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What is the definition of project failure? Why do projects fail?

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Question added by oman faruq , Jr. Engineer, Feasibility Study and Detail Design (FSDD) Under SSWRDSP & PSSWRSP of LGED. , Bets Consultants Ltd.
Date Posted: 2013/09/08
Nabil Aboukamar
by Nabil Aboukamar , Construction Manager , ASTAD Project Management

Poor managment reflects on the preformance of the project. Having the right team of qulified Enigneers on any construction site is the key to sucess. Good planning for the project and sucessfull construction program makes a big difference for the time of handling the project also avoiding problems during the course of construction.

chadi chami
by chadi chami , management , allianz sna

A project is considered a failure when it has not delivered what was required, in line with expectations.  

Therefore, in order to succeed, a project must deliver to cost, to quality, and on time; and it must deliver the

 benefits presented in the business case .

If key stakeholders agreed that a project had to exceed its initial budget, the project may still be considered

a success. Likewise, if a project delivered everything that was in the detailed project designs, it may still be

considered a failure if it didn't include vital elements that the key stakeholders needed .

 

thank you

 

D.I. Hisham Hanbali
by D.I. Hisham Hanbali , Senior expert construction management , OMV Exploration and Production

One of the main reasons that projects fail is that the members working on the project (PMT) or making decisions (e.g. Steering committees) simply do not know project management rules.

If it is a Project team member who was recruited from a maintenance department (or asset development) then he or she will fail to steer the counterpart even fail to coordinate internally to meet the project requirement. The mindset of maintenace is to solve problems fast and in good quality...this might not be in budget and even might not be the correct solution (symtoms were treated not the root!). The mind set of a project team member is to get a solution in time, budget, quality and the given scope (not out of scope).

As for steering committees they are not really aware of the consequences to a project it the take decisions in a specific way or simply in the wrong time. The same thing could be mentioned here about the mind set.

This makes it essential that companies should have special trainings for persons who never worked in projects before and special trainings for high level management  .

Also a missing project management culture in a company makes it difficult to a project manager to coach high level managers (which is an integrated part of the leadership of a PM). Some managers consider them being coaching very embarrassing and this can only be dealt with by creating a better awareness to project management and creating a corresponding cultures.

Osman Guni
by Osman Guni , STRUCTURAL ENGINEER , BUREAU VERITAS (BAN) PVT LTD

A project is considered a failure when it has not delivered what was required, in line with expectations. Therefore, in order to succeed, a project must deliver to cost, to quality, and on time; and it must deliver the benefits presented in the business case.

Reasons for Project Failure

1.The wrong business requirements have been addressed If your project is set up to deliver the "wrong thing," it may be considered a failure even if everything is delivered on time, within budget, and to the required quality. This seems harsh. But if your project doesn't deliver what the organization really needs, this will inevitably negatively affect how it's perceived.

2.Governance is poor Few projects ever start without a sponsor. This is the person who has identified the need for change in an area of the business, and who is committed to making that change happen. He or she plays a vital role in ensuring the project's success. A good sponsor can make a mediocre project fantastic, and a poor sponsor can delay and frustrate a fantastic project team.

3.Implementation is poor If you deliver your project competently, you'll avoid poor implementation – right? Unfortunately, it's not that clear. Delivery can be complex. You need to manage risks, issues, and scope; manage your team; and communicate with stakeholders.Delivering change is hard, and not everything is in your control. Therefore, being competent isn't enough for good implementation.

4.People lose focus on the project's benefits Projects are based on a list of benefits that must be delivered. For example, you may need a faster customer service process, you may need to produce products more cheaply, or you may need to improve the quality of your service. These benefit statements should be refined so that they're clear, concise, and quantified.To avoid this problem, adopt a benefits management approach throughout the life of the project, and remember the need to deliver the required benefits when you're planning and delivering your project.

5.The environment changes This is probably the trickiest area. If the business's needs change, then your business case can become outdated before you've actually completed the project. You may have to review your original requirements and goals partway through the project to decide how to proceed, and this may result in changing the scope of your project – or even canceling the project altogether!

  • Making timely decisions – If the project is clearly not going to be able to deliver the revised requirements, don't ignore this. The sooner you communicate this, and the sooner you make a decision about the project's future, the better.
  • Considering smaller projects – It's more difficult to change direction in a large cruise ship than in a tugboat. So, think about whether a proposed project's scope and delivery timeline are appropriate within your business environment. Delivering projects in smaller pieces is not always appropriate, but it's worth considering.
  • Managing expectations – Just because you cancel a project does not automatically mean that the project is considered a failure. This depends on many factors, including how you manage the involvement of key project stakeholders in the decision-making process.                                                                                                                                  To avoid failure, make sure you have identified the right business requirements, created an achievable business case, put strong project governance into place, managed a high-quality implementation, focused on benefits, and monitored your changing environment.

Muhammad Ishfaq, PMP
by Muhammad Ishfaq, PMP , Project Engineer , Technoworks (smc-Pvt.) ltd

Just an addition to the brief answer of osman guni, simply if you achieve your project goals without disturbing triple constraints defined in the inception phase of the project i.e. scope,time and cost in combination with achieved required quality than the project will be a success otherwise it lies under failure umbrella..

Fazal Ur Rehman Shah
by Fazal Ur Rehman Shah , Senior Consultant/IT Project Manager , SANADC

For a project to be successful, it has to deliver what has been promised keeping time, cost, quality and scope in constant check. Also, risk & benefits from the project has to be taken into consideration.

Tafazzul Hasan tafazzul
by Tafazzul Hasan tafazzul , SOFTWARE EXECUTIVE TRAINEE , Sun InfoTech Solutions

Just because of not getting exactly what is project required for!

There are different reasons for which can spoil a project.

A project from the moment it agreed to be held by a company until the moment this will be implemented and delivered for use it may fail due to various factors.

First of all there is always the possibility of economic disaster and therefore failure to complete the project.

During the planning phase we must be sure that all the studies were tested in all the details from all the participants involved as designers, as well as from the supervisors of the project.

During the implementation phase there should be absolute control workshops, materials, the safety of personnel and project by the authorized engineers in charge of the project.

It is also very important in the evolution of a project  the choice of personnel from the recruit workers. If one of their employees create trouble is certain to affect the development of the project.

 

So the failure of a project is defined by the economic factor, the proper design and supervision and from the selected human potential.

Joefil C. Jocson
by Joefil C. Jocson , CEO/President , Dyas Construction and Management Consultants

Projects fail due to many scenarios, one if at the onset or the planning stage you already miscalculated your budget you are bound to fail the project stakeholder's expectations and the projects as well. two, character and attitudes of management systems are also one of the criteria to be considered as this brings management style as well. three, performance control and monitoring should be established and carried out all through out of the project management process. Rewards and incentives for each and every critical milestones and KPI's success will trigger eagerness to do the same until completion of the Project.

 

Project fail due too many reason , some of the main reasons are;

 

1-Feasable study did not consider marketing ,project location and raw material cost and availability.

 

2-Constentrate on lowing construction cost regardless future sustainability.

 

3-PMT (Project management team will not be involved in future operation.

 

4-Improper organization set up and un-adequatet manpower number and quality.

 

5-Project did not consider adequatet spares availability within acceptable time and competitive cost.

 

6-over confident in calculating accurate capacity without planning to add more margin for any missed data.

7- under design Feed and product storage

ARHAM ANDI ACO
by ARHAM ANDI ACO , Project Engineer , PT. HUAWEI TECH INVESTMENT, PT. TAIACE ENGINEERING, PT.INCIPNA INDONESIA

Project fail is a activity unsuccessfull to achieve the goal in one time commitment . Project fail because over cost, out of sop, mainsource can't finish the work.

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