Calm in IT projects. Why calm is essential to project success

In the previous blogs in this series, we explored predictability and ownership. With that, we covered two important foundations of the Quilyx VERDER method.

In this blog, the third element takes center stage: calm.

Calm may sound less tangible than a roadmap, a plan, or a governance structure. Yet calm is of enormous value to the success of a project or program. Not as a luxury, but as a condition for performing well, building trust, and achieving sustainable results.

Calm saves energy

Calm is important first of all because it saves a huge amount of energy.

From a calm state, work can be done far more efficiently than from panic or from an environment with constant pressure. In a calm project environment, people can think more clearly, collaborate more effectively, and perform better. That is when they can truly operate from their strengths.

That does not mean there should be no pressure at all. Projects still work toward deadlines, objectives, and results. Progress has to be made and choices need to be taken.

But there is a major difference between healthy pressure and constant unrest.

Panic costs energy. Crisis meetings cost energy. Micromanagement costs energy. And a continuous undertone of uncertainty, where people wonder whether they are doing well enough or whether they will still be part of the project tomorrow, often costs even more.

Calm, on the other hand, creates room. Room for focus, positivity, and good work.

Calm helps teams perform

Calm also matters because teams rarely function at their best without it.

When a project is constantly under tension, teams remain reactive. People protect themselves, focus on incidents, and lose the space to grow stronger as a collective.

Calm creates the conditions in which people gain trust in one another, dare to take initiative, and collaborate better.

In terms of Tuckman, calm is an important condition for a team to reach the stage of performing. We will return to that model in a later blog in this series.

Calm matters beyond the team

Calm is not only important for the project team itself. It also matters greatly for the organization, the client, and other stakeholders.

Every organization knows a project that is constantly delayed, regularly causes errors or incidents, and no longer inspires confidence. Such a project drains energy from the whole ecosystem around it. It consumes attention, creates doubt, and often leads to irritation or discouragement.

How different it feels when a project simply does what it promised.

A project that delivers results. A project that stays within time and budget. A project whose biweekly reports show that things are going well. A project whose team is motivated and whose environment can see that progress is being made.

Then an entirely different dynamic emerges.

The team has energy. Stakeholders have confidence. The client sees control and progress. And when something does go wrong, there is much more willingness to look together for a solution. For example by approving a change, accepting a budget adjustment, or supporting a workable interim solution.

Calm does not make a project weaker. Calm makes a project more resilient.

Without calm, even a good project becomes heavy

For us, calm is crucial to making a project truly successful.

Without calm, a project quickly becomes a heavy burden. The chance increases that people burn out, stakeholders disengage, and a generally negative atmosphere starts hanging over the project. Once that happens, trust also comes under pressure.

And if trust disappears, a project may still formally deliver all its results, but it will not feel successful to the organization.

That also shows that project success goes beyond schedule and budget alone.

A well-known example is the expansion of London Heathrow Airport. In a formal sense, the project seemed successful because it was delivered on time. Yet the baggage handling problems in the weeks after opening created so much unrest and negative public perception that the project was widely seen as a failure.

The opposite can be seen with the Sydney Opera House. That project ran heavily over time and budget, but is now regarded as one of the most successful projects in the world because of the enormous cultural, economic, and symbolic value it created for Sydney and Australia.

Those examples show that success is not determined only by whether a project was delivered on time or within budget. Perception, trust, and ultimate impact also shape how a project is judged.

Calm does not arise by itself

Calm is not something that simply appears. It is the result of good project management.

Calm emerges when people know what to expect. When there is predictability. When ownership is clearly assigned. When decisions are made in time. When problems do not linger, but are addressed.

That also means calm is not a separate element within the VERDER method.

Calm arises from the combination of predictability and ownership. A clear roadmap provides direction. Ownership ensures that direction is followed. And when those two come together, room for calm emerges.

Calm within the Quilyx VERDER method

Within the Quilyx VERDER method, calm is therefore not a soft side note, but a hard success factor.

For us, calm means that a project does not need to keep putting out fires just to stay in motion. It means the team can work with confidence, the environment continues to trust the approach, and results can be achieved in a healthy and sustainable way.

A project that radiates calm also radiates control. It shows that the change is being led rather than merely endured.

And that is exactly why calm matters.

On to the next element of the VERDER method

With predictability, ownership, and calm, we have now covered the first three key factors of the VERDER method.

In the next blog in this series, we move on to the fourth element: objective.

Ultimately, a project or program is not only about control or progress. It is about what actually needs to be achieved and why that matters.