The document discusses common problems that can occur in project management and their causes and solutions. Some key problems discussed include scope creep, poor communication, inadequate resources, unrealistic timelines, unmanaged risks, and lack of planning. The document recommends establishing clear requirements, developing comprehensive plans, managing changes, communicating effectively, allocating sufficient resources, and conducting risk assessments to help avoid these common issues and ensure project success.

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2. Project Management is the dynamic process that
utilizes the appropriate resources of the organization
in a controlled and structured manner, to achieve
some clearly defined objectives identified as strategic
needs. It always conducted within a defined set of
constraints.
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3. Planning
Implementation
Monitoring &
Control
Evaluation
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4. • A Project considered as Failure……
Whenever a project
doesn’t meet to the
expectation of the
Stakeholders.
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5. • Cost & Time Over-runs
• Quality Degradation
• Frustration & Stress: sometime resulting in people
quitting
• Low Job
• Low Corporate Market Value
• Low Public Opinion
• Negative Media Campaigns
• May even force the company into Closure
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7. Also Known as “You’d like it, just a bit bigger.
No Problem.”
Oh a bit Bigger……. OK
Even Bigger? It wasn’t in the plan but Okay….
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When Scope creeps, the end
results is always more work
than expected.

8. • Problems:
– The changes that were not initially planned for, are added to project.
– The Project takes longer and costs more than planned and there is no
record of WHY??
• Causes:
– Not having a method to handle or recognize changes.
• What to do:
– Document the change management process to be used and followed
by Project Team.
– Educate the project Team to recognize a change or deviation from the
Plan.
– Follow the Change Management Process.
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• Problems:
– Team Members do not have the information they need when they
need it.
– Issues or changes do not get escalated.
– Project reporting is sluggish
• Causes:
– The project’s communication plan was not completed.
– The project’s communication plan doesn’t have enough details.
• What to do:
– Find out the communication requirements of all team members, and
stakeholders, then document them in a common plan, and then follow
the Plan.

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• You do not have enough people, the right skill-sets, or the
team is not committed to the projects.
• Problems:
– Tasks take longer than expected
to complete.
– Deadlines and milestones get
missed.
– Project completion date comes
into jeopardy.
– You end up working double shifts to
complete all the works.

11. • Causes:
– There was no pre-commitment of resources to the projects.
– The Project was not supported.
– There was no analysis and documentation of all skill-set required.
• What to do:
– Get executives Sponsorship for the project.
– Document which resources and skill-sets are needed to get the job
done.
– Create a plan that gives enough time to get the job done with the
allocated resources.
– Pre-assign the required resources to the team.
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• “I would like a set of stairs that leads up to a bridge.”
• Problems:
– Customer will be unhappy.
– Customer will complain and you will end up doing the what they want-
at your expense.

13. • Causes:
– What the customer wants, was not clearly documented.
– What you believe the customer wants is different that what the
customer believes they have asked for?
• What to do:
– Find out and document exactly what the customer wants.
– Inform everybody of the project scope.
– Document Business, Functional and technical requirements.
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• How do you figure out how long the project will take?
• Problems:
– An unrealistic timeline or budget will be agreed to.
– You will not be able to do all the work in the time allocated.

15. • Causes:
– No formal estimating method
– Estimate confidence is law.
– Volume of work not understood
• What to do:
– List all the work as well as possible.
– Estimate each work package.
– Add up all work packages.
– Always give answer using a range of dates
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• Sorry about the project, I left it in my car & there was a bit of
an incidents.
• Problems:
– Unexpected events cause delays.
– Domino effect of thing going wrong.

17. • Causes:
– No Formal Risk Management.
– Just try to predict the big things that can go wrong.
– It’s the sum of the all little things that make a project late.
– Nothing is more stressful than trying to keep on schedule when
unexpected things keep happening.
• What to do:
– List all the work as well as possible.
– Figure out what can go wrong with each piece of work.
– Prioritize each risk as High/ Medium/ Low Probability or impact.
– Sort the list.
– Create a plan to deal with the risks at the top of list.
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• “Emergency Phone installed, Deliverable completed”
• Problems:
– Difficult to get the agreement that the product is finished.
– Customer Keep wanting more, saying you didn’t do it to their
Specification.

19. • Causes:
– The Milestones or deliverables were not measurable.
– The customer never told us How many they wanted So we just
assumed 1,
• What to do:
– Ensure Milestones or Deliverables are:
Clearly Defined
Measurable (Quantifiable)
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• Of course we Can do that for you.
• Problems:
– There was little or no planning before deciding you can get the job
done.
– The task you agree to turns out to be more work than expected.
– It takes you longer and jeopardizes other deliverables.

21. • Causes:
– Not enough time spent planning.
– You may have been pressured into giving an answer right then and
there.
– Didn’t have a full understanding of the work involved before
committing.
• What to do:
– Take the time to fully understand the work before agreeing to it.
– Its okay to say the work is not possible or will take too long
– Only agree to work when you’re sure it can be done, this will benefit
you and your managers.
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• Hurry .... We have a tight deadline. No time to plan. Just start digging.
• Problems:
– The plan is flawed from the start.
– The project gets out of control and can’t be recovered.

23. • Causes:
– You have to do the work and weren’t also given time for project
management.
– Perhaps you only have 10% or 20% allotment for the project
management duties.
• What to do:
– Planning a project is like setting out a roadmap. Without it you will
likely get lost.
– Controlling a project is like driving a car. You have to continuously
watch the road (the Plan) and make little adjustments.
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• I think I know how this helmet goes on. I have been riding scooters for two
years now.
• Problems:
– Your project don’t finish on time.
– Your project are always squeezed at the end.
– Your project are stressful.
– You have to deal with unrealistic expectation or customers.
– You feel your projects are out of control.

25. • Causes:
– People often don’t know what they don’t know.
– Their project are out of control but they don’t know WHY??
– They feel they are doing okay but could benefit from formal project
management education.
• What to do:
– Learn the methods, tools, and techniques successful Project manager
use to initiate, plan, execute and control their projects.
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Presented by Gagan Gupta