So Little Time, So Much To Do!

Insufficient Time to Complete the Project is ranked third as a cause of project failure globally according to the 2010 Global Survey, Top 10 Obstacles to Project Success.  This article is meant as a precursor to more in depth information regarding the; causes, impacts, early detection, and mitigation of this complex and often misdiagnosed project obstacle. To read the full article, go to http://www.mutoperformancecorp.com/2010SurveyResults.htm

Did We Get Let Go of the People We Need?

Resources are Inadequate (excluding funding) is ranked second as a cause of project failure globally according to the 2010 Global Survey, Top 10 Obstacles to Project Success. This article is meant as a high level overview of this complex and often misdiagnosed project obstacle.


To read the full article go to http://www.mutoperformancecorp.com/2010SurveyResults.htm

We welcome your comments. Join our blog!

Article: What is Scope Creep?

Changes in Project Scope (Scope Creep) is the current leading cause of project failure globally according to the 2010 Global Survey, Top 10 Obstacles to Project Success. This article is meant as a high level overview of this complex and often misdiagnosed project obstacle.

To read the full article go to http://www.mutoperformancecorp.com/2010SurveyResults.htm

We welcome your comments. Join our blog at http://top10obstacles.blogspot.com/

2010 TOP 10 Obstacles to Project Sucess Survey Now Open!

It’s time for MüTō’s annual survey on the Top 10 Obstacles to Project Success!


Every year we invite project management professionals across all industries to help us understand what obstacles lead to their greatest project challenges during the past year.

Over 68% of projects worldwide are impacted by one of the top 10 obstacles. More than one typically occurs on every project!

In 2009 the Top 10 Obstacles ranked in the following order:

1. Changes to project scope (scope creep)
2. Insufficient time to complete the project
3. Resources are inadequate (excluding funding)
4. Inadequate project testing
5. Key team members lack adequate authority
6. Critical project tasks are delivered late
7. Insufficient project funding
8. Critical requirements are unspecified or missing
9. Project sponsor is unavailable to approve strategic decisions
10. Key team members lack critical skills

We invite you to take our brief survey and let us know what challenges you encountered on your projects in 2010.

Go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/obstacles2010 to take the quick survey!

Thank you for your time and support,

The MüTō Team

So Little Time, So Much To Do!

Here’s the first part of the next series of five abstracts from articles about the Top 10 Obstacles to Project Success from the MüTō Performance Corp. survey many of you participated in a few weeks ago. To read the Full Article click here!

And now, we bring you the most recently disquieting subject of a Challenging Schedule!

One of the interesting changes between last year’s survey and this year’s, is the movement in the obstacle we know as the challenging schedule. In 2008, our respondents claimed it as obstacle #8, this year over 78% of our respondents voted it obstacle #2!

There may be many reasons why this obstacle is critical for most of our respondents, and some may seem obvious. Project managers are feeling the pressure to finish projects on-time, but by and large, they feel the time allotted is insufficient.

There’s only one true definition to this obstacle and that is that the date for delivery of the project’s solution makes it difficult to deliver on time. By definition however, according to any reasonable project process, the date of delivery of a project is a function of the project’s planning process.

Sounds good. This may have been the case last year, but this year, our respondents are claiming that the date of a delivery of a project is actually a requirement instead!

Comment away!

There's Nothing Creepy About Scope Creep!

When 83% of our survey participants responded that scope creep reared its ugly head on almost every one of their projects, we immediately said, "here we go again!" Scope creep is the scapegoat for most of our troubles with projects. Our analysis showed that there are two types of changes to the scope of a project; those that are legitimate, and those that are illegitimate.

Each has its own impact, causes, early detection symptoms, and solutions. Suffice to say, that illegitimate scope creep must be stopped, and legitimate scope creep must be managed effectively otherwise, the obstacle will manifest! Legitimate scope creep cannot possibly damage your project, so let's be careful about blaming it for our project's demise.

We may not like where the blame winds up sticking.

For the FULL ARTICLE, CLICK HERE!

For a complete listing of MüTō Articles, CLICK HERE!

2009 Results of the Top 10 Obstacles to Project Success

Here are the new rankings from the "Top 10 Obstacles to Project Success" survey. We received appreciation for our ongoing efforts, and confirmation from participants that our list captured the essence of the obstacles to project success faced by Project Managers, Team Leaders, Program Managers, and Senior Management. Here are the results listed in order of frequency;

#1: Changes to project scope (scope creep) Same as last year!
#2: Insufficient time to complete the project (up from #8 last year!)
#3: Resources are inadequate (excluding funding)
#4: Inadequate project testing
#5: Critical project tasks are delivered late
#6: Key team members lack adequate authority
#7: Insufficient project funding
#8: Critical requirements are unspecified or missing (down from #2 last year!)
#9: Key team members lack critical skills
#10: Project sponsor is unavailable to approve strategic decisions (down from #3 last year!)

We've had some interesting changes between the 2008 and 2009 surveys. Obstacles such as the Challenging Schedule, Invisible Requirements, and most notably, The Disappearing Sponsor have moved in their ranking.
What do you think causes these obstacles? What are some potential solutions?

Upcoming blogs; We have interesting information to share about how the obstacles were ranked by individuals from different regions of the world, early detection symptoms, and mitigation strategies.
We want to hear from you feel free to comment!

The Top 10 Obstacles to Project Success!

Its time again to gauge the obstacles to project success! Last year over 1,000 project managers from all over the world participated in a MüTō sponsored survey and answered a question we posed, "What obstacles stand in the way to project success?"

MüTō compiled the answers and identified ten frequent themes. We labeled these, the "Top Ten Obstacles to Project Success":

#10. A skill set challenged team
#9. Delegated responsibility unrelated to authority
#8. Challenging schedule
#7. Minimal or non-existent testing
#6. Tardy delivery of project tasks
#5. The resource challenge
#4. The finance challenge
#3. A disappearing sponsor
#2. Invisible requirements
#1. Spontaneous requirements

This year we thought we would take a different tack. Based on your experience, we would like you to rank the frequency of each of the "Top Ten Obstacles to Project Success." Click the link below to take our three minute on-line survey.

After April 1st we'll report the findings to you. We will invite you to join us in our ongoing discussions as we examine each obstacle separately. We'll be discussing the reality of how each obstacle manifests, talk about the early detection of their symptoms, as well as discuss potential mitigation.

The emails will be supported by a blog-spot for you to post your own impressions. The best thing about this is...ITS ALL FREE!

We appreciate your time, and look forward to your participation!

Just click on the following link at start your survey!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=EivPdlXieQPtydoU8o2tjg_3d_3d