To learn from every failure is the way to success. Every well
experienced person is the one who learns maximum out of the failure by analyzing
the cause of failure and exploring suitable remedy for each cause. Sir Thomas
Alva Edison explored 1000 of procedures through which light bulb could not
glow. Learning out of each way he found his way to glow the bulb. Thus learning
from each failure and not repeating the same mistakes/blunders one can achieve
the success.
How to analyze the failure? One has to perform quick immediate
postmortem on a project that has failed so as to prevent future failure as well
as to get guideline for future testing and quality control.
Some of the areas to cover are:
1.
Scope:
The goals must be set on the basis of available infrastructure and all surrounding
parameters influencing the project. Higher target or over ambitions may describe
the feeling of failure. In other words, higher expectations than what is been deserved
cannot be called failure.
2.
Money:
Sufficient funding and that to when required is necessary for a project
to be successful.
3.
The team of project:
The team members who have shared the experience of failure of the
previous project should be given chance to try again because they also have
learnt from the failure. If the project is launched for the first time just
select the persons having experience of analyzing the failure in a positive
manner.
4.
Vendors/suppliers:
The raw material should be of the desired quality. Raw material should be
supplied in right quantity and at the right time. Supplier should be able to
identify the problem and be able to troubleshoot them.
5.
Structure:
The structure of the project should be simple and easily understood by
the persons who have to execute it. Over complicated and messy project will
fail due to its own complexity. The goals should not be intangible and imponderable.
6.
Timing:
There must be a right time to launch a new project. A team of fresher/trainees
members cannot handle all to gather a new project. OR A rain water harvesting
plant may not run in a desert or in summer. The environment surrounding the
project, the people affected by or can affect the project, system; business
conditions should be properly evaluated.
7.
Information/data:
The reliability of the data used during the planning and goal setting of
a project must be checked. Precise, recent, valid and timely data are useful
for a project to be successful. If the data is collected especially for setting
a goal for a project may be biased and the goals set on the basis of such data
may be exaggerated.
8.
Salvaging:
The previous failed project may be assessed for the extent of failure. Whether
the project is a total failure and should be started from the beginning or can
be started from a point where the situation went out of control should be
analyzed.
9.
Graphics:
Graphs and charts can be used to identify problems easily. Graphs and
charts help to analyze the failure easily and promptly.
10.
Comparisons:
Comparison with a successful project of a similar kind may help to
identify and rectify the problems causing failure.
11.
Motivation:
The project under consideration should have new idea or plan i.e. it
should be profitable or of some benefit to the the people affected by or can
affect the project. In other words there must be some motivational value of the
project so that the people affected by or can affect the project will endeavor
for its success. Nobody is willing to work on a futile project.
12.
Use failure to be successful:
Planning
a failure may be beneficial for further planning of a successful project at a
low cost. When we are aware of causes of failure we are sure to take remedial
actions against those causes. This in turn results in a full proof planning of
a successful project.
