How to Recognize & Deal with Endless Projects

Delivering digital strategy and transformation initiatives can slip into a trap of having an endless project, whereby the scope continues to change and the timeline extends indefinitely. Let's explore why this happens, how to recognize it, and mitigate it from happening.

There are many reasons why a project becomes endless, although often one or more of these are a contributing factor:

1. Failing to spend time framing the problem that is being solved, which might involve the project addressing a symptom, not the underlying cause

2. Over-engineering a process or system to account for numerous edge cases or address aspirational or potential requirements of a future project

3. Lack of expected outcomes and metrics to evaluate a project's solution against to determine whether it has achieved its objective

4. Aversion to risk and imperfection as part of the organization's culture or stakeholders participating in the project

5. Lack of governance at the organization to ensure consistent focus is applied to finishing initiatives, as opposed to reacting to the most recent or loudest stakeholder's request for a solution (thus creating a new project without finishing an existing one)

To recognize whether a project is at risk of becoming endless, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is the project scope frequently shifting or expanding?

2. Are there aspects of a business process or system that are addressing hypothetical scenarios and requirements?

3. Is there a lack of specific and measurable criteria around what success looks like?

4. Are there stakeholders that are hesitant or block approvals because something is not perfect or requires more work?

5. Is the project deprioritized and reprioritized relative to other initiatives regularly?

If you're answering "yes" to a two or more of these, it's time to take action to prevent it from being endless.

Here are some techniques you can use to ensure that your project doesn't continue on a path to being endless.

1. Clearly frame and define the scope and outcomes to ensure that the problem and its solution are framed appropriately (this previous newsletter discusses that topic)

2. Revisit and remind stakeholders of the expected value so it is clear what will not be recognized if the project remains on an endless trajectory

3. Adopt an incremental approach to either split the project's scope into multiple projects or produce partial success via multiple rollouts or releases, especially if you're worried about over-engineering

4. Intentionally end the project if it will continue on an endless trajectory, thus freeing up resources to pursue other initiatives that are higher value and achievable

TLDR: Avoid endless projects by framing problems clearly, defining outcomes, and using incremental approaches to deliver value without over-engineering.