The other day, I ran across a great piece by Gartner about improving project success. Its premise was that if you focus on three things—Partnership, Requirements and Resources—you can really increase the probability of a successful project outcome. Wow! . . .something different from The Big Three!! I was easily able to relate requirements and resources back to the big three, but what about partnership? The formal definition of “partnership” (courtesy of my dictionary) was of little use, but when I looked at its synonyms, I found words like alliance, collaboration, connection, relation, and union. And that’s when it hit me. Partnership doesn’t relate to the big three but rather comprises the foundation that enables us to deliver on them. Without true partnership, project realization or the ability to deliver the expected value from the project is unlikely.

This should have been obvious considering the successful projects I’ve participated in and led. It was partnership at all levels that helped drive realization. From various IT organizations to external partners to the client organizations themselves, the most successful (and fun) projects were always built around partnership. In fact, one might argue that partnership was more important than The Big Three because these successful projects weren’t always on-time, on budget or delivered as initially envisioned. Instead, the customers were heavily engaged along the way, were part of the decision making process, were active participants in validating and re-validating the scope, and were integral parts of testing and acceptance. And so, while I very much agree with the Gartner’s assertion, I would add that management of the big three is table stakes in today’s world—the true differentiator on projects is partnership.

Lennon and McCartney wrote the lyric “I’ll get by with a little help from my friends,” and I would propose that they got it right: with a little help from each other (in partnership throughout all aspects of a project) we can greatly improve the chance of success.

What do you think? Do you have any examples of how partnership drove success?

1. Understand and communicate the business case for your project.
   This starts with understanding the business strategy and business drivers that prompted your project in the first place. If you don’t understand what the business is trying to accomplish, you have very little chance of your project hitting the mark.Once the business strategy and drivers are clear, identify very specifically—and quantitatively where possible—exactly how your project will provide benefit relative to the business drivers and business strategy.
   • Work with key people in the business area to develop and review the business case to ensure that it is sound and strong.

   Creating a solid, strong business case is the most important factor in not only getting the project approved, but also in ensuring that the project team clearly understands what is to be accomplished, why, and how it will help the business.

2. Identify resourcing needs by role.
   Resources, especially people, are always in high demand, and you need to be very clear about the resources that your project will require (people, facilities, equipment, etc.). Clearly identify your resource needs by being specific. Assuming that your request for two technical analysts you will get you what you actually need might be a mistake. Having the right skills, expertise and individuals detailed on a project can greatly improve the probability of project success.
3. Identify project interdependencies.
   As a good project manager, I expect that you will have identified dependencies within your project as part of your project schedule. With the complex business environment that exists today, you also need to identify dependencies that are outside of your project to make sure that external factors do not inhibit your project’s ability to succeed. For example, if your project requires customer master data to be available—and that is a key deliverable from a different project—you have to identify that interdependency and evaluate the risk to your project if that deliverable does not occur as planned. This allows both projects to understand the dependency and provides greater visibility and increased opportunity to manage and mitigate the risk. The Project Management Office (PMO) will know your project is likely to be well managed when they see the project interdependencies identified.

Additionally, all projects will require identification of project costs, timetables, risks, etc., as is normally requested by governance committees. The above points are not extensive, but are meant to help you differentiate your project from other projects being evaluated.

If you go to the governance committee with these items ready for review, you will not only put yourself in the best position for project approval, but you may also become the model for how other projects should be packaged for governance review.

– See more at: http://www.transaccelgroup.com/blog/2011/10/17/mark-that-project-approved/#sthash.miOosk0N.dpuf