The recurring causes
Nobody genuinely owns the outcome
There is usually a sponsor, a programme manager, a steering group and several workstream leads. Ask who is accountable for the result and you get a list. A list is not an owner.
Decisions wait
Most delayed programmes have a short list of unmade decisions, often three or four, blocking a great deal of work. They wait because they are uncomfortable, or because the person who can make them is not in the room often enough.
Scope grows quietly
Rarely through one big decision. Usually through twenty small, individually reasonable ones, none of which arrived with more time or money attached.
Benefits belong to the business case
If the savings in the business case are not in somebody's budget, they are a forecast rather than a commitment. Programmes that deliver benefits have a named owner for each one.
Reporting is optimistic by design
Nobody lies. Everybody rounds in the same direction, and it compounds up the reporting line until the picture at board level bears little relation to the picture on the ground.
The early signals
- The date has moved twice, and the reasons given were different each time.
- Every workstream is individually confident that their part is fine.
- The plan lists tasks rather than dependencies, so it cannot tell you what happens when one thing slips.
- The supplier is setting the agenda for the steering group.
- Experienced people have gone quiet.
What actually helps
One accountable owner. A short list of decisions with dates against them. A plan built on dependencies. Reporting that shows the critical path rather than a wall of green. And a sponsor who would rather hear bad news early than good news late.