Why Projects Fail: The Biggest Pitfalls And How You Can Easily Avoid Them
Bernard Marr
?? Internationally Best-selling #Author?? #KeynoteSpeaker?? #Futurist?? #Business, #Tech & #Strategy Advisor
A project can fail for any number of reasons — some of which are in your control, some of which aren’t. In fact, I came across this fairly depressing list of 101 Common Causes of Project Failure. (Yikes.)
With any project, there are always going to be factors outside your control, but by paying attention to some of the most common reasons projects fail, you can greatly increase your odds of being a success.
1. No clear objectives.
This almost sounds like a joke, doesn’t it? But in my work with clients all over the globe, I have been a witness to countless projects that founder because of a lack of clear objectives and metrics by which to measure their success. Often a project’s goal boils down to “make it better,” with no clear vision of what better looks like or how anyone will know when it has been achieved. Avoid this failure by clearly setting out measurable quantitative and qualitative objectives of the project at the very beginning.
2. No milestones.
The kid brother to having no objectives is having no milestones. Without milestones, team members can’t be sure if they’re on track to meet the ultimate deadline or budget, which can cause things to get out of control quickly. Rather than having just one objective, creating stepping stones to reaching that ultimate goal can ensure the project stays on track and give team members important successes to celebrate along the way. Avoid this failure by plotting out the major milestones your team will achieve on their way to the ultimate goal, and building in a method for checking in on progress toward those milestones.
3. Budget problems.
Oh, if I only had a penny for every project I’ve seen fail because of budget problems! Sometimes budget problems are outside your control, but what you can control is creating a thoroughly researched and realistic budget for the project, and managing expectations around that budget. Too often project leaders are bullied into creating unrealistic budgets on paper that can never be met in the real world, which leads to disappointment and outright failure when the project comes in massively over budget — or is never finished at all. Avoid this failure by making sure you think through every aspect of your budget carefully, and manage expectations from outside sources as to what can be achieved based on the budget you’ve been given.
4. Lack of resources.
So many project problems fall under this category, yet it can be the most easily avoided. If you spend the right amount of time planning your project, understanding your objectives and milestones, and creating a realistic budget, then planning for how you will obtain all the necessary resources should come easily. (Notice how each of these steps builds on the ones before?) Lack of resources is usually due to one thing: lack of planning. Avoid this failure by carefully researching, thinking through, and understanding the resources you will need at each stage of your project, and working them into the plan from the very beginning.
5. Poor management.
Interestingly, you can have a perfect project plan, but poor management can throw a huge spanner in the works and ruin a good plan. Good management involves understanding and communicating the project’s goals and milestones, keeping abreast of the progress being made at every stage of the project, and managing expectations of both project team members and anyone to whom the manager reports. Poor management in any of these areas can send the project spiraling towards failure. Avoid this failure by understanding your own role as manager and actively managing your project and team.
6. Scope creep.
Too often a project begins with one objective and ends up trying to solve the world’s problems (or at least, the company’s). Even if you have a properly defined objective, outside forces can influence the project’s trajectory, asking for more features, more benefits, more, more, more. What was once a project to solve a single specific problem has now grown into a huge, multi-headed beast with no clear direction. Avoid this failure by constantly asking yourself and your team if any change is necessary to the original objective. Avoid shiny object syndrome and stay focused on achieving your original goals. All those good ideas will still be there for the next project.
Of course, these are just a few of the most common reasons why I see projects fail, but by considering them in advance of your next project, and taking the time to plan for these contingencies, I am sure you’re ensuring a much higher chance of success for your next project, no matter how big or small.
What’s your best advice for projects that succeed? Please share your thoughts and wisdom in the comments below.
-------------------
I really appreciate that you are reading my post. Here, at LinkedIn, I regularly write about management and technology issues and trends. If you would like to read my regular posts then please click 'Follow' (at the top of the page) and send me a LinkedIn invite. And, of course, feel free to also connect via Twitter, Facebook and The Advanced Performance Institute.
Here are some other recent posts I have written:
- The One Thing Successful People Never Do
- 5 Sad Truths About Success And Happiness
- The 15 Biggest Body Language Mistakes To Watch Out For
- 10 Timeless Work Habits To Boost Your Productivity Today
- Which Of These Mistakes Do You Make - That Successful People Don't?
- Caution: When KPIs Turn To Poison
- The Tale-Tell Signs Of A Bad Boss
- Stop Using These 30 Phrases At Work!
- The 75 KPIs Every Manager Needs to Know
About : Bernard Marr is a globally recognized expert in strategy, performance management, analytics, KPIs and big data. He helps companies and executive teams manage, measure and improve performance.
Photo: Shutterstock.com
Actively seeking opportunities leading ERP, RPA and related programmes.
10 年Scope creep is a myth created by less able PM's to cover the fact they can't cope with the dynamic nature of the world!!! Consider this... I have a set of objectives to achieve over a number of years. They are all true today and aimed at a business scenario that is a concept not a reality. What happens if the reality is different to the concept? Easy, I achieve nothing that is useful to anyone except as a lesson in how not to run a project. Real life in a programme is like trying to build a moving train. PM's "dealing with" Shiny Object Syndrome is a piece of PM cultural imperialism that has no place in the "agile" world. If a CEO says to me he "wants it black" then changes his mind later to "gold plated" it's my job to tell him what resources will be consumed over which time period. It's also my job to build a programme structure that is sufficiently flexible to minimise the impact of executive decision making. It's NOT to tell the CEO he can't have what he needs because it doesn't fit with our previous objectives. So, put an effective "Design Authority" in place and you can cope with SOS. Finally, there is only one way to ensure a successful programme - hire a Programme Manager who understands WHY the rules are like they are, and has the confidence to change them when necessary, and then LISTEN TO THEM. MJS
Director at PCG | Cloud ERP Software, Digital Transformation and Manufacturing Expert | Infor CloudSuite | Infor LN Consultant | ex-BaaN | NetSuite | SAP S/4HANA | Evolving ERP Podcast | Author | Golfer ?
10 年Bernard, as an ERP consultant this rings very true to me - particularly the parts about no milestones and scope creep. Frequently I find that during ERP implementations, there is a project plan but it's not actively monitored by either the internal project manager or the consultants. Without maintenance and active response to milestones missed or deliverables not delivered, a project plan is useless. It becomes something that you show to the project sponsors at the kickoff to say you have a plan, and just before go-live to say you met the objectives whether you have or not. Scope creep is more a symptom of not having clear objectives and not monitoring milestones closely enough. An active change management strategy to surface deviations from the plan to the steering committee helps a lot. Also, documenting change requests and the budget for them is a crucial part of staying on budget. Lack of management buy-in because the budget is out of control is an almost sure sign of impending disaster for your project. I've written a LinkedIn post on this topic called "3 Simple Ways to Avoid an IT Project DISASTER": https://www.dhirubhai.net/today/post/article/20140828222808-2524840-4-things-you-must-get-right-or-your-it-project-will-fail?trk=mp-reader-card I'd love to hear your feedback if you could take a moment to read it. Thanks for the consistent quality and frequency of your posts! As an ERP consultant and project manager, I find them very useful!
Construction Management Consultant
10 年We, as managers devote anywhere from 6% - 12% of contract value to Project Controls and still have unforeseen delays, added costs, claims and unexpected results that take up all our time and effort. After 30 years of consulting and analyzing more projects than I can remember, forensic investigation revealed the same causes. The most popular software utilizing the Critical Path Method of scheduling has become so complex it takes technical experts to produce basic plans and diagrams. This is due to IT project need for detail, turnarounds need for repetition and SAP interface, and manufacturing repetition that lends itself to daily activity scrutiny. Construction needs its own simplified, easily understood methods to avoid being overwhelmed with detail that is not needed during the planning, engineering and contracting stages of a project, and once a contractor is selected, he decides the level of detail he needs to control his project, and that will vary with the type of contract awarded. From that point it is reporting, coordination and project evaluation that takes priority. Progress payments and change initiation and value are immediate priority during construction phase. 1. You must control Project Controls. 2. Construction is as much of an art as it is science. 3. Never let the enormity of the task overwhelm your ability to perform the task. 4. Your contractor knows more about his craft than you do. 5. You must resolve conflicts in real time. 6. Budget and schedule are in-separable. 7. Critical Path Analysis should be the result of Risk Analysis, not just logic. 8. Timed incorporation of detailed information. Levels of detail. 9. The schedule is a dynamic model of the project and should not be used to control the project. Only people can think in real time. A computer is only as good as its input. 10. Plan the job from the top down, prove the job from the bottom up, control the job going forward, and analyze the risk going backward.
Construction Management Consultant
10 年This rehash of the obvious did little to enlighten my view of the world and do not apply to construction in any meaningful way. 1. No clear objectives. The objectives of a construction project are always laid out clearly in the Master Plan. 2. No milestones. I have never seen this in 30 years. 3. Budget problems.. Always! That's what Managers are for. As they say in Thailand: "No money, No honey." 4. Lack of resources. That's what Project Controls is for. Its called planning. 5. Poor management. DUUUGH! 6. Scope creep. Always. Ever hear of Contract Management. Sorry to be so terse, but we in management have real problems to deal with.
Marketing, FAE, Solution provider
10 年Before plan/job going, point-out those risks and relate actions. Manager lead team's action/decision to erase those risks step by step.