Success or failure in any endeavor is usually determined by numerous factors�some
foreseeable and controllable, others not. It�s generally agreed that a good plan, executed well, often
results in success. But sometimes, good plans go awry due to sheer happenstance. For example, most
sports fans have seen a team�s seemingly brilliant game plan rendered useless by an unfortunate injury
to a key player. When that happens, any chance for success is often contingent on the response and
leadership of the team�s coaching staff in adjusting the plan.
Similarly, more than a theoretically good plan is needed for projects to be successful. Success or failure
often results from the steps taken or not taken by project managers and other key staffers during the
course of the plan�s execution. Utilizing your research on factors leading to success and failure of
projects, choose a company that is regarded as a model of successful projects in the United States of
America. Now, imagine yourself as a project manager for this company.
� Write a brief synopsis of the company, focusing on a particular successful project.
Project Success or Failures
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Project Success or Failures
A project is regarded a success if all its objectives and goals are realized at the end of the
project. The major factor to a successful project is by having a talented project manager. Poor
managers lead to project failures. Since a project may be a success or a failure, several factors
are involved. For project success, smart people, that is the human resource should be considered
first. Proper planning is also a key factor. Other factors include open communication, careful risk
management, and secure project closure. On the other hand, there exist several factors that lead
to project failures. Some of these are poor planning and hence inefficient ways to track progress,
weak leadership, failure to manage and set expectations, and inadequately trained project
managers. With these factors considered, a project in a company can be regarded a success or a
failure (Barker & Cole, 2012).
Google Incorporation, is a corporation based in the United States of America. Throughout
its project operations, it has realized success thanks to the excellent factors put in place. Sergey
Brin together with Larry page is known to be the founders of Google. They had an objective of
making the world’s information accessible and useful together with the organization of the
information. Google Inc. has several projects such as the Google self-driving car project. Its
developer is the Google X that aims to provide technology for electric vehicles (Barker & Cole,
2012). These cars are designed to use a software named Google Chauffer. The project is led by
the co-founder of the Google Street View known as Sebastian Thrun.
Leaders from the Google self-driving car project employed several factors to realize its
objectives (Camilleri, 2011). Proper planning is a crucial factor in any project management. Plan
sets up a project to its success from the start. For the project, during its planning stage, all the
stakeholders were on board, and it ensured that all of them got to know the direction of the
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Project Success or Failures
project. Open communication is another step considered by the project leaders to be an important
step in realizing the success of the project. Consideration of outside sources of information is
vital. Working under defined schedule is important, and this thus leads to the need for an open
communication. The team needs to be well informed about the current programs of the project.
Open communication is also considered as a factor that helps prevent the occurrence of problems
(DuBrin, 2011).
The qualities of the leaders involved in the Google self-driving car project deployed
qualities that led to the success of the project. Good communication a very vital tool that is
presented by the leaders. Their ability to communicate to almost every staff in the project
vicinity prevented a lot of problems from occurring. Integrity is a good quality that is presented
by the leaders involved in the project. The actions carried out by the leaders should be of moral
standards. The ability to delegate tasks is an essential element that a project manager must
deploy to his subjects. It enables proper specialization and also the right workforce for the
correct job within the project. With the presentation of these qualities, the leaders in the project
were able to realize success (Camilleri, 2011).
In this project that depends mainly on technology, lack of open communication will have
led to several problems encountered in the course of the project. Was it not for the quality of
open communication portrayed by the project leaders the project might have failed. The lack of
proper planning qualities by the leaders could have led to the failure of the project. It is,
therefore, essential for every project to consider proper planning (DuBrin, 2011).
Upon conclusion, the Google Self-driving car project has realized success due to the
proper leadership with talented leaders. For any project to achieve its success, management of
the project should be the priority since it is critical (DuBrin, 2011). Project success and failures
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Project Success or Failures
all depend mainly on the management and the qualities of the leaders. Failures are in other cases
controllable while others are not even certain.
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Project Success or Failures
References.
Barker, S., & Cole, R. (2012). Brilliant project management: What the best project managers
know, do and say.
DuBrin, A. J. (2011). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. Mason, OH: South-
Western Cengage Learning.
Camilleri, E. (2011). Project success: Critical factors and behaviours. Farnham: Gower Pub.
Pather, S., Remenyi, B., & Remenyi, D. (2011). Managing risks of ICT projects. Kidmore End:
Academic Publishing.
