People are reluctant to report a lack of progress on a task even when they don't have everything needed to do it. The fear is that the truth about why they didn't get it done will not be acceptable. I know when team members that are late on tasks start avoiding me that this is probably their fear. Most of the time the problem that they are having with getting it done is common and correctable once it is identified. These are still hidden, so it may take some coaxing to identify them.
Here is a list of the most common hidden reasons why tasks do not get done and what to do about them:
- Work is not well-defined - The resource is
confused by the task description but does not want to look stupid. This
could be cause by any of the following:
- The task needs to be decomposed further and the resource assigned to the original task will only be doing part of it.
- The task is assigned to the wrong resource.
- Requirements for a deliverable need more elaboration.
- The task may not need to be done at all. It is not applicable.
- Don't know how to do it - This is often the case in IT where the technology changes quickly. I am not talking about incompetence here. One cannot get a person with 3 years experience with a tool that only came out last month. A resource does not want to look stupid, but they may be the best person available. Training or allowing time for the learning curve is the way this is often resolved. Assigning the task to someone else is another alternative
Being able to identify these help you deal with them in your current projects and being able to discuss them openly with your team helps them find ways to prevent them in the future.
For more articles on project management click PM Technix
Bruce Lofland has been a project manager since 1999 and a certified PMP since 2007. He blogs about project management tips and techniques at http://blog.pmtechnix.com.
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I think the first point is the most significant, people don't have a clear plan of action to complete a task.
Posted by: Career Outlook | August 15, 2010 at 03:58 PM