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Karakoram International University

Department of Business Management

Module: Project Management

Why Projects Fail

Submitted to: Mr. Mehfooz Ullah

Submitted by: Ammar Majid Zia

Reg No: 2009-KIU-234

Dated: 16.06.2010
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Introduction:

In this report we examine the factors commonly presented as reasons for the success or failure

of projects along with some opinions of different authors. In this report we scricify to clarify the

meaning of the success on failure terminology. It take the approach of separately examining

project success and failure, rather than as complementary result from either performing

particular action. Finally it concludes with a summary of findings. Project success does not

come easily. Much has been contributed over the last decade to our understanding of the nature

of and reasons for successful and unsuccessful compilation. In addition many project fail to

complete at all. Some time failure to satisfy all the original goal of the project can still be

regarded favorably if the mean sponsor is nevertheless satisfied with the out come and the key

stakeholders have gained in some way. In general, the key development consideration is to have

the goal clearly defined, to plan how to realize that goal and to implement that plan. This report

examines the many aspects of the process.

1. What is a Project?

A project is a temporary effort to create a unique product or service. Projects usually include

constraints and risks regarding cost, schedule or performance outcome (Chapman 1999).

2. Why Do Projects Fail?

We can probably all think of projects that have "failed" – perhaps processes got worse

rather than better, maybe they were cancelled because of cost overruns, or perhaps systems

were launched with fundamental errors.

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How can we know when – and why – a project has failed? In many cases, the reason for

failure is obvious. However, the definition of failure isn't always clear: one project with a

significant delay might be described as a failure; yet another, with a similar delay, might be

seen as a stunning success (Chapman 1999).

4. Reasons for Project Failure:

Here are some of the main reasons why projects fail:

4.1 Lack of user involvement

Deals mainly with soft skills because the Project Manager needs to schedule appointments to

interview users, and get them to buy into the project. Sometimes project mangers can face

resistance from users who do not like change. PMs have to use their interpersonal skills to

assure users that they will benefit from the new system. In addition, it is important to make

the users feel they are part of the project and their input is highly valuable for the overall

success of the project (NetoAlvarez, 2003).

4.2. Organizational structure/lack of management support

also deals with soft skills because Project Managers need to adjust to the company structure,

and be able to find effective channels of communication. In order to get all the key players

involved, project managers need top management support to schedule meetings, and to use

the company’s resources (NetoAlvarez, 2003).

4.3 Lack of clear vision

Deals more with critical and analytical skills; the Project Manager is expected to understand

project requirements, and convey these to the rest of the team. It is important to grasp the
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true needs of the company and to ensure that the project meets the business objectives

(NetoAlvarez, 2003).

4.4. Unable to manage team

deals with soft skills since Project Managers are in charge of getting the teams together and

motivating every member to excel within the project (NetoAlvarez, 2003).

4.5. Unable to cope with project size

deals with technical knowledge and the ability to break complicated tasks into smaller

manageable modules. Complex projects can be compared to math problems; solving complicated

math problems requires breaking the problem down into small pieces, and solving it step-by-step

(NetoAlvarez, 2003).

4.6. Lack of training

deals mainly with technical knowledge; Project Managers need to understand different models

used for developing and designing systems; recurrent training is also important due to fast

technological advances; knowledge of management tools is necessary to facilitate planning and

tracking of project tasks (NetoAlvarez , 2003).

4.7. Lack of resources

can require both soft skills and knowledge of the systems. Competing for resources requires

coordination with other users. This coordination can be accomplished by communicating the

project needs well in advance. Scheduling resources also requires technical knowledge to know
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which resources are needed and when they can afford to go offline without inconveniencing

other users (NetoAlvarez, 2003).

5. Real Example of a Failed Project:

5.1. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has described the $97 million ‘decentralized

elementary education project’ of the Sindh government as a failure.

The scheme had to be closed one year before the stipulated date because of poor financial

performance and lack of progress on the ground, ADB said in its project completion report.

The main objective of the project was to improve access to good quality elementary education in

the province. For this, it was to be implemented in all 16 districts of Sindh from July 2003 to

October 2008 at a cost of $97 million. Of the total cost, $18.8 million was in foreign exchange.

Under the project only 208 primary schools were upgraded to the elementary school level against

a target of 1,200 schools, and only 104 pre-primary classes were started in elementary schools

against a target of 1,000 classes.

According to the report, 204 English-medium schools were to be established but not a single one

could be set up.

The ADB report said the project failed to achieve targets largely because of its complex and

ambitious design which made productive interaction between the bank and Sindh education

department difficult. The overall rating for the project was “unsuccessful”.

The province of Sindh accounts for about 25 per cent of the total number of Pakistani children of

elementary school-going ages.

Put differently, the province has a quarter of the country’s population of children who could be

enrolled in classes 1 to 8.

Primary school enrolment in the province mirrored that of the entire country in 2000, with 67 per
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cent of the eligible students attending classes 1 to 5. However, only 38 per cent of the 12 to 14

year olds progressed to classes 6 to 8.

This number is well below the national average. More importantly, the number has been

declining steadily over the last ten years.

Although the project was consistent with priorities of both the provincial government and ADB,

its scope was too ambitious, with the Sindh education department tasked with implementing as

well as monitoring it.

The department lacked the capacity to simultaneously run and oversee the project, said the

report.

As a result, the public elementary education system could not be established, and issues of

access, quality, efficiency and equity remained unaddressed (Ahmad, 2010).

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6. CONCLUSION

Successful project management is critical to enterprise success and to the career growth and

success of participating executives, project managers, and project team members. This study

identified a list of early warning signs of project failure, from which a dozen project risk factors,

were found to be the most important during the first 20 percent of a project. Knowing about and

paying attention to these factors the earlier in the life cycle of a project, increases the probability

of successful project outcomes. Some projects should be stopped, because circumstances have

changed or it was a bad idea to start with, and these factors can also help identify those situations

before they become project failure.

Just as we notice the warning lights and gauges on the dashboards of our automobiles, paying

attention to these factors during our project journey can help us avoid problems and successfully

reach our destinations.

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7. References:

(Alvarez , 2003) project management failure: main causes

http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~meinkej/inss690/netoalvarez.pdf Viewed 25 May,

2010

(Ahmad, 2010) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has described the $97 million

‘decentralized elementary education project’ of the Sindh government as a failure.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/12-

adb-terms-$97m-sindh-education-project-a-failure-110--bi-14 Viewed 25 May,

2010

http://www.archimedesconsulting.com/top7reasons.htm

Viewed 18 May, 2010

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?

pid=20601100&sid=aWTJNg3CD1Fg Viewed 18 May, 2010

http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~meinkej/inss690/netoalvarez.pdf

Viewed 18 May, 2010

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_58.htm

Viewed 19 May, 2010

The chaos report (1994), the Standish group,

Viewed 19 May, 2010

http://www.standishgroup.com/samplere search/chaos 1995.pdf

Viewed 20 May, 2010

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http://www.pdfgeni.com/book/definition-of-project-failure-pdf.html

Viewed 20 May, 2010

Int. J. Management Concepts and Philosophy, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2007

Viewed 22 May, 2010

http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/Project_Failure.pdf

Viewed 24 May, 2010

http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~meinkej/inss690/netoalvarez.pdf

Viewed 24 May, 2010

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/infokit-related-files/project-failure-

university-accounting-system

Viewed 24

May, 2010