OGL 321 / Module 2 – Paper

Joellen Leichner

Module 2 – Paper

"When decisions are of poor quality, untimely, or altogether absent, the result is

frequently a failed project." (Powell/Buede, 2018). Although I believe the previous statement as

being true, I would also have to question whether it is just the decision itself that was made or the

information that was gathered or offered from others prior to the decision that could be faulty

and, in turn, lead to the poor decision by the project manager. In the blog article Eight to Late,

the author stresses that "project failures often can be attributed to a dysfunctional structure and

processes within the organization" (Awati, 2013).

I, myself, have seen this happen first-hand. The people making the changes often don't

discuss the issues with those who use the product, software, or service. They make the changes

they believe would enhance the users' lives but fall flat because they didn't gather information

before beginning the project. This would be where the decision context comes into play. In

what setting are the decisions being made, and by whom? This system failure that Awati states

as "lack of user input" (Awati, 2013), is often the reason projects end in disappointing failure to

the end-users. The decision-makers need to consult with those whose work life will be enriched

by the project's result to ascertain their specific challenges and even the positives of how the

system currently works and what needs to be changed or updated. Those staff whose insight and

perspective are critical for the project's success could consult with the decision-makers.

A project can be done on time and on budget, but if they miss the mark on the objectives

behind it, the real issues, it is still a failure. The decision process should be a "planned process"

(Powell/Buede, 2009), according to Powell and Buede, so you need to know what the

appropriate objectives are that signal success. In our reading this week, Jim Johnson from the

1
 OGL 321 / Module 2 – Paper
Joellen Leichner

Standish Group listed his top ten reasons for project failure. Number three on his list having,

"clear business objectives" (Powell/Buede, 2009), can be correlated to and is in line with the

other's articles as a cause of failure. For me personally, this would be one area that both

enhanced my knowledge and solidified my opinion concerning poor decision-making. That it is

often in part due to insufficient information gathering and lack of alignment with the actual

objectives. This could be averted through asking critical questions at the beginning of the

project.

As we are all likely aware, most, if not all, organizations today are focused on the speed

of their deliverables. Speed to get a project done or get a new product to market before their

competitors, similar to our simulation this week. Lisa Anderson voices another critical area that

directly relates to the previous topic in her blog; Speed is King, is that a well-planned project on

the front end saves time and resources on the back end. You have to be willing to "ask the

clarifying questions" (Anderson, 2013). Not only should you have discussions with the sponsors

and executives, but also the managers and supervisors, and even the staff, to help to specifically

identify what the challenges are and what can be done to mitigate them. As Anderson states in

her blog, "make sure they understand their choices and tradeoffs" (Anderson, 2013). I really

identified with her statement, "gain clarity in advance" (Anderson, 2013).

I think we've all been involved in a software upgrade gone wrong. About eight years

ago, a decision was made to upgrade our operating system at work. It was a massive project, and

the planning stages alone was slightly over a year. In healthcare, nothing is done quickly. There

are just too many things to consider, and the patient's health and well-being are paramount. So,

after all of the staff had been trained in classrooms and the back-up systems were in place, we

made the change to the new system. The organization had super-users trained and located in

2
 OGL 321 / Module 2 – Paper
Joellen Leichner

every department and had special hotlines for users to call with questions. It was actually pretty

impressive. But they did it all 100% right, according to the executives. Unfortunately, the rest

of us were the staff that it impacted the most that no one asked about our workflows.

Additionally, they didn't ask the critical questions at the beginning of the project concerning how

each department used the system and if other operating systems would interface. In the end, our

accounting system didn't interface with the medical records, and many of the functions we relied

on were no longer available. We had to figure out time-consuming workarounds. So, for the

users, this was a significant failure.

Two of our three sites transitioned first, the third site never transitioned because of the

information gathered from the first two, and now, six years later, we just transitioned again to

another new system, which, although not as user friendly, it has all of the functions we need to

do our jobs daily, it interfaces with our accounting system, and has additional functions for

physicians, which helped to cut their time spent on paperwork. And now, all three sites have

seamlessly transitioned and can see each one another's patient notes, visuals, and records. We

did have a large learning curve initially, but it was staffed appropriately so that issues were

minimal and minute. And there were far fewer interruptions to our services concerning our

patients through the second change.

For me personally, when planning my 1st daughter's wedding, I made some missteps that

cost me resources in the long run because of a lack of planning ahead and lack of talking to the

bride about her thoughts, thinking we were on the same page. And now, the second time around,

I have planned carefully and taken the additional time to talk to the bride, the groom, and his

family about our objectives and challenges, so I feel much more organized going into this

3
 OGL 321 / Module 2 – Paper
Joellen Leichner

wedding than I did the last. I am much more organized and have been able to stick to the

timeline and budget considerably better this time around.

Lisa Anderson best said my biggest takeaway from this chapter. "Plan the work & work

the plan" (Anderson, 2013). When you take the extra time to plan the project in the beginning,

you run into far fewer challenges along the way, and the ones you do experience, are often much

smaller in scale.

4
 OGL 321 / Module 2 – Paper
Joellen Leichner

Resources:

Powell, R., & Buede, D. (2009). The project manager's guide to making successful decisions .
Management Concepts.

Anderson, Lisa. "Speed Is King: How Do We Leverage for Projects?" Project Times, Project
Times, 16 Jan. 2013, www.projecttimes.com/lisa-anderson/speed-is-king-how-do-we-leverage-
for-projects.html

Awati, K. (2013, June 18). Symptoms, not causes: A systems perspective on project failure. Eight
to Late. https://eight2late.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/symptoms-not-causes-a-systems-
perspective-on-project-failure/