The REAL reasons projects go wrong

According to various reports, a staggering 70 to 80% of digital transformation initiatives fail to deliver on their objectives. This is a startling statistic!

?Just take a glance at your own organisation or those around you, and you'll find projects that seem to drag on indefinitely. They've either exceeded their timelines, blown their budgets, or failed to deliver the expected outcomes. Even more concerning, some projects suffer from all three of these issues!

Why is this? And why does it keep happening?

In my experience, most of these failures aren't due to technical issues. They stem from two fundamental problems that I see recurring in almost every struggling project I encounter.

After two decades in project management and assurance, these patterns have become painfully clear. Let me break down what's really going on beneath the surface...

First, there's the Business Requirements dilemma. Organisations are rushing to implement solutions before they truly understand their business needs.

I see it time and time again - teams getting swept up in exciting vendor presentations and shiny new features, while the actual business requirements get lost in the noise. It's like building a house without a proper foundation - it might look good initially, but it won't stand the test of time.

Here's what typically happens: A vendor showcases their latest technology, promising it will revolutionise your business. Leadership gets excited about the possibilities, and before you know it, you're knee-deep in implementation.

Nobody stopped to ask the crucial questions: What specific business problems are we solving? What are our actual needs (not wants)?

How will this align with our existing processes? By the time these questions surface, you're already committed and burning through budget.

The second issue I come across a lot is the Business Case fantasy.

I'm going to be blunt here - most business cases I review are built on wishful thinking rather than reality. They consistently underestimate the effort and resources needed, while painting an overly optimistic picture of benefits and their timing. When you start with unrealistic expectations, you're setting your project up for failure before it even begins.

The pattern is predictable: To get approval, projects are presented with minimal costs and maximum benefits. Implementation timelines are squeezed, training and change management are underestimated, and benefits are predicted to flow almost immediately.

Fast forward six months, and you're over budget, behind schedule, and those promised benefits seem further away than ever.

I've published an analysis of these issues and their hidden costs here on my blog:

>>>?The Hidden Costs of Poor Project Health

The good news is that these issues are entirely preventable with the right approach and early intervention. That's why I've created a comprehensive Project Health Check Tool that helps you identify and address these challenges before they derail your project.

It includes specific sections focused on requirements validation and business case reality checks, along with many other critical success factors.

The tool is free, and you can download it here:

>>> Ultimate Project Health Check Tool

I've also included a stakeholder interview guide that helps uncover those crucial business requirements that often get overlooked. Don't start another project without it!

If you're already seeing some of these warning signs in your current project, let's talk. Reply to this email, and we can set up a quick call to discuss your specific challenges.

Sometimes, a fresh perspective is all it takes to get things back on track.? Don't let your project become another statistic in next year's failure rates.

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