Why Projects Fail? – Jaison Jacob

A project is assumed to be a project failure if it does not meet its identified requirements. Projects are usually initiated to meet business objectives, but should also meet stakeholder expectations. If a project can meet both business ambitions and all stakeholder concepts, then it can be measured as a success. However, the reality is not what we expect. As customer and stakeholder expectations change constantly, it becomes more difficult for the project team to deal with problems and achieve project goals.

Not all projects are prestigious, but there are several that go away from their budgets or fail to convey their promises. Project managers often have a poor reputation for delivering without a budget or long-term expectations. And one of the worst-recorded industries is the technology industry, where failures are said to account for more than 50 percent of all projects.

Reasons Why Projects Fail

Here are some of the vital reasons why a project considered as a failure. There can be more reasons, depending upon each project required outcomes.

Inadequate Project Planning

Planning is a vital part of project management and there needs to have a suitable plan for each project. Project planning is commonly used to manage all areas of a project that includes scope, costs, schedule, quality, resource, etc. There needs to have a clear vision of what you will achieve and how to get things done to reach the goal of the project. But if the plan is not properly planned, it may fail or not meet all the expectations of stakeholders and consumers.

Failure to Communicate

Frequently, communication between project managers, project drivers and stakeholders is broken when teams are busy. It is also common to recognize failure at the most painful stage when the impact on costs, schedules, quality and scope is at its highest level and problem-solving disrupts the flow of project work.

Lack of Interest from Stakeholders

Unclear scope and quality of success by stakeholders lead to project failure. A project will be successful if it serves the purpose of stakeholders who are interested in project. If the stakeholders are not giving timely feedback, it can drag down your project as the flow of work on the projects will be greatly lost.

Scope Creep

Scope creep refers to a change in the scope of the project and is also called creep or feature creep as needed. The scope is the work necessary for a project. Scope Creep refers to how a project needs change over a project life cycle. This project is due to the changing needs of stakeholders or due to miscommunication and disagreement. This results in roadblocks, project delays, or over-budgeting and can cause the project to fail, but sometimes it may not be a bad thing if it adds opportunities to project outcome. Scope Creep is a reality that every project management predicts and need to plan for.

Hiring wrong resources for the project

Do you have the right skills for the success of your project? Keeping in mind the skills you need during the recruitment process is of a great need. A wrong rent can cost a company a lot. Hiring the wrong team can cause trouble and confusion in complex tasks. The cost of solving the problem comes quickly and gets the project out of control.

Not Paying Attention to Warning Signs

When a project is about to fail, there will be warning signs of project failure. When a projects management indicates these warning signs, the project has a risk factor that are bound to fail. In contrast, a proactive and necessary action initiated, can save the project from its torment. Lack of team commitment, frequently missed deadlines and resource shifting are some of the warning signs that a project management should be vigilant about if the project needs to be saved from a disaster.

Shortage of Resources / Requirements

Each project requires some resources as needed. The quantity of assets depends on the volume and capacity of the project. Sometimes, this plan is inaccessible due to a lack of resources and requirements. This is one of the issues in which the success of the project is not available. For example, if a project requires a skilled resource and the nominee for the project does not have that skill, the project cannot continue until the necessary resources are provided.

If a project lacks the necessary resources, how can it be expected to be completed before the deadline? Well, you can’t. The majority will complain about the lack of resources. Furthermore, they see this as one of the reasons why the project failed.

The primary responsibility of senior management is to provide with the resources they need to complete the project. Once top management has made sure that the required resources are allocated; they can hold project management accountable for both the success or failure of the project.

Use of Unpracticed Tools and Techniques

The success of a project requires good tools and techniques. A common illusion is created by the team to use impractical tools and techniques at the beginning of the project. Sometimes, this can lead to many serious problems during the project life cycle as the team has to deal with the routine project duties as well as the learning curve of new techniques. Because team members are unfamiliar with the new technique, the project may run into delays. For this, team members must use new tools in battle.

How to Avoid Project Failure?

There are many ways to avoid project failure.

Set realistic expectations

If you plan to avoid unsuccessful plans, make the phrase “stitch in time saves nine” your new watchword. Setting unrealistic expectations just to please a customer, or as the project falls within a certain budget, will cause problems when the project starts. You also need to set realistic expectations from your team by assigning activities based on their abilities and skills. Discuss all possible risks and issues that may arise and develop appropriate contingency plans. You can avoid the Black Swan project. Use the project plan to determine scope, cost, schedule and quality expectations.

Identify the real issues

At the leadership level, you need to develop an executive dialogue that allows you to identify and analyze business and organizational issues without emotion. Continue this dialogue during implementation. Remove organizational barriers within the organization and with third-party vendors. All stakeholder groups needs to be linked to the common goal of project success.

Seek objectivity

Reviews by an external expert emphasize both project implementation and protection against the high cost of failure. Skills provide the information and objective oversight needed to overcome organizational barriers. It also gives you peace of mind. Assessment should be done by an executive or implementation specialist who has successfully identified enough projects with the right indicators, intervene to adjust to the situation and adjust expectations accordingly.

Properly initiate the project

Never start a project before you can finish it quickly. Without a proper start, rushing to get started will only have the opposite effect on you and your team. The proper start of the project requires discussion, agreement finding and documentation of the expectations of all stakeholders. When key stakeholders know what they’re getting (and they agree with), everyone knows what to expect from them when they complete the project. Poor start-ups, on the other hand, will unnecessarily delay the project due to mistakes & errors.

Check your resources

Do your team members have the necessary skills for project work? Starting a project with a team full of the wrong skills or the wrong number of people will only lead to failure. Limited staffing and other resource constraints will result in missed milestones and deadlines jeopardizing any expected completion date. To stay away from project failure owing to lack of resources, make sure that the necessary team are available before the project starts.

Align the work-streams

You require identifying, aligning and continuously monitor the work development to make sure flat improvement throughout the organization. Understand the interdependence between work streams during project plan development to ensure proper resource allocation and project time frame. Continue to monitor interdependence throughout the project.

Conclusion

Project management can without difficulty diminish the threat of failure by identifying universal causes that surface the way for project failure. There needs to take steps to avoid these factors from casting an unconstructive outline on the plans. If a project needs to be completed on time, you must deliver all the required resources to the project and prevent the project from spiraling out of control. Keep things organized and avoid mismanagement.

Knowing all the factors that can cause a project to fail can prepare the project management and their team to deal with any problems that may arise. As a result, the chances of the project failing will be minimized and the chances of the project succeeding will be maximized.