People with track records of success achieve important objectives, year after year. Their consistent performance is not accidental --- they work differently. Replicating their results is possible...

The classic Cost Influence Curve, seen above, holds the collective wisdom from thirty years of project research. Studies have shown that the influence over cost (and other outcome metrics) is greatest early in the project.

In your organization, there may be a clear need to improve project performance. But, it may not be clear how to start, and how to best use your limited dollars. Why not concentrate first on the elements that make the greatest difference in results, for the most projects?

This firm is a proponent of project front-end loading practices. We help service organizations to apply (and scale) reliable practices that capital projects have used to increase the likelihood of success.

What’s at stake?

Consider this.. Whether it costs $50 million or $50 thousand, a project represents the change needed to realize strategic and/or operational objectives. Direct benefits for customers, credibility, and receptiveness to exploiting future opportunities are all at stake.

When the value proposition is not delivered, the organization may choose to rationalize the outcome, but the fact remains that valuable dollars have been wasted and trust is damaged.

When multiple project outcomes are unsatisfactory, deciding how to avert further loss and turn around the performance becomes an urgent program-level challenge for the organization’s leadership.

Read more about the Cost Influence Curve and project success/failure.

Why choose this firm?

THREE HOUSES CONSULTING LLC can make a difference in your project track record. We help service organizations to succeed more often. This can represent significant savings in most organizations --- as project failure, rework, and unused products are expensive.

In recent years, project-type work has increased at every level of most organizations, much in concert with the pace of change. Many employees are unprepared to handle the complexity of getting things done in this business landscape. This is especially true in support functions, which are under extreme pressure to perform more effectively.

Because project results are shaped early in the project, our products focus on how decisions are made in those early weeks/months. This is our area of specialty.

Making the greatest difference in the most projects

Why do front-end loading practices influence project outcomes? Project success and failure studies continue to show that a handful of critical elements make or break most projects. All of these critical elements share a common thread. They are shaped by human decisions and omissions early in the project.

Seven of the elements that are most critical to project success are:

• clear objectives
• effective sponsorship
• involvement of customers and stakeholders
• appropriate resources
• definition of requirements
• project planning
• scope control

Studies have shown that one or more of these are usually missing from projects that fail. When the top three elements are problematic, the impact is very severe. In practice, many projects, large and small, suffer from deficiencies in these critical areas. Each of these elements is established (or not) early in the project.

Solid project starts are essential in realizing all types of objectives, including those set during annual performance management processes. The products and services of THREE HOUSES CONSULTING LLC help clients to bring objectives into focus … early.