Post Mortem Of A Failed Project

I took on a household project in 2008 that, in retrospect, should have been left to professionals. I decided to build my own custom home theater in the basement of my home in Atlanta. I had a rectangular shaped 30 x 14 foot room in which I wanted to build a three level platform in order to simulate stadium seating for watching movies and entertaining guests. I performed my “research” by looking through multiple home theater magazines and web sites. I was on vacation and planned to begin and complete the project in 13 days (the amount of time that I had left before returning to work).

Unfortunately the project was a complete and utter failure. If I had any knowledge of the project management process (or common sense) I would have been a lot more thorough during the planning phase of the project, make sure that my research was more thorough. If I had performed a feasibility study I would have realized several things:

·         I did not possess the  carpentry skills that were required to complete this project

·         I did not own some of the required tools needed to complete this project

·         I did not even attempt to set a budget for the project, thinking that whatever money that I spent would pay for itself in the end.

·         I did not research the design specifications for the type of platform that I was building

When I measured the area for the platforms I did not account for the crown molding at the base of the wall. I measured and cut three platforms, but had to re-cut each of the platforms to adjust for the molding. Additionally, I had to purchase a particular type of electric saw and a much higher grade of wood that I had previously anticipated, for durability purposes. When all was said and done, the upper platform collapsed under the weight of the seats because I did not build the proper support structure underneath. The project ended at that point because I could not justify the cost of starting the project over (to my wife, LOL).  If I had properly researched my project, looking at blueprints of other similar projects; setting an appropriate budget, which would have included determining the proper tool set and properly pricing the required wood. In short, my project required management.