Often the best way to understand the causes of project failure is to study prior projects that have failed. Although people sometimes fear discussing such issues (because of the politics involved or the fear of being held accountable for mistakes that were made), the study of failed projects provides the rich context within which underlying root causes can be witnessed and understood. To overcome the fears people may have the Catalogue of Catastrophe provides a database of samples that can be used as a platform for discussing the causes of project failure. The use of publically available information helps eliminate the personal aspects of the discussion and opens the door for more open exchanges between participants.
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Based on the Catalogue of Catastrophe and discussion our editor has had with more than 300 people who have been involved in both successful and failed projects a picture of the common causes of project failure emerges. Figure 3 helps categorize those causes and helps bring some structure to the conversation.
As shown in Figure 3, the most common causes of failure can be divided into 8 primary categories. The following list outlines the meaning of each group and provides links to samples that illustrate each one.
Market and strategy failures – When a project builds a product or solves a problem you better make sure you are building the right product or solving the right problem. Where a project sets out to build something that no one needs or wants the entire project can be an expensive failure. Example: The Sinclair C5
Organizational and planning failures – Projects often involve a lot of detail and require the efforts of a lot of people to be coordinated. In such a situation work needs to be properly organized if effective progress is to be made. Where the level of organization is insufficient the project team can quickly loose control. Conversely, where the controls put in place are more than are needed (or inappropriate for the type of project being run) the project can be weighed down by unnecessary inefficiencies. Example: FBI Virtual case file
Leadership and governance failures – Projects needed to be “owned” by someone and they need people who have the leadership skills to make things happen. Where there is ineffective leadership, or where the governance processes management use to track and control the project are insufficient, management can loose control. Example: US Census Bureau Field Data Collection Automation project
Underestimation and analysis failures – Projects can be complex undertakings. However that complexity is often not immediately apparent when a project first begins. Instead, the team needs to carefully analyze the project and discover the complexities involved. Those complexities need to be understood before commitments to schedule and budget are confirmed. If commitments are given before the full complexity has been appreciated a project can easily end up making unrealistic commitments that ultimately create a pressurized environment in which the project can only fail. Example: Denver baggage system
Quality failures – At the end of the day the deliverables produced by the project need to work. Sadly quality is often the dimension that gets too little attention. Where quality corners are cut or insufficient testing is completed, serious flaws can escape the project and cause havoc once the deliverables have been deployed. Example: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs UK
Risk failures – Predicting the future is a risky activity and because projects are all about creating the future, projects inherently involve risk. Where a project is blind to those risks they are likely to run into serious difficulties that they failed to anticipate. Those difficulties are sometimes serious enough to derail not just the project, but even the organization as a whole. Example: Fox-Meyer Drug
Skills, knowledge and competency failures – If there is one ingredient that most effectively increases the chance of project success, it is expertise. Where a project lacks the knowledge and skills needed to do the work properly, quality levels and productivity are lower and the risk of serious errors or omissions rises fast. Examples: The Vasa
Engagement, teamwork and communications failures – Projects are done by people and most projects are done for people. Where a project fails to understand who their stakeholders are, or fails to engage and communicate with them effectively, the project is working in a vacuum. Similarly if the team themselves are not collaborating effectively individuals can end up working in silos that prevent communications flowing effectively. Example: Qantas Jetsmart
Within these various categories there are many possible mistakes that can be made. Our page on 101 common causes provides a broader picture of the types of mistakes organizations make and our classic mistakes page lists the top ten award winners.
Interested in learning more? Try the following;
- What is project success? – A look at how we define success and failure
- Facts and figures – A compilation of recent studies into project failure
- FAQ – Commonly asked questions
R. Goatham – Editor. If you would like to discuss further please feel free to Contact us.