This document discusses the deliberate undermining of projects, known as project sabotage. It notes that while many factors can contribute to project failure, sabotage is underrecognized. The document outlines research finding high rates of IT project failures and challenges. It argues project managers should acknowledge the potential for non-beneficial project participants and address sabotage by analyzing stakeholders, understanding sabotage motives, and adapting governance strategies rather than solely focusing on structures or incompetence when projects fail. The key message is that project sabotage is real and project management needs to incorporate tools to identify and deal with sabotage, not just technical or human aspects of projects.

1. PROJECT SABOTAGE ©
THE PHENOMENON OF
DELIBERATELY
UNDERMINING PROJECTS
Dion Kotteman

2. AGENDA
•Project management and the human factor
•How to identify when a project is being
manipulated
•Taking the mindset of the saboteur
•Counter sabotage? How to deal with it.

3. TWO VIEWS AT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
•Technical
•Human

4. PROJECT FAILURE: RESEARCH
•Ernst & Young
•6 out of 10 IT-projects fail completely or
partially
•Standish group : 28 % succeeds
•Dispite many trainings on project
management

5. IS THE DANGER COMING FROM WHERE YOU EXPECT IT?

6. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1994 1996 1998 2000 2004 2006 2009 2012
Standish project benchmark over the years
Failed (%)
Challenged
(%)
Succesful
(%)

7. THE AXELOS REPORT
Over three in ten of all IT projects in the country could
fall short of expectations, according to a new Axelos
report,
The report states that 31 percent of UK IT projects
failed

8. GOVERNMENT
•The National Audit Office warned that a third
of the government’s large projects, that should
be completed over the next five years, are also
bound to fail.
• There are plenty of examples, including London’s Barbican
Centre (estimated cost £8m, actual cost £187m), the
Humber Bridge (£28m/£151m), the Jubilee Line extension
(£2.1bn/£3.5bn) and the British Library (£74m/£511m).

9. THE CAUSES OF FAILURE
• From projectmanagement audits
• No, or incomplete requirements
• No Scope or an instable scope
• Bad communication
• Inadequate resources
• Bad planning
• Inadequate Risk Control
• Inadequate definition of the result
• ……

10. PROJECT FAILURE EXISTS
BUT THE REASONS?
In every project people could benefit from
undermining a project and work hard to do so.
Until now no book had been written about the
phenomenon of PROJECT SABOTAGE.

11. POSITIONS
•Prof Kaptijn: what position do people take?
•1% is corrupt
•1% is honest
•98% decides its position based on the situation

12. PROJECTMANAGEMENT TRAINING
On the beaten track
•BUT: NO SABOTAGE, little attention for the human
factor

13. THE NUANCE
• Sabotage is linked to resistance to change, we see management
literature on this subject.
• We only consider it to be sabotage if the project is DELIBERATELY
being undermined. Resistance is often passive.
• Incompetence does occur but we don’t call that sabotage.
• I exagerate: here is the nuance: from small manipulation to more
destructive, from small changes to stopping a project completely, it is
SABOTAGE.

14. www.dionkotteman.com 14

15. COUNTER MEASURES
• First: admit the existence of non-benivolent project
participants. They exist. Project failure is not just
incompetence.
• And: change the governance of projects by adding this
element to the existing tool box of project managers. It is not
just structure that counts, it is also culture and behaviour.

16. MEASURES
•Make an analysis, by using existing tools like
a stakeholder analysis.
•Define the motives for sabotage
•Be ware: do not blow the wistle before
careful analysis.
•Watch out: do not inform the wrong persons!

17. IN SUMMARY ….
•Project saboteurs do exist
•Recognise them
•Take your measures
•Add these instruments to the existing PM tool
kit