Why Products Fail
A recent study of Global IT projects from Gitnux Market Data, only 14% of software projects are successful [1].??These aren't odds that any of us would be happy with. So why do products fail?
PWC identified the following 10 reasons for IT project failure [2]:?
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Lack of shared vision??
Effective collaboration and trust are essential for any high performing team. Without these key elements misalignment can easily arise, leading to inefficiencies, greater risk, and ultimately reduced project success.??
Projects seldom follow a linear path from start to finish. Instead, they often encounter twists, turns, and unexpected challenges along the way. During these course correction moments, it becomes paramount for all team members to share a common understanding of the project's overarching vision, akin to following a guiding "north star."?
This shared vision serves as a compass, guiding the team through uncertainties and facilitating decision-making processes. It ensures that every individual involved in the project remains focused on the goal, despite any deviations or adjustments required at a more granular level. Furthermore, alignment of goals among team members fosters a cohesive environment where collaboration flourishes, enabling effective communication, knowledge sharing, and problem-solving.?
By fostering collaboration and trust and ensuring alignment of goals, teams can navigate the complexities of project execution more effectively. This enhances productivity and efficiency, and promotes innovation and adaptability, ultimately leading to the successful realization of the project's objectives.?
Misaligned understanding of requirements?
Dreaming big is a fundamental aspect of any endeavour, but the true difference lies in the attention to detail. While ambitious visions inspire, it is the meticulous planning and execution of the basics that ultimately determine success. Neglecting foundational elements jeopardizes the ability to consistently deliver value in a reliable and sustainable manner. This becomes especially critical in an era characterized by constantly evolving customer preferences and dynamic business landscapes. In such environments, the initial release marks not the culmination but the commencement of an iterative journey.?
Establishing a clear pathway from overarching business objectives to granular technical specifications is imperative. This entails delineating a roadmap that aligns business needs with technical requirements, culminating in the development of a minimum viable product (MVP) that garners genuine user engagement and satisfaction. However, achieving this alignment requires more than a mere checklist of features. It necessitates the cultivation of principles and processes that facilitate informed decision-making and prioritization across all levels of the team.?
By ingraining these principles and processes into the team's culture, organizations can navigate the iterative nature of product development with agility and foresight. This not only ensures that the product remains attuned to evolving market demands but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. In essence, it's the attention to detail, from strategic alignment to user experience, that lays the foundation for sustained success in today's dynamic business landscape.?
Role confusion?
The ability to initiate a meeting by straightforwardly inquiring, "Who's in charge of X?" serves as a litmus test for organizational clarity and effectiveness. It reveals a fundamental issue when teams lack clear lines of authority and accountability, a surprisingly common scenario in many projects. Such ambiguity not only imperils project outcomes but also erodes team cohesion and undermines leadership efficacy. To mitigate these risks, it is imperative to establish unambiguous accountabilities spanning the entire project lifecycle, encompassing architectural design, delivery execution, and ongoing operational maintenance.?
Clear delineation of responsibilities ensures that each aspect of the project is overseen by individuals with the requisite expertise and authority, thus minimizing the likelihood of missteps and bottlenecks. Furthermore, granting delegation rights empowers team members to make timely decisions within their areas of responsibility, fostering agility and responsiveness in project execution. This clarity in accountability not only streamlines operations but also cultivates a culture of ownership and accountability across the team.?
By fostering a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities, organizations can enhance collaboration and decision-making while mitigating the risks associated with ambiguity and confusion. Ultimately, this clarity enables teams to operate more smoothly, make better-informed decisions, and drive toward successful project outcomes with confidence and cohesion.?
Slow or weak governance?
Establishing a robust senior leadership presence is essential for several critical functions within an organization, particularly in the realms of product strategy formulation, design governance, delivery oversight, decision-making, and risk management. This necessity becomes even more pronounced in the domain of cybersecurity, where the complexities of risk mitigation, accountability, and third-party oversight demand Executive attention and sponsorship. It's imperative to recognize that while development tasks may be outsourced, the inherent risks associated with these endeavours cannot be wholly delegated. Thus, effective risk management necessitates active engagement and guidance from senior leadership [3].?
In today's fast-paced business landscape, agility is key not only in product and project delivery, but also in governance practices. This necessitates the involvement of leaders who possess a deep understanding of technology and its implications. Engaged, tech-savvy leadership plays a pivotal role in setting the strategic direction, ensuring alignment between business objectives and technological capabilities, and making informed decisions that drive the organization forward.?
Moreover, in the context of cybersecurity, executive sponsorship is paramount. Leaders must navigate the delicate balance between mitigating risks and accepting them, all while upholding cyber accountability standards and overseeing the complexities of third-party risk management. This requires a proactive approach to governance, with leaders actively involved in setting policies, establishing protocols, and fostering a culture of security awareness throughout the organization.?
By cultivating a cadre of well-informed, tech-savvy leaders who are deeply engaged in governance processes, organizations can effectively navigate the complexities of modern business environments. This not only enhances the organization's ability to deliver projects with agility but also strengthens its resilience in the face of evolving cybersecurity threats. Ultimately, it's the synergy between senior leadership, governance practices, and technological expertise that drives sustained success in today's dynamic landscape.?
Underinvestment in guardrails??
Establishing standardized processes and methodologies across various aspects of technology development is crucial for ensuring optimal productivity, security, and quality within product teams - whether it's platform technology, security protocols, front-end design principles, or application coding practices, Despite its importance, many organisations overlook this crucial step, rushing proof-of-concepts straight into production without establishing these foundational standards. While some may perceive standardization as mundane or unexciting, its significance cannot be overstated.?
Standardization serves as the backbone of efficient and reliable delivery, enabling teams to operate at maximum productivity while upholding stringent quality standards and security protocols. By adhering to established best practices and standardized workflows, teams can streamline their development processes, minimize errors, and ensure consistency across all deliverables. This not only enhances productivity but also instils confidence in the reliability and robustness of the final product.?
Moreover, investing in standardized guardrails and frameworks helps prevent the unnecessary reinvention of the wheel, saving valuable time, resources, and mitigating risks associated with untested approaches. By providing clear guidelines and templates, standardized processes allow teams to focus their efforts on driving tangible business outcomes rather than grappling with logistical or technical challenges.?
In the long term, the benefits of standardization extend beyond immediate project success, translating into cost savings, reduced time-to-market, and enhanced risk management capabilities. By prioritizing the establishment of standardized practices and investing in the necessary infrastructure to support them, organizations can position themselves for sustained success in today's rapidly evolving technological landscape.?
Manual mayhem??
In the realm of large-scale projects, the integration of automation and specialized tools is not just advantageous but imperative for ensuring consistent delivery of value and effectively managing the deployment of changes. In today's dynamic business landscape, where change is a constant, embracing automation becomes indispensable. Delaying automation efforts increases the risk of inconsistencies and unpredictability, particularly when interventions are required down the line.?
?However, it's crucial to approach automation with careful consideration and pragmatism. While automation offers numerous benefits, indiscriminate implementation can lead to rigid solutions, inflexibility, and unforeseen costs. Therefore, it's essential to adopt a strategic approach, focusing on key areas of the project where automation can yield the greatest impact while effectively managing associated risks.?
Automation should be integrated across various stages of the project lifecycle, encompassing development, testing, release management, and operational processes. By automating repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows, teams can enhance efficiency, reduce manual errors, and accelerate time-to-market. Moreover, automation facilitates greater consistency and reliability in deployments, minimizing the risk of human error and ensuring predictable outcomes.?
However, it's essential to strike a balance between automation and human oversight. While automation can optimize processes, human judgment remains indispensable for addressing complex challenges and adapting to unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, organizations must approach automation initiatives with a pragmatic mindset, identifying areas where automation can strengthen human capabilities and deliver tangible value.?
Ultimately, the effective integration of automation and tools empowers project teams to navigate the complexities of large-scale projects with agility and confidence. By embracing automation strategically and managing associated risks proactively, organizations can drive innovation, enhance operational efficiency, and achieve sustainable success in an ever-evolving business landscape.?
Focusing on the wrong things ?
In the realm of large investments and significant daily expenditures, it's all too easy for project stakeholders to fall into a common trap: mistaking the proliferation of slide decks and reports for genuine progress. This creates a deceptive illusion of advancement without substantive movement towards goals. In essence, it's akin to engaging in the act of "weighing the pig" repeatedly without taking the necessary actions to fatten it up.?
To navigate this challenge effectively, it's essential to strike the right balance in reporting practices. Rather than drowning in a deluge of reports and presentations, project stakeholders should focus on whether these activities are truly contributing to decision-making and action that propel the project towards successful outcomes and the delivery of tangible business value.?
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Finding the sweet spot for reporting involves a critical evaluation of whether the time and resources allocated to reporting activities are yielding meaningful insights and driving concrete actions. Instead of fixating solely on the quantity of reports generated, stakeholders should prioritize the quality of information presented and its relevance to strategic decision-making.?
Moreover, reporting practices should be tailored to the specific needs of the project, ensuring that they provide actionable insights and facilitate informed decision-making. This may involve streamlining reporting processes, focusing on key performance indicators (KPIs) that directly align with project objectives, and fostering a culture of accountability and transparency.?
By reframing reporting practices in this manner, project stakeholders can shift their focus from the superficial metrics of progress to the substantive actions and decisions that drive real value creation. This approach not only enhances project efficiency but also ensures that resources are allocated judiciously towards activities that genuinely contribute to project success.?
Forgetting about operations??
Gone are the days when project teams could simply design, build, and then disengage. Today, success is no longer solely determined by the completion of a project but by the ongoing quality, reliability, sustainability, and security of its product operations. In an era where customer experience hinges on uninterrupted functionality 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it's no longer viable to treat product operations as an afterthought, hastily addressed in the weeks leading up to go-live.?
To ensure sustained success, it's imperative to incorporate operational considerations from inception. This entails architecting solutions with operability and reliability in mind from day one. Rather than treating operations as a separate phase, teams should integrate operational requirements into the very fabric of their design and development processes.?
Key to this approach is the incorporation of instrumentation, support mechanisms, and recovery tools that facilitate the effective management of uptime. By proactively addressing operational needs, teams can minimize disruptions, optimize performance, and enhance the overall reliability of the solution.?
Furthermore, it's essential to recognize that operations extend far beyond the initial deployment phase. Sustainability must be a core consideration, ensuring that operations can accommodate incremental updates and enhancements throughout the entire lifecycle of the solution. This necessitates the adoption of practices and methodologies that support continuous delivery and iterative improvement, enabling organizations to adapt to evolving requirements and market dynamics over time.?
By prioritizing operability, reliability, sustainability, and security from the outset, organizations can position themselves for long-term success in delivering exceptional customer experiences. Embracing a holistic approach to operations, encompassing planning, architecture, support, and ongoing maintenance, is essential for meeting the demands of today's interconnected, always-on digital landscape.?
Security as a ‘bolt-on’??
In the realm of IT projects, it's imperative to understand that security isn't an optional add-on or a one-time consideration; it's an integral aspect that must be woven into the fabric of the entire development lifecycle. Adopting a "secure by design" approach doesn't imply that security measures are implemented once and then forgotten; rather, it signifies an ongoing commitment to vigilance and adaptation in the face of evolving threats.?
Successful IT projects prioritize security activities from the very outset and maintain a continuous focus on security throughout every phase, from initial architecture and engineering to ongoing operations. This proactive stance is especially crucial in today's landscape, where organizations increasingly rely on open-source technologies, which can introduce vulnerabilities at an alarming rate, sometimes on a weekly basis.?
To effectively address these challenges, it's essential to plan and allocate resources for security as an ongoing, non-negotiable set of activities. This includes integrating security considerations into every stage of the project lifecycle, implementing robust security controls, conducting regular risk assessments, and staying abreast of emerging threats and vulnerabilities.?
?Moreover, adequate budgeting for security is important to avoid unwelcome surprises and effectively manage cyber risks. Organizations must recognize that investing in security is not just a matter of compliance or risk mitigation; it's an essential component of safeguarding critical assets, preserving customer trust, and maintaining business continuity.?
By embedding security into the DNA of IT projects and adopting a proactive, holistic approach to security management, organizations can mitigate the risk of data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage. Embracing security as a fundamental aspect of IT project management ensures that technology initiatives are not only successful but also resilient in the face of today's increasingly complex and dynamic threat landscape.?
Confusing agile with reduced rigour?
Cloud technologies have revolutionized the pace at which organizations can deliver value, offering unprecedented speed and flexibility. This need for speed has propelled the widespread adoption of agile delivery methodologies, enabling rapid iteration and adaptation to change requirements. However, amidst the drive for agility, some have misinterpreted agile as a license to disregard established industry best practices, leading to the development of unstable solutions and unforeseen costs.?
The pursuit of speed should not come at the expense of rigour and precision in execution.? Adherence to best practices is critical in the realm of IT products, where security, performance, and reliability are paramount. This becomes even more pronounced in the context of accelerating digital transformations, where the stakes are higher and the margin for error narrower.?
To navigate this landscape successfully, organizations must establish a robust architecture function that serves as the bedrock for precision in engineering and operations. This architecture function acts as a guiding force, ensuring that solutions are designed, implemented, and maintained in accordance with industry standards and organizational requirements. It provides the necessary oversight and governance to manage risk and costs effectively while maximizing the value derived from innovative cloud technologies.?
By investing in a strong architecture function, organizations can mitigate the risks associated with haphazard development practices and realize the full potential of cloud technologies. This function serves as the muscle behind precision execution, enabling organizations to confidently leverage cloud solutions to drive business value, enhance agility, and stay ahead in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape.?
Conclusion?
When a small project derails, it's not just time lost – it's your budget.?
When a transformation project tanks, it's not just a setback – it's lost potential.?
When a product fails, a company’s reputation and finances are damaged.??
You've fought to secure funding from execs and investors – now make every penny count. Take a comprehensive approach and leave no stone unturned. ?Together with your team and the business, align the vision, requirements, and deliver role clarity. Invest in appropriate governance and guardrails, and effectively automate and communicate your processes. Never forget to take into account operational needs and requirements, and integrate security throught to ensure sustainability and usability of your solution. Finally, don't confuse agile with reduced rigor - instead, invest in a robust architecture function and hold best practice as sacred.
?There's no sure-fire way to nail the perfect IT project but addressing these points will give you the best chance to tame delivery risks and stack the odds in your favour. In the realm of big operations, every detail matters. Overlooking the small stuff can spell big trouble. But with a solid foundation, the right tools, and seasoned expertise, it doesn't have to be that way.?
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Arjuna Vijayanayagam is the Founder of SquareBear Technology - the only intelligent, integrated, and dynamically linked digital environment that has been specifically built for Product.
Reach out to us for a product demonstration.?
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[1] ‘Software Project Failure Statistics [Fresh Research] ? Gitnux’. Accessed: Apr. 03, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://gitnux.org/software-project-failure-statistics/?
[2] PricewaterhouseCoopers, ‘10 reasons why large-scale IT projects fail’, PwC. Accessed: Apr. 03, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.pwc.com.au/digitalpulse/large-scale-it-project-fail.html?
[3] S. Gates, ‘Incorporating Strategic Risk into Enterprise Risk Management: A Survey of Current Corporate Practice’, J. Appl. Corp. Finance, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 81–90, 2006, doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6622.2006.00114.x.?
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