Why Project-Based Work Fails — And How to Get It Right

David A. Schmaltz writes, “Koskela and Howell observe that most project work is more like a scientific experiment than a finely determinable set of performance criteria. In scientific experiments, we progress even when our experiment fails, not only when it succeeds. Our plans are frequently hypothetical, intended to guide value creation, not simpl

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Keep projects small as long as possible, thus making it easier to say, “Well, that didn’t work. Let’s try something else.” If a project becomes too big too quickly, it’ll begin to fight for its own life, even though it might be wiser to end the experiment and start a new one: “Hey, we’ve assigned seventeen people and spent a year on this thing. We

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When considering the optimal approach to the type of work, it’s not about agile or waterfall. It’s about agile (unknowable, unique) and lean (knowable, repetitive). Waterfall is “Think Big, Start Big, Learn Slow,” for which, in my opinion, there is no excuse. Why would you not optimize for early and often learning, continuous improvement, and the a

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Bystander Apathy explains why anything assigned to a committee never gets done. If you’ve ever worked with a group of people who have no Power over one another, you know what I’m talking about. Unless someone steps up and takes individual responsibility for actually making things happen and holding individuals accountable for progress, a committee

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