Project success i= 80% expectation management and 20% delivery

I have seen enough project stories to see that inability to manage expectations internally or with the customer results in project failure.  However since all project failures can be reduced to inabilty to deliver on time or with quality or meeting the scope or within budget (typically a combination), they look like they are always delivery failures.

So how do we attack expectation management part?

it is invaluable to align yourself with the customer and win his/her trust and then influence the expectation more in line with reality. Any analysis of failed projects will show that the disconnects started in teh first 30 days of the project.

One rich area to attach expectations management ( implicit and explicit) is ASSUMPTIONS. Most stakeholdersr are aware of dates, costs and the requirements. however the underlying assumptions made by the vendor are either unrealistic or at time absent. these assumptions could be productivity assumptioms, third pary dependencies, or even expected cooperation from the customer. However the MPP view tends to give a false sense of security.

How does one tackle these assumptions, which often are bandages to underlying project risks?

In my view it is important to test the basis of assumption based on past 3 months experience or actively validate them in the first 10% progress of the project. Calling them out and either removing the blockades or redefining the project plan are ways out.