Small, Medium, and Large IT Projects: Why they fail?
Not all projects that are being carried out in an organisation succeed. A study shows that small IT projects are easier to manage and execute, while a failure rate for larger projects that are over $1 million have an almost 50% higher failing rate than the small ones.
There are three classifications of project sizes, small, medium and large, each have their own rate of failures. Small IT projects that cost less than $350,000 have a failure rate of 20% while medium sized projects have a rate of 25%, and large projects fail 28% of time.
So, why do these projects fail? there are a number of reasons that contribute to the failure of IT projects and these include poor quality, cancellation after launch, high cost variance, substantially late, and functionality issues.
One of the main reasons for projects failure comes from the lack of communication and pressures of top management. They put a lot of stress on project leaders shoulders when it comes to completing the project on time that they have set before the project began. However, this can't always be achieved as the time taken to complete the project is long, the whole process of gathering the team, having brain storming, planning, analysing, doing environmental research and executing the project can take much more time than previously expected. When deadlines aren't met it obviously frustrates management as time is money. When the project is rushed then it is poorly executed and unpolished resulting in its failure. In relation to money, there comes another major reason why projects can fail. Managers tend to set a budget for the whole project and will not be pleased if it turns out that the budget needs to be extended and may refuse extending it which in turn results in not enough funding for expanding or proper development of the project.
Also, if the project team fails to ask the right questions regarding the project they won't succeed in developing it correctly. For example researching and knowing the environment, if the company is ready for this project, is it not too late or too early for it to take place? Knowing where they are standing and why is crucial for the project team to carry it out properly.
The above are just main reasons why projects may fail, however, it is important to remember that every organisation and project within it is different and may have different challenges facing them before they succeeed.
There are three classifications of project sizes, small, medium and large, each have their own rate of failures. Small IT projects that cost less than $350,000 have a failure rate of 20% while medium sized projects have a rate of 25%, and large projects fail 28% of time.
So, why do these projects fail? there are a number of reasons that contribute to the failure of IT projects and these include poor quality, cancellation after launch, high cost variance, substantially late, and functionality issues.
One of the main reasons for projects failure comes from the lack of communication and pressures of top management. They put a lot of stress on project leaders shoulders when it comes to completing the project on time that they have set before the project began. However, this can't always be achieved as the time taken to complete the project is long, the whole process of gathering the team, having brain storming, planning, analysing, doing environmental research and executing the project can take much more time than previously expected. When deadlines aren't met it obviously frustrates management as time is money. When the project is rushed then it is poorly executed and unpolished resulting in its failure. In relation to money, there comes another major reason why projects can fail. Managers tend to set a budget for the whole project and will not be pleased if it turns out that the budget needs to be extended and may refuse extending it which in turn results in not enough funding for expanding or proper development of the project.
The golden rule: TIME + COST = QUALITY
The above are just main reasons why projects may fail, however, it is important to remember that every organisation and project within it is different and may have different challenges facing them before they succeeed.
Citations:
- Lars Mieritz, Gartner Survey Shows Why Projects Fail, 1 June 2012, available at: https://thisiswhatgoodlookslike.com/2012/06/10/gartner-survey-shows-why-projects-fail/
- Marianna Semenova, 10 reasons why projects fail or common mistakes to avoid, June 26, 2014, Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/MariannaAlmakaieva/10-reasons-why-projects-fail-or-common-mistakes-to-avoid
Awesome article, I like your evaluation of the success and failure rates and why they happen. Would you recon that major companies should invest more into their projects to guarantee their success?
ReplyDeleteHi, thank you for your comment and feedback. I think that yes indeed a bigger budget (of course one that is reasonable) allows the project to expand to its full potential and there are less limitations for it. However, the management can't just throw money into their projects without any thought, as they can get out of hand and just create financial losses to the company instead of having any benefit. What I think is important for a company to note is that, why would you want projects within the company if you don't have the commitment to invest in them? Obviously before they can gain any profits they have to spend them first. I hope my reply satisfies your question.
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