Blog

Welcome to my blog

Here you can learn more about technology, explore case studies on change projects, and gain insights into project management and strategic implementations.

IT Outsourcing: A Strategic Decision, Not a Default Choice

Outsourcing, nearshoring, offshoring—these buzzwords get thrown around as if they are the silver bullet to IT cost reduction and efficiency. ...
Read More

The Five Elements of a Strong Governance Structure for Critical Projects

Every executive has nightmares about that project—the one that spirals into an unmitigated disaster.  In general there are four ways...
Read More

Why Every Critical Project Needs Board Supervision

Projects are like icebergs—what you see above the surface is just the tip. Below lies the complexity, risk, and opportunity...
Read More

Why Every Critical Project Needs Independent Reviews

"Trust, but verify." That timeless adage applies as much to critical projects as it does to diplomacy. Without an independent...
Read More

Why Every Critical Project Needs an Executive Sponsor

Launching a critical project without an executive sponsor is like sending a ship to sea without a captain—good luck steering...
Read More

Why Every Critical Project Needs a Dedicated Project Manager

Far too often, organizations assign critical projects to people who already have full-time roles or, worse, delegate management to a...
Read More

Case Study 21: The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) $250 Million CHESS Blunder

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) embarked on an ambitious journey to replace its 25-year-old Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS)...
Read More

Project Recovery

  Projects fail for a variety of reasons. Especially technology projects have a low success rate. Typically more than half...
Read More

When $100 Million Technology Projects Fail, It’s the Board’s Fault—Every Single Time

In Switzerland, rumors suggest that both Bank Julius Bär and Raiffeisen Schweiz are grappling with failed technology projects, each costing...
Read More

10 Essential Questions Every Board Should Ask About Technology

Board members play an important role in steering organizations through the complexities of technology initiatives.  To fulfil this role effectively,...
Read More

Independent Board Advisory

Effective boards provide clarity, governance, and oversight to steer organizations toward success. However, large technology initiatives, digital transformations, and innovation...
Read More

Case Study 20: The $4 Billion AI Failure of IBM Watson for Oncology

In 2011, IBM’s Watson took the world by storm when it won the television game show Jeopardy!, showcasing the power...
Read More

My Talk «Technology Due Diligence» @ Business Angels Switzerland

Last week I was invited by Business Angels Switzerland to give a talk at their Academy about Technology Due Diligence. The...
Read More

Independent Technology Due Diligence

Technology has become the backbone of nearly every successful business. For private equity firms, venture capital investors, corporate buyers, or...
Read More

Case Study 19: The $20 Billion Boeing 737 Max Disaster That Shook Aviation

The Boeing 737 Max, once heralded as a triumph in aviation technology and efficiency, has since become synonymous with one...
Read More

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

"Lies, damned lies, and statistics" is a phrase describing the persuasive power of statistics to bolster weak arguments.  It is...
Read More

A Step-by-Step Guide to Business Case Validation

Creating a business case is a systematic process designed to justify a proposed project, investment, or decision within a business...
Read More

Independent Business Case Review

A well-validated business case is the foundation of any successful initiative. Without rigorous validation, assumptions, risks, and unrealistic projections can...
Read More

Top Ten Leading Indicators of Troubled Projects for Executives

If you are a senior executive or a board member in the role of executive sponsor, project sponsor, or steering...
Read More

Why Every Critical Project Needs a Steering Committee

Critical projects are like Formula 1 races—you don’t just need a driver; you need a pit crew, strategists, and decision-makers...
Read More

The Most Important Role on Any Large Transformation Project

The most important role on a large transformation project is the project sponsor.  Not the project manager.  According to the...
Read More

Project Trouble Assessment for Executives

Is your project headed for trouble?  Find out! If you are a senior executive or a board member in the...
Read More

Case Study 18: How Excel Errors and Risk Oversights Cost JP Morgan $6 Billion

In the spring of 2012, JP Morgan Chase & Co. faced one of the most significant financial debacles in recent...
Read More

Boards Must Understand Technology. Period.

Reflecting on the 2024 Swiss Board Day in Bern it has become even more clear to me that understanding the...
Read More

Technology Vision Definition – (Non)-Executive Workshop

Understanding the current technological landscape and its associated opportunities, challenges, and risks is now essential for both executive and non-executive...
Read More

(Non)-Executive Crash Course – Technology Trends Shaping Our Future

Understanding the current technological landscape and its associated opportunities, challenges, and risks is now essential for both executive and non-executive...
Read More

How To Select a Good Project Manager for Your Large and Complex Transformation Project

One of your most important jobs as a project sponsor is to select a good project manager for your project.  Selecting...
Read More

(Non)-Executive Crash Course – Strategy Execution Through Projects

Strategy has little value until it is implemented. In a world where disruption can happen overnight, moving rapidly from strategy...
Read More

(Non)-Executive Crash Course – How to navigate large and complex transformation projects

Large complex transformation projects can make or break an executive career and even companies.    As a senior executive you...
Read More

(Non)-Executive Trainings

Currently I offer three high impact trainings for C-level executives, partners at a professional service firm, board members, and business...
Read More

My Talk «Artificial Intelligence» @ Business Angels Switzerland

Last week I was invited by Business Angels Switzerland to give a talk at their Academy about Artificial Intelligence. The...
Read More

Case Study 17: The Disastrous Launch of Healthcare.gov

Barack Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009, after defeating his opponent John McCain by 365 electoral college votes to...
Read More

How Your Rollout in Waves Can End in a Tsunami

Many multinational organizations are bringing larger system implementations to a screeching halt because they misunderstand what it means to do...
Read More

My Talk «Why Big Technology Projects Fail» @ Synergy DevPartner Conference

In September I was invited by Synergex to give a talk at their 2022 Synergy DevPartner Conference.  The title of...
Read More

Case Study 16: Nike’s 100 Million Dollar Supply Chain «Speed bump»

“This is what you get for 400 million, huh?”  Nike President and CEO Phil Knight famously raised the question in...
Read More

White Elephant Stampede: Case Studies in Policy and Project Management Failures

This month one of the book projects I have been part of has been published by Connor Court Publishing in Australia. ...
Read More

Project Complexity Reduction – (Non)-Executive Workshop

"Complexity is the enemy of execution" is a quote from Tony Robbins, the famous coach, and he is absolutely right....
Read More

Project Success Definition – (Non)-Executive Workshop

<![CDATA[ In this half day workshop I will guide you and your executive team through the process of defining success...
Read More

(Non)-Executive Workshops

Currently I offer two high impact workshops for C-level executives, partners at a professional service firm, board members, and business...
Read More

Portfolio Review

 Coming soon...
Read More

New Project Audit

Audit means compliant with standards. In this case not PMI or Hermes, but with my standards. It is how I...
Read More

Doing Something That’s Never Been Done

Executives, project sponsors, project managers, and steering committee members can learn a lot from how some deep technology startups approach...
Read More

Project Failure Database

As part of writing Project Failure Case Studies I do a lot of research on failed projects.  Not every project...
Read More

Angel Investments

I provide capital for early stage Swiss startups in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.  Besides the financial support...
Read More

Why Are Your Best People Not Working on This?

A phenomenon I see happening again and again in larger organizations is destroying employee morale and economic value.   There’s...
Read More

Don’t Forget SaaS Performance Testing!

I wrote about application performance a few years ago in my article “It's Never Too Early to Think About Performance”....
Read More

Case Study 15: How the Scottish Police Got £25 Million Back but Lost 3 Years on I6

In 2013, professional services company Accenture was awarded a ten-year, £46.11m contract to provide the i6 computer system to Police...
Read More

Changing Technology Is Easy; Changing Behaviour Is Not.

This is an article I have written for one of my clients. You can find the original article here.   Creating...
Read More

How «Hubble Psychology” Is Skyrocketing Your ERP Program Costs

September 2012, NASA Inspector General Paul Martin released the results of an investigation that looked into why the U.S. space...
Read More

The Biggest Challenge of Postmodern ERP – Cloud Integrations

Gartner originally coined the term “enterprise resource planning” (ERP) back in 1990 to describe a new breed of integrated software...
Read More

Create a Lighthouse to Drive Your Transformation

I’m a firm believer in transformation through delivery. In my experience real change cannot be implemented without a vehicle that...
Read More

Going Live Too Early Can Be Worse as Going Late

A significant part of my engagements involves post-mortems on large, failed technology projects. And out of professional interest, I study...
Read More

Another Great Leading Indicator for Future Trouble – Issue Resolution Time

I have a very simple metric for determining the health of a project or an organization: the age of issues. ...
Read More

A Great Leading Indicator for Future Trouble – Missing Milestones

I have done quite a number of inflight reviews and post-mortems of troubled and failed large system implementation projects.  One...
Read More

Recovering Projects

You want do to know where you are standing with that large, multi-year, strategic project?   You think one of...
Read More

Reviewing Projects

You want do to know where you are standing with that large, multi-year, strategic project?   You think one of...
Read More

Prioritizing Projects

Balancing your project portfolio is like juggling one hundred balls... in a storm... on a boat.    Project portfolio management...
Read More

Selecting Projects

Selecting projects for your portfolio is not necessarily complex. The goals are clear and simple.    1) Maximizing the value...
Read More

Implementing Strategy

Strategy has little value until it is implemented. In a world where disruption can happen overnight, moving rapidly from strategy...
Read More

Implementing Change

People don’t change. Unless they want to. Humans are unique in their ability to willingly change. We can change our...
Read More

Selecting Project Managers

Over the years I’ve noticed a key distinction for project managers that deliver results and the ones that don’t.  ...
Read More

Steering Projects

Without exception, every large project I was involved with over the past 15 years had a Steering Committee (SC). Broadly...
Read More

Sponsoring Projects

According to the PMI 2018 Pulse of the Profession in-depth report, one in four organizations—26 percent—report that the primary cause...
Read More

Test Portal

Intro text Start Here Xxx Latest > View all articles on Project Sponsorship The Art of Project Sponsorship Xxx Services Xxx...
Read More

Jobs to Be Done for CxOs in the Project Economy

We all have heard about the disruptions that are impacting our society and the business world: robotics, machine learning, artificial...
Read More

Can a Task Force Rescue Your Failing Project?

We’ve all witnessed projects in trouble—the ones that required a quick and firm intervention in need of help from a...
Read More

How a Transformation Office Can Help Your Transformation Initiatives Succeed

A new year has just started, but also in 2021 companies will be talking about digital transformation often. I think...
Read More

Project ≠ Program ≠ Portfolio ≠ Strategy

I have had many heated discussions around these terms. People mix these up and it confuses your organization and its...
Read More

Project Failure Is Largely Misunderstood

For many years, organizations, researchers, and practitioners have analyzed how to manage technology projects successfully.  Among them is the Standish...
Read More

User Enablement is Critical for Project Success

Any system is only as good as how well it is used.  If it's a CRM, ERP, or any other...
Read More

Case Study 14: How Texas Wasted $367 Million on an Unusable Child Support Enforcement System

After investing $367.5 million in a child support enforcement system, the only thing that the state of Texas has to...
Read More

The True Cost of Excluding Executives from the IT Decision Making Process

Throughout the past 15 years that I’ve been working as an independent project recovery consultant and interim CIO, I have...
Read More

What Executives Need to Know About Project Management

I work exclusively with executives and when there is one thing that I have learned over the years is that...
Read More

Interim Management

Large-scale technology transformations, critical leadership gaps, or complex recovery efforts demand immediate expertise and decisive leadership.  My Interim Management service provides...
Read More

Project Inputs, Activities, Outputs, Outcomes, Impact and Results

Many people and organizations seem to have serious trouble separating between the inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, impact, and the results...
Read More

Solving Your Between Problems

Most executives agree with me that the biggest problems are not within roles but between roles.    Not within teams...
Read More

The 17 Global Goals For Sustainable Development

Besides shedding some light on an initiative that is very important to me, this article will present a great example...
Read More

However Beautiful the Strategy, You Should Occasionally Look at the Results

The title of this article is frequently credited to Winston Churchill (1874-1965), but he never said it. The saying first...
Read More

Your Risk Matrix Is a Lie

Risk management is at the core of good project management.    Or as Tim Lister says “Risk management is project...
Read More

Most Good Strategies Are Not Planned

Many people are discussing strategy and strategizing as if they were the sole outcome of a rational, predictable, analytical process....
Read More

Case Study 13: Vodafone’s £59 Million Customer Relationship Disaster

In October 2016 the British multinational telecommunications company Vodafone achieved an unwelcome milestone - the single biggest fine for “serious...
Read More

Is Your Strategy Bad? A Simple Checklist

Recognizing good strategy is hard.    You need to understand the organization, the market(s) it is operating in, its competitors,...
Read More

The Difficult Act Of Balancing Your Project Portfolio

Balancing your project portfolio is like juggling one hundred balls... in a storm... on a boat.    Project portfolio management...
Read More

People, Process, Technology (In Exactly That Order!)

As an IT or information security professional, you cannot read a blog, book or paper without crossing paths with these...
Read More

Case Study 12: Lidl’s €500 Million SAP Debacle

It was to be a monumental and transformative project for grocery store chain Lidl. And success appeared certain. Lidl and...
Read More

Show Me Your Budget and I’ll Tell You What You Value

Being in the middle of the yearly budgeting process I could not help but think about this quote from former...
Read More

Project Complexity Assessment

One of the main reasons technology projects fail so often is their (underestimated) complexity.   Managing this complexity should be...
Read More

Complexity Is The Enemy Of Execution

The title of this article is a quote from Tony Robbins, and he is absolutely right.   One of the...
Read More

Why Long Projects Fail So Often

A long-duration project is more likely to fail outright, meaning it will be cancelled or will not be used, because...
Read More

Start Here

Hi, my name is Henrico Dolfing, and I help C-level executives with interim management and recovering troubled technology projects. You...
Read More

Henrico Dolfing

I’m Henrico Dolfing, an independent advisor, interim manager, and board member specializing in two key areas:   1) Enabling strategic...
Read More

Independent Project Review

Large, complex transformation projects can make or break careers—and companies. When project teams, stakeholders, and sponsors have conflicting views or...
Read More

Do Your Projects and Initiatives Support Your Strategy?

Strategy has little value until it is implemented. In a world where disruption can happen overnight, moving rapidly from strategy...
Read More

The Project Review Model ™

> You want to know where you are standing with that large, multi-year, strategic project? > You think one of your...
Read More

The Project Valuation Model ™

You can download the Project Valuation Model ™ for free by clicking here.   "Price is what you pay. Value is...
Read More

Digital Strategy Does Not Exist

Let me say it again. There is no such thing as a digital strategy. Honestly. If you think your organization...
Read More

Project Recoveries Are Surprisingly Easy (But Expensive)

Project recoveries are really fun. They appeal to the ego because you are striving to achieve something that the previous...
Read More

Signup Confirmation

Thank You! Your free copy of my Project Failure Case Studies is on its way. Please check your email in a few...
Read More

Project Failure Case Studies

I research project failures and write case studies about them because it is a great way (for both of us) to...
Read More

The Art of Technology Project Portfolio Management

A hands-on guide for all C-level executives, project portfolio owners, and project portfolio managers. It will show you: > Why...
Read More

The Science of Technology Project Portfolio Management

Buy The Science of Technology Project Portfolio Management in my store. Just click on the image. Project Portfolio Management is...
Read More

Your IT Has No Customers

Have you ever heard the head of sales, marketing, or manufacturing describe any other part of the business as his...
Read More

Your Project Is Not Disruptive. And That Is OK.

Innovation means the application of ideas that are novel and useful. Creativity, the ability to generate novel and useful ideas,...
Read More

Understanding and Managing Your Project’s Complexity

One of the main reasons technology projects fail so often is their (underestimated) complexity. Managing this complexity should be an...
Read More

Services

I specialize in two key areas:   1) Enabling strategic business decisions around technology. 2) Guiding large and complex technology...
Read More

Workshops

I can travel to your premises and offer group workshops tailored to your needs. I work closely with you to...
Read More

Change Management and Your CAST of Characters

There is a simple truth about projects. All projects result in change. Some projects bring about small modifications to the status...
Read More

Case Study 11: How BBSI Blew Millions on an Oracle Cloud Solution

Oracle and its partners KBACE Technologies and Cognizant were sued in January 2019 by Barrett Business Services, Inc. (“BBSI”)  in...
Read More

How to Talk About Technology With Senior Executives

One of the biggest hurdles that keeps senior executives from getting closer to technology is the complexity of today’s IT...
Read More

Raising Expectations and Performance

We always compare performance on a relative basis. “Well, it’s better than it was last month…” My toddler son, for...
Read More

Contact

You can send me an email through my contact form, or you can schedule a free 30 minute discovery call...
Read More

More Leadership. Less Management.

Why do so many projects continue to fail? An important aspect is the increased complexity of projects and the environments...
Read More

Speaking

    I speak on topics related to technology and innovation projects 5-10 times a year. Time on stage varies...
Read More

Projects Fail at the Beginning. And This is Why.

Beginnings are always difficult. Projects are about people, people are about relationships, relationships are about trust, trust comes over time....
Read More

Project Success is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Project success is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Go around admitting doubt, and your project will fail. Tell everyone that it will...
Read More

Project ≠ Product ≠ Business ≠ Company

Last few weeks I had a number of heated discussions around these terms. People get confused and make wrong decisions...
Read More

Leadership Is Not for Cowards

Fewer “bad leader” types have the capacity to paralyze a team more than a coward – the leader who praises...
Read More

Case Study 10: LeasePlan Paid $100 Million for a SAP System That Never Went Live

International automotive fleet management company LeasePlan has been hit by a massive bill for a failed SAP implementation. LeasePlan has...
Read More

What Makes a Good Project Manager?

Over the years I’ve noticed a key distinction for project managers that deliver results and the ones that don’t. Project...
Read More

If You Want to Bring Change in Your Organization …

People don’t change. Unless they want to. Humans are unique in their ability to willingly change. We can change our...
Read More

Designed by Clowns, Supervised by Monkeys (Or How to Work With Your Regulators)

Boeing expressed regret at the embarrassing communications it sent to investigators early January, which included a comment that “this airplane...
Read More

Tell the Story of Your Project

Persuasion is essential for a business and the projects that originate from this business. Customers must be convinced to buy...
Read More

How to Deal With Stakeholders Resistance to Change

There is a simple truth about projects. All projects result in change. Some projects bring about small modifications to the...
Read More

Case Study 9: The Payroll System That Cost Queensland Health AU$1.25 Billion

The payroll system implementation disaster at Queensland Health in 2010 is said to be the most spectacular technology project failure...
Read More

Interview With Teresa Mandl (CEO, T.V.T swissconsult gmbh) on Project Sponsorship

For the last decade I have dedicated myself to helping C-level executives recovering troubled projects. If there's one thing I've...
Read More

The Project Recovery Model ™

Recovery of troubled projects is a combination of art, science, and craft. Many have tried to translate project recovery in...
Read More

The Project Success Model ™

You can download the Project Success Model ™ for free by clicking here. Project success and project failure are NOT...
Read More

What Is the Real Value of Your Technology Project?

In order to assess project opportunities and make difficult trade-off and priority decisions about where to focus your limited resources,...
Read More

What Is the Real Cost of Delay of Your Project?

One challenge that every organization faces is deciding which project should be prioritized. Would it be in a company’s best...
Read More

Interview With Carole Ackermann (CEO, Diamond Scull) on Project Sponsorship

For the last decade I have dedicated myself to helping C-level executives recovering troubled projects. If there's one thing I've...
Read More

The Art of Project Sponsorship

The Art of Project Sponsorship is my upcoming book project. It will be available in June this year. For the...
Read More

What Are the Real Benefits of Your Technology Project?

The benefits of a project. Everyone talks about it, and there is no lack of opinions about what they are,...
Read More

What Are the Real Costs of Your Technology Project?

As a project recovery specialist who works with organizations to help turn around troubled technology projects, I do a lot...
Read More

Case Study 8: How Hertz Paid Accenture $32 Million for a Website That Never Went Live

Car rental giant Hertz is suing consultant mammoth Accenture over a website redesign that ended in something that never saw...
Read More

My Talk «Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning» @ Business Angels Switzerland

Yesterday I gave a 2.5-hour interactive talk about Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at BAS Academy in Geneva. The three...
Read More

Consensus Is the Absence of Leadership

The title of this article is a famous quote from former prime minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher. Below...
Read More

Interview With Urs Monstein (COO, VP Bank) on Project Sponsorship

For the last decade I have dedicated myself to helping C-level executives to recover troubled technology projects. If there's one...
Read More

Executive Coaching and Advisory

I strongly believe every organization can dramatically improve its ROI on projects by implementing the following four things. 1) Effective Project...
Read More

Be a Responsible Buyer of Technology

Being a responsible buyer of technology and outsourced software development services, and working well with suppliers during projects are crucial...
Read More

The Project Recovery Model – Mandate

This is the third article in a series on the Project Recovery Model™, a proven approach for bringing troubled projects...
Read More

The 10 Critical Success Factors of Effective Project Sponsorship

An executive project sponsor's role is a difficult one to navigate and execute. There are many strings pulling you in...
Read More

What Are the Real Opportunity Costs of Your Project?

There are two ways to lose money on any given project 1) Create business value less than your actual cost....
Read More

The Project Recovery Model – Recognition

This is the second article in a series on the Project Recovery Model™, a proven approach for bringing troubled projects...
Read More

Taking and Giving Responsibility as a Project Sponsor

Project governance is the serious business of taking responsibility for leadership. The mindset of many executive sponsors toward projects is...
Read More

Case Study 7: The $2.5 Billion Cross-Border Expansion Mistake by Target

Less than two years after entering Canada, Target shocked the retail world by pulling out. After accumulating $2.5 billion in...
Read More

The Project Recovery Model – An Introduction

Recovery of troubled projects is a combination of art, science, and craft. Many have tried to translate project recovery in...
Read More

Escalation of Commitment (Or Why You Should Ignore Sunk Costs)

Escalation of commitment is a human behavior pattern in which an individual or group facing increasingly negative outcomes from a...
Read More

Agile Is Not the Answer to All Your Failed Software Development Projects

Agile means many things to many people. I believe that the simple high-level Agile Manifesto is close to the way...
Read More

Clients

My clients include:  
Read More

Resources

Below you will find a number of free resources I have created to help you. I use all of them...
Read More

Successful Projects Need Executive Champions

Here is a simple truth about projects: All projects result in change. Some projects bring about small modifications to the...
Read More

Project Success Criteria (OKRs) vs. Operations (KPIs)

Project success criteria in the form of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) should be the driving force behind your project...
Read More

The Modern Project Charter

It’s not clear to me why project charters (or project initiation documents) are the way they are, but they’re often...
Read More

Misunderstanding the Project Sponsor Role Isn’t the Only Problem

In recent years, project sponsorship has been the focus of a lot of writing and discussion. Generally, it's agreed that...
Read More

Client Results

Organizations working with me typically achieve one or more of the following results: Project Reviews - An outside 360-degree view...
Read More

Why Your Organization Doesn’t Learn From Its Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned or Lessons Learnt are experiences distilled from a project that should be actively taken into account in future...
Read More

Case Study 6: How Revlon Got Sued by Its Own Shareholders Because of a Failed Sap Implementation

Cosmetics company Revlon’s roots stretch back to its 1932 nail polish launch by Charles Lachman and brothers Charles and Joseph...
Read More

How to Improve Your Organization’s Project Management Capabilities

One (relatively) easy and effective way of increasing the number of successful projects in your organization is improving your organization’s...
Read More

What Is the Real Budget of Your Project?

Your real project budget should always be expressed in terms of the expected project benefits. Simply put, project success occurs...
Read More

Product or Service Success Does Not Automatically Mean Business Success

I have written many times about project success, and why I think it must be defined on three separate levels....
Read More

Case Study 5: Workday Did Not Work for Sacramento Public Schools

California’s Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) thought they were getting a good deal when they hired software as a...
Read More

Principles of Project Success (Part II)

Project management principles are the foundation on which the profession of project management is built. Conformance to these principles is...
Read More

Project Success and Project Failure Are Not Absolutes

Project success and project failure are NOT absolutes. It may not be possible to be a little bit pregnant, but...
Read More

Your Projects Should Start Slow in Order to Run Fast Later

I am a big believer of short and fat projects and I am very vocal about it. Because of this...
Read More

Your Best Insurance for Multimillion Dollar Tech Projects – Independent Project Reviews

It was to be a great digital leap for Germany’s biggest discount grocer. Instead, after seven years and €500 million...
Read More

Your (Lack Off) Training Efforts Can Easily Ruin the Outcome of an Otherwise Well-Executed Project

Any system is only as good as how well it is used. If its a CRM, ERP, or any other...
Read More

A Powerful Story to Help You With Stakeholder Management

When dealing with one or multiple project stakeholders I often use the story below as the start of a planning...
Read More

Case Study 4: The $440 Million Software Error at Knight Capital

Knight Capital Group was an American global financial services firm engaging in market making, electronic execution, and institutional sales and...
Read More

The Vital Role of an Executive Project Sponsor and How to Play It

Project support is priceless. Engaged executive sponsors help organizations to bridge the communications gap between influencers and implementers, thereby increasing...
Read More

Project Managers Deliver Projects; Project Sponsors Deliver Business Value!

As a project sponsor, you are ultimately accountable to the organization for the delivery of the business outcomes and benefits....
Read More

The Real Killer of Your Project Is Value Creep

As a project sponsor or steering committee member you are probably familiar with scope creep. Sometimes known as “requirement creep”...
Read More

Decision-Making Problems

When I consult with executives, I sometimes start with this very simple exercise. I ask group members to come to...
Read More

Why Your Projects Should Be Short and Fat (And How to Get Them That Way)

Project portfolio management is not necessarily complex. The goals are clear and simple. 1) Maximizing the value of your portfolio...
Read More

The Biggest Mistake Organizations Make With Project Cost Management

The biggest mistake organizations make with project cost management is not doing monthly forecasting and controlling. Project cost management is...
Read More

Case Study 3: How a Screwed-Up SAP Implementation Almost Brought Down National Grid

National Grid USA (NGUSA), which is part of the UK-based National Grid Ltd., supplies electricity and gas in Massachusetts, New...
Read More

My Talk «Technology Trends in Wealth Management» @ swisspartners

Yesterday I gave a 1.5-hour interactive talk about Technology Trends in Wealth Management at swisspartners. The three main goals of...
Read More

Cloud Computing Threats, Vulnerabilities and Risks

As pointed out in a previous article on cloud computing project management, one thing that has changed a lot with...
Read More

Project Portfolio Management: Theory vs. Practice

If you are responsible for managing portfolios of technology programs and projects, your success in maximizing business outcomes with finite...
Read More

Case Study 2: The Epic Meltdown of TSB Bank

With clients locked out of their bank accounts, mortgage accounts vanishing, small businesses reporting that they could not pay their...
Read More

10 Important Questions to Ask Before Signing Your Cloud Computing Contract

As pointed out in a previous article on cloud computing project management two things that have changed a lot with...
Read More

I Bet Your Large Technology Project Will Be Late and Costs Way More Than You Expected

Yes, I am willing to make that bet without knowing anything about your project, your team, your organization, your timelines,...
Read More

How Cloud Computing Is Changing Project Management

Many organizations have started their cloud transition, but cloud computing is still new enough that project management practices have yet...
Read More

Stop Wasting Money on FOMO Technology Innovation Projects

Big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, robotics, 5G, machine learning... Billions and billions are poured into projects...
Read More

Power, Politics, and Getting SH!T Done as a Project Manager

Leadership and management are ultimately about being able to get things done. Your skills and qualities as a project manager...
Read More

Why Killing Projects Is so Hard (And How to Do It Anyway)

It was to be a great digital leap for Germany’s biggest discount grocer. Instead, after seven years and €500 million...
Read More

Case Study 1: The £10 Billion IT Disaster at the NHS

The National Program for IT (NPfIT) in the National Health Service (NHS) was the largest public-sector IT program ever attempted...
Read More

My Talk «Blockchain and Cryptocurrency» @ Business Angels Switzerland

Yesterday I gave a 2.5-hour interactive talk about Blockchain and Cryptocurrency at BAS Academy in Lausanne. The three main goals...
Read More

17 Lessons Executive Project Sponsors Can Learn From Crisis Management

In my spare time, I enjoy reading books on topics from other industries or disciplines that are related to project...
Read More

7 Technology Project Management Trends and Predictions for 2019

As the old saying goes, “The only constant is change.” And nowhere does that sentiment seem to hold more truth...
Read More

The Opposite of Risk Management is Crisis Management

I was recently asked to design and facilitate a workshop about technology project risk management for an insurance company. When...
Read More

Workshop Agile Project Portfolio Management

English - German- Are you not sure if the projects you are doing are the right ones?- Unsure if they...
Read More

Workshop Continuous Integration & Test Automation

English - GermanWe all want to improve the speed and quality of our software development work……And this workshop shows you...
Read More

Workshop Agiles Projektportfoliomanagement

Deutsch - EnglischWorkshop Agiles Projektportfoliomanagementü  Du bist dir nicht sicher, ob die von dir durchgeführten Projekte die richtigen sind?ü  Du...
Read More

Workshop Stakeholder Management & Engagement

With so much activity going on in large projects and a whole host of different stakeholders to engage with it...
Read More

Workshop Continuous Integration & Testautomatisierung

Deutsch - Englisch- Sie sind ein Softwarehersteller und möchten gerne Ihre Produkte sowohl schneller als auch in besserer Qualität veröffentlichen?-...
Read More

Test Logo Grid

Read More

Project Management Principles vs Practices

After reading “Principles” by Ray Dalio for the second time this year I was thinking about what principles do I...
Read More

10 Leading Indicators of Troubled Projects

In project management, we often talk about “lagging” and “leading” indicators. Lagging indicators are typically “output” oriented, easy to measure but hard...
Read More

Effective Strategy Execution in 10 Steps

After you have defined your organization's strategy you can start implementing it. This is also called strategy execution. As explained in...
Read More

Strategy Execution as a Decision-Making Process

In my last article, I wrote about what strategy is, and what not. And although strategy is important, it is...
Read More

What Is Strategy? And What Isn't.

An essential part of strategy execution is linking your project portfolio to your strategy. This translation from strategy to actual projects implementing...
Read More

Using OKRs to Define Project Success Criteria

One of the main reasons why projects fail is not defining clear project success criteria. A project can only be...
Read More

Risk Management Is Project Management for Adults

The title of this article is a quote from Tim Lister, and is a universal principle for the success of...
Read More

Why Do Technology Projects Fail so Often and so Spectacularly? My Personal Top 10 Reasons

It was to be a great digital leap for Germany’s biggest discount grocer. Instead, after seven years and €500 million,...
Read More

10 Benefits of Project Portfolio Management Done Right

Project Portfolio Management is a combined system of tools, methodologies, and processes to support your organization in reacting to change...
Read More

How to Establish an Effective Steering Committee (And Not a Project Governance Board)

Without exception, every large project I was involved with over the past 15 years had a Steering Committee (SC). Broadly...
Read More

Many Decisions Are No Decisions (And This Makes Projects Difficult)

Again and again, I am confronted with the situation during projects that I ask for a decision on something and...
Read More

Understanding Your Problem Is Half the Solution (Actually the Most Important Half)

Before we can solve a problem, we need to know exactly what the problem is, and we should put a...
Read More

How to Review Your Team’s Software Development Practices

An important part of the project reviews I do is a software development practices review. Notice I do not say...
Read More

Proactively Manage Your Project With RAID Lists (Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Decisions)

RAID is an acronym for Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Decisions. Some use the "D" for dependencies instead of decisions, and...
Read More

Start Your Project With a Walking Skeleton

In order to reduce risk on large software development projects, you need to figure out all the big unknowns as...
Read More

It's Never Too Early to Think About Performance

Business users specify their needs primarily through functional requirements. The non-functional aspects of the systems, like performance, responsiveness, up-time, support...
Read More

Doing the Right Number of Projects

I have written about project portfolio management extensively. In all my articles I relentlessly repeated the three goals of Project...
Read More

It Is Time to Face Your Project's Reality

Projects fail for many reasons: optimistic estimates; technology that doesn’t work as advertised; misunderstanding the needs of key stakeholders; plans...
Read More

Five Types of Reviews for Projects

Reviews can serve a wide range of stakeholders and fulfill a variety of roles. It’s therefore not surprising that organizations...
Read More

How to Do a Project Delivery Team Review

In my experience, most issues that arise in software development projects are people issues, not technical ones. DeMarco and Lister...
Read More

The 5 principles of project success

Just finished reading the book "Performance-Based Project Management" from Glen B. Alleman. You might know him from his very popular...
Read More

8 Benefits of Working With an External Project Recovery Manager

Often people ask me why they should hire an external consultant to help them with a troubled project. The most...
Read More

A Step by Step Stakeholder Mapping Guide

Stakeholder Engagement and Stakeholder Management is essential for defining and realizing project success. One important tool to help you with...
Read More

10 Principles of Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder engagement and stakeholder management are arguably the most important ingredients for successful project delivery and yet are often ignored...
Read More

Why Halting Your Project During the First Steps of Recovery Is Essential

When you know that you have a seriously troubled software project at your hands the first step in the process of...
Read More

12 Benefits of Test Automation

1. Saves time and money Software tests have to be repeated often during development cycles to ensure quality. Every time...
Read More

Test Automation and Automated Tests

Because of my work as a project recovery consultant, I talk a lot about testing, continuous integration, continuous delivery, continuous...
Read More

Project Portfolio Throughput: Faster Is Better

Too many organizations try to save money on projects (cost efficiency) when the benefits of completing the project earlier far...
Read More

The Project Recovery Process Explained

Projects fail for a variety of reasons. Especially technology projects have a low success rate. Typically more than half of them are...
Read More

What Exactly Is a Troubled Project?

Most of my work as a project recovery consultant is with what you can call "troubled projects". But what does...
Read More

A simple and effective project delivery framework

A few years ago I stumbled on the website of Olaf Lewitz. Olaf is a Certified Enterprise Coach that approaches...
Read More

What is a Project Review?

> You want to know where you are standing with that large, multi-year, strategic project? > You think one of your...
Read More

When Is My Project a Success?

Project success and project failure are NOT absolutes. It may not be possible to be a little bit pregnant, but you...
Read More

The Only Test Plan You Will Ever Need

Assuming an iteration between two and four weeks: 1) Programmers will write unit tests in the code to ensure product...
Read More

14 Essential Software Engineering Practices for Your Agile Project

Agile initiatives are found in almost any company that build software. Many of these initiatives have not brought the results...
Read More

Would Your Team Work With the Chaos Monkey?

Advances in large-scale, distributed software systems are changing the game for software engineering. As an industry, we are quick to...
Read More

Do we need Service Portfolio Management?

I am not a big fan of ITIL. DevOps and ITIL are basically both IT Service Management (ITSM). The patterns...
Read More

No Validation? No Project!

For large or high-risk projects (what is large depends on your organization) it should be mandatory to do business case validation before...
Read More

When is your Project Backlog Item "Ready" for selection?

As defined in the Simple Portfolio Management Framework, the Project Backlog is an ordered list of all projects that might...
Read More

The Project Portfolio Funnel

When you look at the project portfolio funnel of the Simple Portfolio Management Framework (SPMF) it looks like the diagram...
Read More

No More User Stories! There Are Jobs to Be Done

Creating new and better products that thousands or millions of customers actually love is a top priority for almost every...
Read More

Kanban – Card, Board, System or Method?

Kanban is a term that can mean many things. Two people talking about Kanban usually have different levels of understanding...
Read More

Lean Software Development

Lean thinking is a business methodology that aims to provide a new way to think about how to organize human...
Read More

Agile Project Portfolio Management? Conclusion

This is the last article in our Agile Project Portfolio Management series. The first article explored the concept of project...
Read More

Scaling Agile: Conclusion

This is the concluding article of our series on scaling Agile. In the previous articles we discussed the popular Agile...
Read More

Agnostic Agile

As experienced agile practitioners and as people responsible for agile change and transformation, we should recognize the importance of being...
Read More

Agile Project Portfolio Management? How to monitor your portfolio

This is the eighth article in our agile project portfolio management series. The first article explored the concept of project...
Read More

Systems Thinking

A silo mentality is the biggest single impediment to achieving true business agility. Everyone involved in the creation and delivery of business...
Read More

Agile Project Portfolio Management? How to authorize your portfolio

This is the seventh article in our agile project portfolio management series. The first article explored the concept of project portfolio management...
Read More

Agile Project Portfolio Management? How to align your portfolio

This is the sixth article in our agile project portfolio management series. The first article explored the concept of project...
Read More

Agile Project Portfolio Management? How to fund your projects

This is the fifth article in our agile project portfolio management series. The first article explored the concept of project...
Read More

Agile Project Portfolio Management? How to evaluate your portfolio

This is the fourth article in our agile project portfolio management series. The first article explored the concept of project...
Read More

Agile Project Portfolio Management? How to categorize your project backlog

This is the third article of a series around agile project portfolio management. The first article explored the concept of project...
Read More

Agile Project Portfolio Management? Demand management

This is the second article of a series around agile project portfolio management. The first article explored the concept of...
Read More

Agile Project Portfolio Management?

This is the first in a series of articles on agile project portfolio management. In this article, we explore the...
Read More

The Reverse Triple Constraint of Troubled Projects

Assuming you suspect or know that one of your projects is in trouble the first step is always an extensive...
Read More

8 Signs of troubled projects for project sponsors

When you’re dealing with a troubled project, there are usually a number of red flags surrounding you. This article is written from the...
Read More

Building Is the Easy Part…

Agile Frameworks and books tell us how to build a product--that's the easy part... What we are not told are equally...
Read More

Paying Technical Debt

The metaphor of technical debt in code and design can be defined as follows: You start at an optimal level...
Read More

Essential rules for scaling Agile

Based on my experiences with scaling agile in different contexts I am the opinion that the following guiding rules serve...
Read More

Outsourcing Technical Competence Is a Very Bad Idea

I have written about technical competence in the context of Software Engineering Practices. This article will shed some light on...
Read More

My Talk «Getting a Little Better Every Day» @ Swisscom CX Day

Next month I am speaking at the Swisscom Customer eXperience Day. I am really looking forward to this event. Katja...
Read More

My Talk «Antifragile» @ Global Scrum Gathering Munich

From October 17 till 19 I will be at the Global Scrum Gathering in Munich. The theme of this gathering...
Read More

Agile engineering practices

Just finished reading the 10th State of Agile Report from VersionOne. I have written before about data from this report....
Read More

Questions to ask before developing your new product

A while ago I wrote an article titled "Why are we actually doing this project" where I discussed a number...
Read More

Next generation Scrum? Or just being Agile?

A while ago I read a blog post by Boris Gloger that interested me. It was titled "From Scrum 1.0...
Read More

Agile team organization

Most projects I am involved in are of such a size that multiple teams are involved. An even when the...
Read More

Specification by Example in Actuarial Modelling

Specification by example is a collaborative approach to defining requirements and business-oriented functional tests for software products based on capturing...
Read More

Why are we actually doing this project?

In a number of projects I have been part of, one of the most important questions was asked not at...
Read More

Storypoint Estimation Scale

Tomas Gutierrez, Partner at Scalable Path gave a detailed description of the Storypoint Estimation Scale they use at his company...
Read More

Enterprise Scrum and Improvement Cycles

As you probably have noticed in previous posts one of my main interests is leveraging Agile and Scrum in enterprises...
Read More

Top six reasons for failure of Agile projects

VersionOne does an annual "State of Agile Development" survey and publishes the results. You can get a copy by signing...
Read More

Three must have Technical Competencies for Scrum Teams

One key element of working agile in any organization is technical competence. Why is that? Well in my opinion as...
Read More

Scaling Agile: Scrum at Scale

This is the fifth of six articles on approaches that try to help to scale Agile. For the introduction to...
Read More

Scaling Agile: SAFe

This is the fourth of six articles on approaches that try to help to scale Agile. For the introduction to...
Read More

Scaling Agile: LeSS

This is the third of six articles on approaches that try to help scaling Agile. For the introduction to this...
Read More

Product Backlog Stories …

Last few weeks I had a few experiences around Product Backlog Items and user stories that made me write this...
Read More

Scaling Agile: DAD

This is the second of six articles on approaches that try to help scaling Agile. For the introduction to this...
Read More

Scaling Agile: Nexus Framework

This is the first of six articles on approaches that try to help to scale Agile. One of the most...
Read More

Estimating with Wideband Delphi and Monte Carlo Simulation

During the LeSS training in Berlin last week with Craig Larman he mentioned the best estimating method he knows for...
Read More

Budgeting a Scrum Project

A few weeks ago, I took the training for "Agile Estimating and Planning" with Mike Cohn on FrontRowAgile.com. The training...
Read More

Scrum Project Success Metrics

Last week I was reading „The 2015 State of Scrum Report“ from Scrum Alliance. In February 2015, Scrum Alliance surveyed...
Read More