had been scuttled just AFTER the development phase completed. They had put tremendous time and effort into the earlier project and suspected that much of their efforts could have been better deployed. I found that trust in management goes a long way toward insuring timely corrective action and a higher rate of success. DO NOT KILL THE MESSENGER AND DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ADMIT YOUR MISTAKES!

A tougher problem occurs when outside competitive forces or a serious “gotcha” shifts the ROI into a losing proposition. Proactively coming to terms with the new reality and moving quickly to redeploy resources to healthier projects is the best course to preserve both money and morale. Even when the change involves layoffs, I found that the morale and confidence of my staff remained high so long as I dealt with the situation proactively, honestly and with compassion.

Designing Better Websites

Great ideas and technologically superior products are not enough to succeed long-term in business. Ultimately, we need to turn our attention to how we communicate. True communication goes beyond "marketing" which includes the concepts of research, personas and demographics but is biased toward outbound broadcasting of our "messages". One duty of a good Product Manager is to promote and effectively channel inbound communication to improve the product and business. Accepting inbound communication adds eyes and ears to the organization. We can now respond to the needs and opportunities we allow ourselves to hear.

But guess what? Truly great companies take communication much further! They figure out how to employ two-way communication effectively to become more responsive, stay on top of changing conditions and build long-term business relationships.

So what does all this have to do with web design? The best designed websites make it easy for prospective customers to find what they want. In Waiting for Your Cat to Bark, the Eisenbergs used the cat analogy to stress that customers have short attention spans and are often looking for something specific when they visit a website. The well-designed site is "friction-less". The customer sees a path leading to their goal on the homepage. The path answers his questions. leads him to his desired goal and compels him to take action (like hit the Buy button).

The best websites are designed around the needs of prospective customers and employ personas to better understand their motivations. The Eisenbergs and others have drawn upon the literary art of fictional character development to get inside the minds of their customers. An example of a website which was developed around these concepts is Leo Diamond. Admittedly, the wording on the site is a bit schmaltzy for some, but notice how the Home Page provides easy access to answers for the "value buyer" looking for information on the 4Cs, the "fashionable buyer", the "looking for the perfect diamond buyer", the "I want to impress her buyer", ....

The ideas taken from Waiting for Your Cat to Bark WILL create a more effective website. For those with little time to invest in reading, here is my quick synopsis of employing personas to web design:

1. Make a list of who would be looking at your site and why
2. Make each persona a real person in your mind. Your persona may take life as you follow him around in your imagination. If so, write down what you learn.
3. Find people who represent the customer you are trying to reach, interview and observe them one at a time navigating your site. Ask them to tell you what they want to know and what they are thinking as they navigate. (See papers by Jakob Nielsen on how to conduct lightweight usability testing.)
4. Create an easy path on your site for each persona to follow. Address each persona on the Home Page with easy access to each question you have identified through your research. Think of this path as marking a trail in deep woods. Each answer you provide should lead him closer to the destination which is...
5. Your call to action! Whether it's hit the Buy button, call you or download information, know what you want your prospect to do and make it easy for him to follow through.
6. And finally...think of long-term value and relationship-building by providing a site that encourages customers to return.