Answer to Question #224242 in Management for JALSORESA

Question

3. Organizations introduce projects with high outcome expectations, especially to ensure sustainable flow of benefits throughout their intended economic life. But many projects somehow fall short of such expectations, and owing to various reasons, they do not deliver the expected benefit flows to the target beneficiaries throughout their economic life. The reason could be attributed to many factors. Discuss these factors

Answer 1

Factors that could lead to project failure;

Lack of a Scope Document. In the absence of a proper scope document, a manager cannot assign tasks and monitor the performance of the team because he/she is not sure about the scope of the project in the first place. Making a detailed scope document that highlights all the stakeholders’ requirements is imperative for a successful project delivery as it enables the team members to understand what they have to do and sets a clear direction and objective for them to achieve.

Inconsistent Communication.A survey conducted by Spike Cavell shows that 57% of projects failed due to poor communication.Effective communication within any organization is important to keep all your team members on the same page, avoid confusions and keep them motivated. By communicating with your team, you can develop an environment of trust, proactively kill conflicts, which would bring the best out of your employees and eventually lead to a successful delivery of the project.

Poor Planning.Lack of planning or poor planning can easily lead your project to failure. Spike Cavell’s survey also revealed that 40% of projects fail due to poor planning and lack of resources.

Unrealistic Expectations.Setting an unrealistic deadline and expectations drag projects down the drain. A manager must consider all the factors and constraints involved that might adversely affect the project and then set a deadline. Instead of having unrealistic expectations, the manager must keep a buffer that gives him/her the liberty of completing the project without rushing through it. Having a buffer not only reduces the workload of the team member but also let them focus on each task in a better way.

Incompetent Project Manager and Team. The projects that lack competent project manager and competent will surely fail.

Lack of Cohesion Between Your Team Members. There could be many reasons for a lack of cohesion from personality differences to conflicting interests. All of them contributes towards project failure. It is the prime responsibility of project managers to unite the team members to achieve a common goal.

Poor Monitoring and Risk Management. Project manager must constantly monitor the progress and hold team members accountable to what they are doing. Once they are responsible for their actions, they will perform better and deliver better results.