Very few projects go as planned, however, projects that fail often follow a pattern.  Normally projects fail due to issues  with:

1. Personnel - These issues range from wrong skill sets to bad work environments.

2. Project Management - These issues relate to improper processes and techniques for managing projects.

3. Application - These are issues with the application itself.

4. Technology - These are issues with the technology chosen for the application.

In this newsletter, we will focus on Personnel issues, we will cover the other issues in subsequent newsletters.  Below are the common project management mistakes relating to Personnel:

1. Programmer Gold Plating - Gold Plating is when a programmer interprets the specification in a certain way and decides to add bells and whistles that were not in the original specification.  This is done because they believe the extra features will add value to the product but do not realize that adding those additional features could be counter to the overall development plan and can create a lot of additional work. 
   
   Here is an example: 
   Let's say that the specification calls for creating a logon that prompts the user for a userid and password, validates it for a match and logs the person in.   The programmer decides that this not sufficient, so creates logic to check for short and long passwords, sends an email to the administrator if the person tries to logon 3 times unsuccessfully, and adds "forgot password" and "change password" features.
   
   While well intentioned, the programmer may not realize that these things were thought of originally, but was decided that it would be better to implement them in a future release, so that they could go to market more quickly. Also, since the programmer created 2 new screens (forgot password and change password screens), which now requires the documentation team to document the new screens and add those to the User Guides, impacting the documentation team's deliverables.

2. Improper Skill Sets - Another common mistake is to take superstar employees that have a certain skill set, and put them on another project that requires a different skill set.  For example, a very strong Java programmer (who has had successes in the past), may not have the skills to work in a .NET environment, without additional re-training.  Many managers make the mistake of thinking a programming skill set is the same, regardless of the programming language.

3. Poor Work Environments - Crowded and noisy work environments can wreak havoc on project deadlines.  Some programming sites have multiple programmers in one room, which makes it difficult to allow them to fully focus on their tasks.  Other times, management condones a work environment that encourages unnecessary meetings and allow employees to stand around the water cooler for hours, draining productivity.

4. Problem Employees - Some employees will be problematic.  Problem employees constantly cause friction between team members, challenge authority and introduce issues that are not relevant to finishing the project.

5. Late Comers - When projects fall behind, the natural reaction is to simply add more bodies.  Unfortunately, each additional resource requires training and can quickly drain productivity from employees that are already behind schedule.