Project Failing? Don't Change Methods. Audit Them.

Software Engineering Project Management Agile

We love the success story: Project failing, changed methodology (usually Agile), instant turnaround. But is switching frameworks truly the cure for poor delivery? This expert argues that your current methodology is probably *not* the problem. Learn why implementation, not the method itself, is the true root cause of project failure—and the three audit steps to fix it.

Is Changing Methodology the Cure for Project Problems?

I very often see posts describing #successstories of implementing completely new #projectmanagement methodologies that resulted in spectacular success. The pattern is usually the same: the project was dragging on, going over budget, failing to deliver value, and then after the change (usually to some form of agile, though maybe it's just a coincidence that I mostly see these posts) suddenly everything turned around.

But is restructuring based on "scrapping" everything that came before and starting over in a different way a method that guarantees #success?

In my opinion, not necessarily. Of course, there are situations where the management method was chosen poorly from the start, but that is usually visible right away. If we only realize this after a long time, we were either monitoring efficiency poorly, or...

Exactly—the method itself is not the problem! 🤨

The problem is how it is implemented or used.

If I have a hammer and I’m trying to drive a nail using the handle, does that mean picking up a screwdriver will improve my situation?

Before you decide the project "isn't working" and you need to change the methodology, first check if the methodology itself is actually the problem:

Go back to the roots – analyze the assumptions and foundations of the methodology you are using. Maybe if you start using status meetings to check status and define next steps, rather than solving problems directly during them, it will turn out you don't need to change them into stand-ups after all?
Conduct a project audit – did you perhaps reject retrospectives because they seemed like just "patting each other on the back," and now you wonder why you commit the same errors in every sprint?
Verify if the team understands what they are doing and how – maybe then you will avoid differences of opinion regarding the perception of milestones vs. releases?

Sometimes repair doesn't necessarily mean replacing all the parts, or even the equipment itself—it’s enough to diagnose the source and apply a targeted fix...

Is Changing Methodology the Cure for Project Problems?

But is restructuring based on "scrapping" everything that came before and starting over in a different way a method that guarantees #success?

Exactly—the method itself is not the problem! 🤨

The problem is how it is implemented or used.

If I have a hammer and I’m trying to drive a nail using the handle, does that mean picking up a screwdriver will improve my situation?

Before you decide the project "isn't working" and you need to change the methodology, first check if the methodology itself is actually the problem:

Go back to the roots – analyze the assumptions and foundations of the methodology you are using. Maybe if you start using status meetings to check status and define next steps, rather than solving problems directly during them, it will turn out you don't need to change them into stand-ups after all?

Conduct a project audit – did you perhaps reject retrospectives because they seemed like just "patting each other on the back," and now you wonder why you commit the same errors in every sprint?

Verify if the team understands what they are doing and how – maybe then you will avoid differences of opinion regarding the perception of milestones vs. releases?

Sometimes repair doesn't necessarily mean replacing all the parts, or even the equipment itself—it’s enough to diagnose the source and apply a targeted fix...

Project Failing? Don't Change Methods. Audit Them.

Project Failing? Don't Change Methods. Audit Them.

Is Changing Methodology the Cure for Project Problems?

Wojciech Zieliński

Is Changing Methodology the Cure for Project Problems?

Wojciech Zieliński