Why Software
Projects Fail
Simon K Williams | Adele Theron | Candis Krueger
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chAPter one:
WhY SoFtWAre
ProjectS FAIl
What Constitutes a “Software Project Fail”
A project failure is usually a combination of issues that reflect poorly on the company using them, as well as harm the reputation of software developers who created them. While it’s often easier to blame the developers for the execution of the project, there are often complex reasons as to why your projects failed.Some examples of project failure can be: cost overruns, faulty planning stages, late project delivery, poor quality of software, and/or the development of a product that does not gain user interest. The first step that needs to be taken is to identify the underlying problem. The reasons for project failure might not be immediately obvious, so understanding where a project went wrong can help get your project back on track, as well as help you recognize the error and avoid the same mistake in the future.
the MoSt coMMon ISSueS WIth APP ProjectS
If your project is being met with challenges, you’re not alone. Only 39% of projects actually succeed—meaning that they were completed within the allotted time frame, had no additional costs, and delivered all required features and functions outlined at the start of the project.
This leaves 61% of projects that have either outright failed, or were challenged throughout the process. Of this 61%:
•
43% of the projects were late, over budget, and/or had less than the originally requested features and functions•
18% outright failed—either because they were cancelled before they were completed, or they were delivered to clients and never used.•
70% of companies reported having at least one project failure in 2015.toP 10 MoSt coMMon cAuSeS oF Project FAIlure:
Project FAIlure ePIdeMIc
Studies into the failures of software projects show that 54% of project failure is attributed directly to project management, while technical issues are to blame in only 3% of failed projects.
6 WHY SOFTWARE PROjECTS FAIl
0%
8%
5%
8%
38%
5%
35%
0%
40%
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0%
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30%
0%
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0%
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3%
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29%
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1
Changing Priorities within an Organization2
Inaccurate Requirements3
Change in Project Objectives4
Undefined Risks/Opportunities5
Poor Communication6
Undefined Project Goals7
Inadequate Cost Estimates8
Inadequate Time Estimates9
Inadequate Resource Forecasting10
Inexperienced Project ManagerPercentages do not add up to 100%, due to the fact that respondents were able to select multiple answers from a total of 17 options.
Emily Bonnie. “Complete Collection of Project Management Statistics 2015”. Wrike, july 7, 2015. https://www.wrike.com/blog/complete-collection-project-management-statistics-2015/#failure
The literature surrounding project failures is varied, with studies reporting the percentage rates for large project failures being between 50-80%—and according to one expert, humans have a natural tendency to hide bad news, meaning that the real statistic may be even higher.
Software projects have a high risk of cancellation as well, with 51.7% of projects being cancelled prior to completion: in 2014, for example, there were 2.48 million app projects cancelled, which totaled $16 billion dollars in losses.
While it might seem as though client cancellation is out of the project manager’s hands, keeping up communication and involving the client in the process will go a long way to decreasing the amount of cancelled software projects.
Of course, you also have to be aware of the increasing complexity of apps: with more required features and functions, the complexities of a project can add more confusion to software projects—directly contributing to larger numbers of failures.
So WhY Bother?
With the statistics pointing towards project failure—whether it is due to challenges through the process, client cancellation, or the program getting delivered and never getting used—it might seem better to throw up your hands and move to a new industry.
Hope isn’t lost—there are a number of ways to assess your project management techniques and get your project back on track. Software development is booming, and as the world shifts further towards digital operation and application integration, there are more tools than ever at your disposal.
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joseph Gulla, “Seven Reasons IT Projects Fail”. IBM Systems Magazine. March 2012.
http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/mainframe/tipstechniques/applicationdevelopment/project_pitfalls/! Dr. Paul Dorsey, “Top 10 Reasons Why Systems Projects Fail”. Harvard. http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/ethiopia/Publications/Top%2010%20Reasons%20Why%20Systems%20Projects%20Fail.pd
Put Your clIent FIrSt
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29 put your clients first
the oSIoS platform has been designed from the ground up to take your client seemlessly through the seven critical project steps described in this report
