Why Projects Fail and What You Can Do About It (Webinar)
Credit: 1 PDH
Subject Matter Expert: James Benvie, PMP
Type: Live Interactive Webinar
In Why Projects Fail and What You Can Do About It, you'll learn ...
- The major causes of project failures, as well as how to preemptively resolve them
- The elements of a successful project and how they work to safeguard against potential failure
- How historically-proven crucial elements of success can single-handedly make or break a project
Overview
The reasons for project failure are legion, but it is possible to preemptively resolve them. It is difficult to get an accurate figure of how many projects fail; at the most alarmist, it is as high as 70%, but the Project Management Institute (PMI) currently gives a figure of around 14%. Why do projects fail, and why are these figures so high?
This webinar will seek to answer these questions by offering a general overview of project failure, and then focusing on specific causes of project failure, including a lack of strategic alignment, scope creep, poor risk management, the lack of overall situational awareness, and what is potentially the most dangerous, failures in communication.
We will cover both inadvertent and willful miscommunication, and the various types and effects of each. It will become evident that effective communication, or lack thereof, can be a “make or break” variable when it comes to preventing project failure. Strategies to ensure project success, such as the PMBOK Process, will also be explained. Real-life examples, such as the Tay Rail Bridge Collapse of 1879, will be addressed in order to place relevant concepts into context, and emphasize the importance of guarding against project failure, as well as the disastrous effects that seemingly minor missteps can have upon the engineer’s career, as well the public that they are obligated to protect.
Failure is a risk that can potentially devastate the engineer’s work, no matter the ingenuity or talent of the engineers involved. Therefore, developing a plan to maximize the chances of success is imperative.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Identify and preemptively address major causes of project failure.
- Explain how elements of successful project management help safeguard against failure.
- Analyze how historically proven elements of success can make or break a project.
- Evaluate real-life examples illustrating positive factors that can support project success and the prevention of negative factors that can lead to project failure.
Video on Demand
This course is a recorded version of a live lecture and will be streamed directly to your computer's media player. Our format is generally compatible with media players included with all computers and mobile devices. After watching the video presentation, you will return to your account to take the online quiz. While this is a recording of a live presentation, please note that this recording will not qualify as a "live" or "interactive" continuing education activity in those jurisdictions where it is required.
Certificate of Completion
You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 5 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.
| This course is applicable to professional engineers in: | ||
| Alabama (P.E.) | Alaska (P.E.) | Arkansas (P.E.) |
| Delaware (P.E.) | District of Columbia (P.E.) | Florida (P.E. Area of Practice) |
| Georgia (P.E.) | Idaho (P.E.) | Illinois (P.E.) |
| Illinois (S.E.) | Indiana (P.E.) | Iowa (P.E. - Live Course) |
| Kansas (P.E.) | Kentucky (P.E.) | Louisiana (P.E.) |
| Maine (P.E.) | Maryland (P.E.) | Michigan (P.E.) |
| Minnesota (P.E.) | Mississippi (P.E.) | Missouri (P.E.) |
| Montana (P.E.) | Nebraska (P.E.) | Nevada (P.E.) |
| New Hampshire (P.E.) | New Jersey (P.E.) | New Mexico (P.E.) |
| New York (P.E.) | North Carolina (P.E.) | North Dakota (P.E.) |
| Ohio (P.E. Timed & Monitored) | Oklahoma (P.E.) | Oregon (P.E.) |
| Pennsylvania (P.E.) | South Carolina (P.E.) | South Dakota (P.E.) |
| Tennessee (P.E.) | Texas (P.E.) | Utah (P.E.) |
| Vermont (P.E.) | Virginia (P.E.) | West Virginia (P.E.) |
| Wisconsin (P.E. Live Course) | Wyoming (P.E.) | |
PDH Credits
Webinars earn PDH credits for engineers in all jurisdictions, unless otherwise stated in the literature for a specific webinar, and are accepted as "live" courses by engineering boards with a requirement for "live" training.
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