If we had a magic potion that would make it so no projects could ever fail, there's no question we could sell it for a ton of money. Likewise, if we could ensure that we knew all the reasons projects fail and could map out how to avoid or mitigate those potential failure points, we'd also be pretty rich.
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While we may not be able to cast a spell for successful projects, we can narrow down the key causes of project failure to a few major ones. Let's discuss the top 5 reasons for project failure, and come away with some positive and useful takeaways.

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Calling all project teams... attention! Project success does not come easy.

You can't wing it or phone it in. You may be able to for a short time, but success will not be yours on an ongoing basis. Project management is not easy, designing a solution is not easy, managing clients and client expectations comes with a high price and just when you think you're done you often are not. Fool!

In order to be a good manager of team, time and money as well as the client, the business analyst needs to be a savvy communicator, a good negotiator, an independent thinker, a subject matter expert (SME) and a project manager of sorts all rolled into one. Let's look at each of these separately...and be thinking about your own list or discussion points for my list...

​When you think of gaming in Las Vegas, what do you think of? Maybe something involving loud noises, brightly lit machines, or a green velvet table and cards to go with, all for the thought of possibly gaining or losing your money. 

But would you associate video games in the Las Vegas area as an answer for that question? Yes, video games. The things parents tell their maybe too young children to stop playing. The things teenagers can't stop doing, and the thing that has been around since the 70s. 

Las Vegas has become a powerhouse in the video gaming industry. With its newest arrival downtown, the Esports Arena in the Luxor Hotel, gaming is soon to change it's definition in the flashy city that receives over three million tourists a month.

The 30,000 square foot arena is directly on the main level in the Luxor Hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard and has been created for any gamer's personal haven. Made for an entire professional eSports competitoin, your group of friends who want to have a LAN party without the hassle of hauling parts, or even for an individual looking for a quiet place to stream. The arena has provided anyone and everyone with top gear needed for an excellent experience in the best environment for it. When you walk into the place, you'll be in what I like to call the "casual gamer room". A few of the things I myself noticed was the gigantic screen streaming live competitons or streamers from the popular website Twitch. Second thing I noticed, the incredible lineup of high tech computers and towers all in rows. Their official partner HyperX have provided each station with headphones, keyboards, and mouses. But don't fret, if you prefer your own equipment, you're more than welcomed to bring it. The third thing I noticed was the front desk with friendly employees passionate about the arena and gaming in general.

Management has filled the atmosphere with staff not only both male and female (which coming from a twenty year old female, I appreciate the diversity) but also with people who know what they're doing. All employees in the main area are responsible and there for catering to each guests needs and if it comes across - which all tech nerds know will and is inevitable - each member is capable of solving any computer issues. If you don't remember your Steam password or gamer ID, they will also provide you with one of their own safe accounts which has downloadable games for you to use. It also won't take the 9 hours to download there, since they have a gigabyte of internet speed for the venue. 

A couple cool things that aren't thought of immediately when hearing about this venue is that eventually, there'll be a small area for VR available to the public and they do allow you to livestream at your station. They even have a specific booth closed off FOR streaming as they plan on having popular local streamers play there. The set up includes a stand microphone, three monitors, a TV above in case needed, and overall just looks really rad. 

After examining the room, to my amazement there was even more... far more. After what seems to be just the "casual gaming room", there is what they call "the retro game cocktail bar", which is a smaller circular room beyond the entrance with all kinds of consoles ranging from the classic Xbox, an Atari, a Wii, NES, and the good ole GameCube. The room is small enough that you can jump from console to console in a leap, but large enough that everyone can play at their station contently and play that game of tennis on the Wii as Serena Williams would want. 

If you look up in this circular room, you'll even see a chandelier made from old monitors and dangling underneath is the history of gaming controllers (one of my favorite decors in the entire place).

Continuing even further beyond this room, is the arena itself. With a fifty foot LED screen, theater style seating, three foot stage beneath, fun lights, and even MORE computers (more than doubled what was in the "casual gamer area"), you're sure to be locked here for at least a couple hours at this point. Its design is to hold crowds for major events and both local and professional tournaments. All computers are set up on each side of the "bleachers" in multiple rows for team communication optimization, but can also have the ability to be designed for an individual going solo in competitive gaming. 

With its first major event not even a month after opening, NinjaVegas18, where 26 year old Tyler "Ninja" Blevins played Fortnite in a huge LAN style party where $50,000 was at stake for any player competing or charity of choice from Ninja's party,  sold out completely. The event alone broke Twitch's  viewing record with over 667,000 people watching live at peak point. Fun fact: streaming at this arena beat his past record that featured rap legend Drake... DRAKE.

Think it'll get crowded with all of these fun events and how cool it sounds? Don't fret, this arena is also multi-leveled. The stairs leading to the second floor feature more space for viewing the stage and 50 foot screen, along with a couple closed off VIP sections for private events and a caster booth. 
Don't feel like gaming? Don't worry. The arena holds casual tournaments for locals with prize money, but also has community events such as local streamer parties, where fellow streamers can meet one another and talk about mutual hobbies and interests, Cosplay contests with featured themes, and viewing parties for major professional competitions like League of Legends, CS:GO, and Overwatch.

With a few tables spread out around for anyone to relax and chat, there's also drinks and eating options from the two bars located INSIDE the venue on each side and from their unique restaurant menu brought to you by Jose Andres. As an "avid gamer", Jose Andreas created the dining experience for gamers in mind. He wanted it to be efficient and practical for any gamer to enjoy a bite to eat in between games and also satisfy their stomach cravings. From Asian inspired dishes like Maki, savory rice bowls, and vegetarian options, you can also get a classic with a hint of Vegas flare like a four-cheese grilled cheese or even a chicken fried sandwich. 

There's so many cool features about this venue that just can't be summed up by words. Whether you're a tourist or a local (which get 15% off gaming passes), grab your friends or go solo. Anyone who is a fan of gaming can enjoy this venue thoroughly and go back again and again. With it on the rise for even more popularity, bigger events, and better gaming experiences, Las Vegas is about to be have the most popular home for everyone to game at, and its at the Esports Arena in the Luxor Hotel. 
 

About the Author:

​Anna Egeland is a self-professed tech girl and enthusiastic gaming follower, writer, and co-host of a podcast. She attends professional eSports competitions and gaming conferences, allowing her to write with a first hand experience from a female perspective about the Las Vegas gaming scene. Contact her for interviews, product/event reviews and article ideas.

Who or what makes the big difference as to success or failure on a tech project? Is it the project manager?
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Is it the business analyst? The tech lead? The customer? The budget? The timeline? Luck? The skill set of the project team? 3rd party vendors? Unknowns? Issues? Risks? Requirements? Good or bad communication?...

nything and everything can be hacked. You, me, your top competition, your favorite customers. Everyone. And even if you employ one individual running your security, an entire certified staff of cybercrime experts or a 3rd party outside vendor securing your important data and IT processed, don't let any of them convince you that you are 100% safe. You aren't now and you never will be. The best you can probably hope for is about 90% but those percentages mean nothing when hackers find their way into that small 10% opening that you couldn't cover. Trust me – and you can read this anywhere – the hackers are always one step ahead of us all. Everyone is in reactive mode vs. hackers. You can be in what you believe is proactive mode, but you're still covering ground they've already covered. The best you can hope for is that they won't find you to be an easy target and they'll move on to the next company. Just like our house is well lit and always has at least 2 vehicles sitting in front of it or beside it so we would certainly never be a crime of opportunity...anyone just trying to break in to a house would move on to the next one.

I recently checked back in with most of my current and past project clients. What I found surprised me a bit. Nearly one in four - almost 25% - had experienced some sort of hack, data breach or security violation in the past 12 months. Almost 25%. The nice thing is a few are asking for my help in making sure 2018 is safer than 2017...but I have to admit that it was not necessarily the way I wanted new consulting business. However, I will not turn down that kind of experience, research and revenue. At the same time, I wonder what is going to be hit next? What will black hats target next that we haven't even thought of? And what about white hats out there who work hard to expose security flaws and backend openings to prove to governments and software or equipment vendors that they have issues that they aren't aware of but need to patch quickly? Those individuals could be targeted next by cybercriminals...just as was the case on the season (and probably, unfortunately, series) finale of CSI Cyber this past week. This knowledge and software code is worth an inconceivable amount of money in the wrong hands. And it puts lives in danger at the same time.

Back to the issue with the 1 in 4 companies experiencing a security breach and what that could or should mean to you. Nothing or everything...it's your choice. At the very least, I highly recommend the following...

Make cybersecurity a top priority in your risk planning. I know we all think it can't happen to us. And it may not. But if it does, just one cybercrime could cost you countless customers, high costs of identify theft of employee information, or worse....though I'm not sure what that might be. Your risk depends more upon the types of clients you have, the types of projects you run, the industry you operate in, the type of data you handle and the size and complexity of the projects you manage. But any size business can be and is at risk. To omit it from your risk planning is crazy in 2016. I am usually working with small to medium sized businesses though I am periodically running projects as a consultant for very large Fortune 500 organizations and government entities like the Department of Defense and others. And yes, sometimes it does involve sensitive information. Risk planning needs to be part of every project and cybercrime and cybersecurity needs to be considered during every risk planning session.

Hire one staff, a department or a consultant. You can hire one staff, you can create a department, or you can just hire a consultant. But it is imperative, I believe, that you do something to prepare your organization for a cybercrime incident in 2016. It may not happen this year, but it is likely to happen soon and the sooner you bring in staff or designate an individual the sooner you can have that person or group ready and productive. You don't really need a large group of certified individuals. You can operate with just one interested tech lead moving into this role and learning as they go. The information and technology for them to research is everywhere...they can get up to speed fast. Just don't put it off any longer.

Attend Black Hat. Seriously. I've been to Black Hat USA in Las Vegas five years running and it is amazing – both in terms of fascination and in terms of understanding the breadth of the security risks we all face. They call it Black Hat, but it is really much more about White Hat work identifying and reporting on security flaws and what cybercriminals are capable of and what these incredibly skilled hackers have discovered over the past year. If cybersecurity is a concern to you – and it needs to be – then this conference is well worth your time and money. If it makes you plan for and mitigate or avoid one breach because you added it to your risk planning process then it will pay for itself 20 times over.

Summary / call for input

Everyone can be hacked. Do I need to repeat that? Everyone can be hacked. And it will likely get worse – not better. I will not be surprised if I conduct a similar client survey in a couple of years and see that number rise to nearly 50%.

What about our readers? Has your organization experienced a data breach or be the victim of a cybercrime...no matter how small? If so, what was your response? How has it changed your risk planning process. Please share your experiences and discuss.

Yes, it was time to bring someone else in to write on even more interesting topics than Project Management, Business Strategy and Cybersecurity.  What could be more interesting you say?  Well, gaming for one.  Online gaming is huge and Anna Egeland is immersed in it.  Trust me.  

Anna Egeland is a self-professed tech girl and enthusiastic gaming follower, writer, and co-host of a podcast. Along with attending college classes in pursuit of receiving a Bachelor's Degree in marketing, she attends professional eSports competitions and gaming conferences, allowing her to write with first hand experience from a female perspective about the Las Vegas gaming scene + venues.  In doing so, she is putting that experience hand-in-hand with connecting with the online gaming community around the world. She's open to interviewing all positions and products in the gaming/technology industry, and reviewing and writing about all genres of games (both old and new). Have an article idea or wish to suggest a topic or need your product reviewed?  Contact her right now...

Want her to write about your Esports presence, project, product or venue... contact her right now...