Starting a new project is always challenging. Although we start with motivation and determination, a few things may lead to its failure. A project is considered a failure if it has not delivered its basic expectations.
Projects are generally initiated to meet a business ambition, but they must also meet the stakeholder presumptions. If the project can meet the business ambitions and all stakeholder presumptions, it can be assumed to be a success.
However, the reality is not the same as we anticipate it could be. As expectations of the customers and stakeholders continue to change constantly, it becomes difficult for the project team to deal with issues and achieve project goals.
But the question is why a project fails. Project failure happens if the projects are late, cross budget, do not deliver the business value as estimated or deliver the wrong product. The reasons projects fail are varied, ranging from planning mistakes to scope creep.
What Is A Failed Project?
In short, a failed project is one for which results do not meet its objectives or do not deliver what was planned on time and within budget. There are many causes of failure. Hence, it is important to be careful to avoid causing even more.
11 Reasons For Project Failure
The top 11 reasons for project failure are listed and explained below to better understand and step toward the project’s success.
1. Poor Planning
Though sometimes overlooked in importance, poor planning can make a project fail. A successful project is based on properly defining in detail the scope, the time frame, and the role of each member. This way, a route will be laid out to follow.
2. Inconsistently Defined Resources
Planning should not be limited to agendas, meetings, and responsibilities. It should also include human, financial, intellectual, or structural resources. If these are not consistently determined, deadlines cannot be met, jeopardizing the project’s conclusion.
3. Unclear Objectives
Project objectives must be clearly defined. As time goes by, one will know whether he/ she is doing what is right or not. Remind that choosing measurable goals helps a person better visualize the progress and helps to see how close they are to achieving the results.
4. Lack Of Detail Control
Monitoring is important for successful projects; even knowing the details of several projects simultaneously can be very challenging. As a result, it is important to know how a project is going, if it is on schedule and if the budget is under control. If there are any divergences from the starting plan, one can still correct them this way.
5. Lack Of Transparency
Everyone involved in the projects must have whole project visibility so that it does not fail, not only the project manager but other team members too. It involves clear communication, good document management, and transparency about the status of the tasks, all of which can be achieved with centralized, all-digital files.
6. Lack Of Communication
Communication is the main thing to good project management. Without the correct tools and processes to allow interaction among team members and the project manager from the start, efficient communication can seldom be achieved.
7. Change Of Direction
Among the ways projects fail, a very common thing is scope creep. This concept refers to changes requested when the project has already started, which had not been planned earlier. It is very common when projects are not appropriately documented and defined beforehand.
8. Unrealistic Expectations
When a person wants to do something fast, with a limited budget, and a reduced team, it can make a project fail. One should be realistic regarding the team’s capabilities, deadlines, and available resources. Only then can the wanted results can be obtained.
9. Lack Of Monitoring
Giving a schedule to the team is not sufficient for a project to be successful. One should also make sure everything goes as planned. It means having frequent progress checks or meetings, and making adaptations when necessary, is required.
10. Unrealistic Due Dates
Planning complex tasks for short due dates is one of the reasons for project failure. It is important to carefully consider how long every project phase will take and the extra time for unexpected events. It is the only way to develop a quality project.
11. Poorly Assigned Roles
When each team member receives their responsibilities clearly, they will know what, when, and how to perform their activities without someone needing to constantly ask for it.
How Can These Problems Be Avoided?
Knowing how to avoid these problems is also essential to gain success. Below are a few pointers to be remembered.
Make A Clear Plan & Establish Realistic Goals
Clear, objective and realistic goals are required to avoid project failure. One can use methods such as SMART goals to create them.
Once goals are laid out, one should devise a consistent plan since this will increase the likelihood the project succeeds and help save time and money during its development. It is also important to conduct smart risk management.
In this manner, one should identify the risks and the possibility they will occur. It’s needed to create preventive measures to keep these errors from occurring and mitigation measures in case they do. Moreover, it is also necessary to continuously control and assess the obtained results.
Determine Resources & Keep The Project Objectives
Making a budget for the project that accounts for all its stages is important to avoid getting stuck in the middle of the road. One should include all types of resources that are needed for its completion.
Once all resources are defined, one should focus on planning and making no changes that could jeopardize the results that were initially expected for the project.
One should be aware that if there are any needed changes, and will need another round of planning with new resources and deadlines, which can completely change the initial structure.
Use Technology To Help
The available project management technology can considerably increase quality and obtain better results, making the job faster. It helps in planning and implementation and guides in team monitoring and integration.
