Mar 31, 2020
Tech teams often plunge into new software
projects with high hopes, making it all the more
frustrating if the project gets derailed. Tech
leaders need to be aware of potential project
pitfalls ahead of time to avoid wasting time and
budget dollars.
The experts of
have overseen many
projects in their professional tenures. Below, 14
of them share common reasons software projects
flounder and what tech teams can do to avoid
falling into a trap.
1. Not Understanding The Needs Of The Business
One of the reasons software projects
fail is the lack of understanding of the
business’ needs. The business must
clearly articulate the requirements in
detail. There needs to be a precise
mapping of features and functions to the
business’ needs. Assigning a seasoned
business leader to the project team is
essential for success.
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2. Inability To Reach Consensus On Priorities
There are various reasons why software
development projects fail, but a common
one that has a big impact is when the
project sponsors and project teams are
not clearly aligned on top priorities for
the project. Decomposing these priorities
into “must-haves,” “should-haves” and
“could-haves” can provide a solid
framework for the iteration and delivery
of particular features. – Jahn Karsybaev, Prosource IT
3. Lack Of Clarity And Execution Strategy
The primary goal of a software project
is to solve a business’ problems. It
requires not only effective and efficient
project management and
stakeholder-expectation management but
also a clear consensus by the entire
group of stakeholders on the definition
of the business’ problem and a robust
execution strategy to deliver software
that solves the business’ objectives.
Failure to address any of the aspects
outlined above results in a derailed
project. – Kartik Agarwal, TechnoSIP Inc.
4. Not Starting With The End Customer
Sometimes software projects begin with
a great idea that is implemented (on time
or late) and delivered only for
developers to discover that the problem
they solved wasn’t actually the problem
their customer needed to be solved. Doing
the hard work of deeply understanding
your customers, what they need and what
they’re willing to pay for sets the
ceiling on project performance and can
help refocus a team when things derail. –
5. Unclear Requirements
One of the most common reasons
software projects fail is unclear
requirements and the lack of a detailed
explanation. Very often clients
themselves are not sure exactly what they
want to see, and as a result, the project
cannot move forward. Communicating with
your clients and asking them for their
detailed vision of the future of the
product is the key to ensuring that the
project will not fail. – Daria Leshchenko, SupportYourApp Inc.
6. Expecting A ‘Silver Bullet’
Too often, enthusiasm arises from the
false belief that a proverbial “silver
bullet” will solve a given problem.
However, proper solutions are rarely so
simple—they are a blend of methodology,
strategy and team support, not the result
of a single action, technology or idea.
Tech leaders should encourage open
communication and leverage participatory
group decision-making to solve
challenges. –
Christopher Yang, Corporate Travel Management
7. Working In A Silo
The biggest reason software projects
fail is because teams embark on a journey
to build something that is either not a
business need or does not address the
right problem. Both reasons are a result
of misalignment between the business and
tech. To avoid this, it’s crucial to
identify the problem the business is
trying to solve and then work
collectively with the business and not in
a silo. – Tanvir Bhangoo, Freshii inc.
8. Thinking That Scope Can Be Defined Upfront
While it is important to understand
the problem and define the use cases
upfront, almost no project can be
considered successful if it does not
adapt to changing business requirements
during development. Unfortunately, some
tech teams still insist on hitting the
original goal, thus rendering their
effort ineffective or even a failure. –
Song Bac Toh, Tata Communications
9. Lack Of Coordination And Detailed Planning
Many software projects are late or
fail due to a lack of good coordination
and detailed planning. Teams need to
implement a bottom-up planning process
that identifies dependencies between
deliverables and includes estimates from
the engineers themselves. After the
release plan is set, I run daily
15-minute stand-up meetings where issues
are surfaced and new risks are identified
and managed. – Dave Mariani, At Scale
10. Friction Caused By Undefined Roles
Undefined roles often create friction
on project teams. Try using a DACI
framework from the start to clearly
define who has authority on what. For
stuck projects, recalibrating on who is
the Driver, Approver, Contributor and
Informed within the project can act as a
hard reset, inspiring renewed
collaboration and autonomy. –Leore Avidar, Lob.com Inc.
11. Expecting Overcustomization Of Software
Oftentimes, we believe that software
can be customized to a level that will
tailor to all needs. That’s a
misconception. Being realistic is
important. Define the requirements
regarding the software’s capability.
Making change requests as you go requires
adjustments, but that’s the hat that will
need to be worn to avoid frustrations. –
Bhavna Juneja, " Infinity, a Stamford Technology Company
12. Lack Of Discipline
If we were to build a house and keep
changing the blueprint, the project
budget would spiral out of control and
deadline after deadline would be missed.
Create a vision of what project success
looks like. Lock it down and execute.
Every other great idea and detour can be
considered for a later phase of the
project. – Sam Polakoff, Nexterus, Inc.
13. Too Many Hands In The Dev Pot
Establish (and limit) who’s involved
from day one, whether you’re building
in-house or not. This can be difficult
for larger tech companies with complex
processes and communication channels. But
in the app development world, such
complexity is detrimental to crafting a
fully realized product that matches
everyone’s unique vision without falling
prey to scope creep and a never-ending
project timeline. – Joshua Davidson, ChopDawg.com
14. Not Enough Emphasis On Soft Skills
A clear and meaningful focus on
managing the change process is often
lacking or insufficient. I’ve seen many
software projects in various categories
and in an array of different types and
sizes of organizations run into
challenges because they are super-focused
on the technical work but not applying
enough energy toward training, coaching,
team building and soft skills. – Amith Nagarajan, rasa.io Original article on Forbes