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David Duncan Pontus, decision-making, failure, innovation, M.A. Siren, project criteria, Project Diagnostic Committee, project management, projects that fail to fulfil their potential, Scott Anthony, targets, Zeeshan Lakhpaty, zombie projects
Management consultants Scott Anthony, David Duncan Pontus and M.A. Siren coined the term ‘zombie projects’ earlier this year to refer to projects that fail to fulfil their potential, yet are not shelved by management. As a result, resources are drained unnecessarily in order to sustain such initiatives.
Here are four ways of preventing the occurrence of ‘zombie projects’ at your workplace:
1. Establish project criteria. Before a project is sanctioned, clearly determine ‘why’ the project is being pursued, what business goals it will help achieve or what problems it will resolve. Ensure that no project kicks off based solely on assumptions of expected outcomes. Quantify targets (where possible) and outline the project’s milestones. Having a set criterion for deciding which projects are approved or rejected ensures that it is the project’s merits and not personal preferences that become the deciding factor when it comes to pursuing it. Continue reading