All kinds of projects fail to live up to their promise and produce frustrating outcomes. Whether it’s new growth strategies, post-merger integration, or major technological installations, they consume substantial resources over months or even years.

Simply put, failed projects are very expensive. Around $122 million was wasted for every $1 billion investment due to poor performance in 2016 alone. The saddest part is that the toll they take isn’t limited to the financial.

These crushing defeats demoralise employees who’ve toiled away to complete their share of the work. As a result, workers may start to doubt their capability to finish anything at all. Happiness levels will then go down and lead to a decrease in productivity.

Suffice to say, if you’re a small or medium-sized enterprise, you cannot afford to have your projects fail.

What Causes Projects to Fail?

Everyone has their own definition of what failure is. For some, it’s when their plans don’t meet the deadline or exceed the allocated budget. Others might also argue that it’s when they fail to meet the expectations of their clients or shareholders.

Irrespective of what you view as a blunder, it’s important to identify the common causes as to why it happens. Taking a closer look at the things you’re doing poorly at will help you avoid catastrophe.

Poor Resource Allocation

You can’t expect to successfully complete a project before the closing date if you’re missing the necessary resources. In theory, resources must be allocated at the start. Communication issues between senior management and a project manager means this step is often missed.

Maybe you realise too late that you don’t have the team or the tools to get everything done on time or according to quality guidelines.

When materials aren’t provided as they should, the staff are unable to function fully.

How to avoid it: It’s your core responsibility to provide your people with the resources required to finish the job. Once you do that, you can move on to the next step of finding out if the materials are being utilised efficiently and if more is necessary.

Poor Management

Mishaps might come down to non-certified or inexperienced supervisors who lack the needed skills to bring the project to completion. Unclear roles and responsibilities might also prevent them from executing their functions as effectively as possible.

Without clear-cut objectives, it’s hard to determine whether progress is made since they don’t know what your team is doing in the first place. They won’t have anything to guide them in the right direction so they may keep going around in circles until the deadline hits.

How to avoid it:

• Offer opportunities for leaders to gain certification so all projects will be managed smoothly, especially if you’ve hired someone without much experience.
• Conduct onboarding for existing workers and newbies to adjust to the new process.
• Check that everyone is following the same road map for faster progress checking.

Poor Problem Handling

For the sake of meeting deadlines, some project managers may sweep problems under the rug or pretend they don’t exist. What they fail to realise is that these issues might be warning signs of failure.

Ignoring a concern doesn’t make it go away. Rather, it might cause a small drawback to become a major disaster because it wasn’t nipped in the bud.

It’s also possible that a minor setback may be hiding a bigger mess underneath it. For instance, an image taking ages to load might reveal that the coding for the design is full of errors.

Some red flags you should look out for include distracted team members or missed deadlines early on. Complaints from clients are also cause for concern.

How to avoid it: The moment you notice an issue, address it right away. The last thing you would want is for the situation to spiral out of your control. So, be vigilant about warning signs regardless how insignificant they may appear to be.

Poor Communication

This is a major impediment to the success of any job. Where there’s a lack of communication, the whole team fails.

Even if your schedule, risk management plan, and other details seem flawless, projects are dynamic. It’s inevitable that things need to be changed or rearranged. Remember: It’s hard to predict what kind of time constraints, resource concerns, and other problems will rear their ugly heads.

Depending solely on email means that new members have no access to valuable data that can be found only on the inbox of each individual.

How to avoid it:

• Keep all documentation in a central location that’s accessible to all members of the team. There are numerous tools that can be used for this sole purpose, such as Teamwork or Zoho.
• Arrange for regular progress meetings to ensure everyone is updated.

Poor Scope

Data from a 2016 survey by Wellingtone reveals that over 34% of projects are missing a baseline. A Geneca study, on the other hand, shows that only 55% of project managers are clear about business objectives.

Without a clear target, over 75% of IT managers believe that their projects are set up for failure from the very beginning.

Most projects start with defining its requirements and overall goal but many leaders neglect to define the scope. The lack of a finite direction leads to no stakeholder buy-in and no real understanding of what’s within or outside of scope.

How to avoid it: Have a clearly defined scope, detailing the deliverables and features included in the project. Avoid changing it frequently or it will be difficult for teams to keep up. Get it all in writing and signed by all of the stakeholders.

Poor Deadline Setting

On their Project Management Survey 2017, KPMG reports that only 31% of companies are likely to meet deadlines. This isn’t the fault of the workers in many cases. It’s more likely that the deadlines were unrealistic to start with.

With closing dates that are too close or too tight, team members tend to make mistakes or rush to complete their tasks. The end result is poor quality with a missed deadline.

Plus, when your subordinates are rushing, you may be forced to skip progress meetings and training in lieu of giving them more time for actually accomplishing tasks.

How to avoid it: Allow enough time for the project to be accomplished successfully. Consider all factors that may delay the process before setting any dates for submission. It’s a good idea to have a buffer for assessing each step and ensuring it’s done effectively.

Poor Stakeholder Interest

It’s already a problem if you don’t know how a certain project aligns with your business strategy. The management and the clients need to be invested in the work from the start. A lack of interest from their end makes failure almost inevitable.

Having one key individual question why you’re doing what you’re doing can have the whole thing shutdown and all your efforts going down the drain.

For example, you suggested a huge paid ad campaign for a client but you neglected to make it clear why it’s necessary, they may say later on that they don’t want to continue on with it.

How to avoid it: Schedule frequent meetings with everyone who has the authority to make decisions regarding the project. Inform them of the progress and keep them involved throughout the process. Seek their feedback and value their contributions.

Increasing Chances of Project Success

Increase the chances of your project succeeding by familiarising yourself with common mistakes and how to avoid them. Improve your leadership skills by establishing clear goals and objectives, allocating appropriate resources, and creating a concrete plan with realistic deadlines.

Also, make sure you have the best talents in your team so you won’t have to allot too many resources on training. All you have to do is arrange for our virtual staffing services here at Remote Workmate.

Unlike freelancing marketplaces where you do everything yourself, we handle the heavy lifting for you, including recruitment and payroll.