While working on a project, the main goal is always to successfully complete the project product, and thus the project itself. Successfully completed project means timely achievement of results within the allocated budget, meeting the desired quality standards, achieving business goals, business benefits and customer satisfaction with the final product.
In this article, we will deal with some of the most common reasons for the failure of IT projects.
The most common reasons why IT projects fail
By learning about and understanding the common mistakes that lead a project to fail, you will (perhaps – I say maybe because the environment in which you run the project simply does not allow it) be able to take appropriate steps to prevent your project from going the same way.
Here are some common problems that result in project failures:
1. Lack of support from management
2. Cost reductions
3. Lack of proper planning
4. Wrong choice of technology
5. Poor communication
6. Too optimistic (unrealistic) schedule of phases and works on the project 7. Short test period or skip testing
We will address each item individually, and give some possible solutions.
But before we do that we have to ask one key question:
In all these cases, was any project management methodology used?
If the answer is NO, then we are not dealing with projects, but we are working spontaneously and without order, so it is no wonder that we are not successful.
If the answer is YES, the possible causes of all the above problems are mainly the following:
1. Insufficient knowledge of the methodology by all stakeholders (individuals involved in the project team). For example, situations in which the only person who really knows the methodology is the project manager himself, while the management and technical team are not trained in any of the methodologies or frameworks. This leads to poor communication, ie misunderstandings between management and technical roles on the project.
2. Blind monitoring of the methodology, ie. dealing with the methodology and its administration and not the project itself. For example, it is more important to follow the form and hierarchy than to make a good and quality product.
3. Using the methodology without its incorporation into the business processes themselves. This means that we have chosen the methodology, we are familiar with it, but it is more important for us to say that we are working, for example. according to this or that recognized methodology, than to really apply it. Ie. we have not built it into the way we work, which is a key principle of some project methodologies.
Let us now describe each of the problems mentioned above and give some solutions.