Why Projects Invariably Get Delayed?
The problems faced by most project managers
are the same irrespective of the kind of project they handle.
Projects could range from anything like constructing a bridge
or development of new product or implementation of ERP systems.
Almost all project managers find it difficult to meet project
deadlines because of resource constraints and non-availability
of information when required. As a result they end up changing
the original project specifications to meet deadlines.
The primary reason for delayed projects is
significant safety time that is provided to individual project
activities. Three reasons why project managers provide
this extra safety time are:
a) To account for the worst-case scenario.
Assume the actual time required to assemble a prototype
is 2 days and the median time is 4 days. In case of some
unforeseen problems it may take 15 days to complete the
assembly. Under these circumstances, the project manager
will not agree to an estimate of 4 days to complete the
prototype assembly, as there are 50% chances of not completing
the activity on schedule. The time asked is more likely
to be closer to 15 days.
b) To make sure that each activity in the
project is completed in time. Since no one wants to
be responsible for any delays in the project, there is a
tendency to inflate this safety time. More and more safety
time gets added to the project as the number of management
levels increase.
c) To protect against a global cut.
Subordinates add more safety time to the activities to prevent
top management from imposing global cuts.
In the above example if the project manager
gives an estimated completion time of 12 days, then the
safety time is 8 days. Safety time is defined as the
difference between estimated completion time and median
completion time.
Most of the project completion time can be
attributed to the safety time added in each individual activity.
The question then is why do projects still get delayed despite
the counter measure of providing enough safety time? There
are three factors which lead to this delay.
Firstly, interdependence of activities
leads to adding up of delays. A delay in one activity is
passed onto the next dependent activity, resulting in late
starts upsetting the schedule and creating problems in resource
availability. On the other hand any gains made from completing
the activities before time are not passed onto the project
as the next activity still begins at the scheduled time.
Besides, there is no incentive to report the early completion
of an activity. A consistently good record in finishing
activities before time might lead to a cut in the estimated
time of future activities.
Secondly, the availability of extra safety
time leads to a laid back attitude. Engineers do not feel
any urgency to finish the activities as they feel there
is ample time available. The activity doesn’t start
until a major part of the safety time has already elapsed.
Any contingency at the last moment leads to fire fighting
to meet deadlines.
Thirdly, resource allocation for multiple
projects also causes a delay in projects. Multiple tasks
are often scheduled to be completed during the same time
period, which eats into the available safety time. Adding
more safety time to activities compounds the problem all
the more. Increased safety time means increased project
duration, which in turn increases the probability of multiple
ongoing projects and multitasking.
Despite the highly developed tools available
for project management, conventional project management
techniques fall short of providing a solution to the above-mentioned
problems. One can easily conclude that these techniques
are inherently flawed. The conclusion is corroborated by
the fact that according to conventional project management
theory, out of the three factors - project completion time,
project content and project costs, one has to be compromised
to accomplish the other two. Recent developments, however,
have shown that this is not true.
The next article discusses the critical chain
method of project management based Theory of Constraints
which helps project managers in executing projects as per
schedule.
Related Reading: Manage your projects
for success: An application of the theory of constraints.
Umble, M.; Production and Inventory Management Journal,
06/2000.
