Achieving project success, a matter of luck?

Achieving project success, a matter of luck?

I read an article recently and stumbled upon a peculiar question: Does luck really play a role in the success of a project? It reminded me of comparison that Gus Ciala mentioned in an article on leadership: children of bad parents will not all end up becoming offenders and the opposite is also true, good parenting does not prevent children from growing up to be offenders. But this surely does not mean that we should be bad parents...

Well controlled projects are not always successful, but it sure increases the chances of success. Some examples:

- The best product specialist for your project is available just in time. Is it a matter of luck or good planning (project or portfolio)?

- The team finds a quick solution to a thorny problem. Is it luck or the establishment of a good problem solving methodology?

- You develop a product that perfectly meets the users’ needs. Is it luck or a good method of defining requirements?

- You have all the help you ask for your project and more. Luck or good management of the organization's priorities?

We could continue these examples to infinity. What I discovered with my years of experience is that often the project manager knows very quickly when his project doesn’t   have the winning conditions to achieve success and says nothing.

The best approach of the project manager in this case is often to be vocal about project issues and seek solutions with different levers: his sponsor, the project office, the organization, etc.

So when you feel that you do not have the keys to success, ask yourself: What are you doing with this mess? Are you relying on luck to save you?