14 Common Reasons Software Projects Fail (And How To Avoid Them)
Last updated: October 12, 2022 Read in fullscreen view
Recommended for you
- 01 Aug 2024
The Standish Group report 83.9% of IT projects partially or completely fail 1588 - 02 Nov 2021 What is Terms of Reference (ToR)? 1411
- 03 Apr 2022 Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) 1119
- 18 Oct 2021 Key Elements to Ramping Up a Large Team 1068
- 13 Apr 2024 Lessons on Teamwork and Leadership from Chinese story book "Journey to the West" 864
- 16 Jun 2022 Rapid Application Development (RAD): Pros and Cons 774
- 20 Jul 2022 Software Myths and Realities 758
- 02 May 2022 What Is RAID in Project Management? (With Pros and Cons) 693
- 14 Jun 2022 Example and Excel template of a RACI chart in Software Development 664
- 20 Jan 2021 Fail early, fail often, fail cheap, fail safe but always fail forward 659
- 19 Oct 2021 Software development life cycles 626
- 18 Dec 2023 The Cone of Uncertainty in Scrum & Requirement Definition 609
- 28 Jul 2022 POC, Prototypes, Pilots and MVP: What Are the Differences? 577
- 13 Jan 2020 Quiz: Test your understanding project cost management 556
- 21 Jun 2021 6 Useful Tips To Streamline Business Processes and Workflows 511
- 18 Jul 2021 How To Ramp Up An Offshore Software Development Team Quickly 503
- 20 Jan 2022 TIGO Self-Organization Practice: Change Management Workflow 410
- 27 Jan 2020 Should a project manager push developers to work more hours due to mistakes of manager schedule setting? 407
- 13 Oct 2021 Outsourcing Software Development: MVP, Proof of Concept (POC) and Prototyping. Which is better? 405
- 07 Jul 2022 Managing Project Execution Terms 372
- 10 Apr 2024 The Parking Lot Method: Unlocking a Simple Secret to Supercharge Your Productivity 368
- 12 Aug 2022 What is End-to-end project management? 361
- 28 Oct 2022 Build Operate Transfer (B.O.T) Model in Software Outsourcing 358
- 12 Dec 2021 Zero Sum Games Agile vs. Waterfall Project Management Methods 355
- 11 Nov 2021 What is an IT Self-service Portal? Why is it Important to Your Business? 347
- 26 Sep 2024 Successful Project Management Techniques You Need to Look Out For 347
- 17 Oct 2021 Does Fast Tracking increase project cost? 338
- 03 Jan 2023 Organizing your agile teams? Think about M.A.T (Mastery, Autonomy, Purpose) 333
- 13 Feb 2021 Why is TIGOSOFT a software house for Enterprise Application Development? 331
- 05 Mar 2021 How do you minimize risks when you outsource software development? 310
- 09 May 2022 Build one to throw away vs Second-system effect: What are differences? 296
- 03 Apr 2021 How digital asset management streamlines your content workflow? 295
- 04 Oct 2021 Product Validation: The Key to Developing the Best Product Possible 291
- 06 Jun 2022 Change Management at the Project Level 283
- 02 Nov 2021 [Case Study] Streamlined Data Reporting using Tableau 272
- 01 Aug 2022 Is planning "set it and forget it" or "set it and check it"? 259
- 04 Oct 2022 Which ERP implementation strategy is right for your business? 256
- 15 May 2022 20 Common Mistakes Made by New or Inexperienced Project Managers 242
- 22 May 2022 What are common mistakes that new or inexperienced managers make? 242
- 01 Dec 2023 Laws of Project Management 226
- 02 Dec 2022 Success Story: Satsuki - Sales Management Software, back office app for School Subscription Management 214
- 02 Nov 2022 Difference between Change Management and Project Management 212
- 31 Aug 2022 What are the best practices for software contract negotiations? 208
- 02 Jun 2024 Reviving Ancient Wisdom: The Spiritual Side of Project Management 201
- 02 Dec 2021 3 Ways to Avoid Scope Creep in IT Consulting 187
- 01 May 2024 Warren Buffett’s Golden Rule for Digital Transformation: Avoiding Tech Overload 183
- 24 Nov 2023 The project management paradox: Achieving MORE by doing LESS 183
- 23 Jun 2024 Best Practices for Managing Project Escalations 180
- 03 Sep 2022 The secret of software success: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication 180
- 10 May 2022 Levels of Teamwork 178
- 06 Nov 2023 How do you streamline requirement analysis and modeling? 172
- 05 Sep 2023 The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects 157
- 07 Dec 2023 12 project management myths to avoid 153
- 01 Jan 2024 The pros and cons of the Centralized Enterprise Automation Operating model 152
- 30 Nov 2023 Project Managers, Focus on Outcomes — Not Deliverables 141
- 06 Mar 2024 [SemRush] What Are LSI Keywords & Why They Don‘t Matter 121
- 21 Jun 2024 Dead Horses and the Escalation of Commitment 121
- 01 Mar 2024 10 Project Management Myths 116
- 05 Jun 2023 Fractional, Part-Time (virtual) or Interim CTO: Who Will Cover Your Business Needs? 104
- 12 Aug 2024 Understanding Google Analytics in Mumbai: A Beginner's Guide 78
- 07 Oct 2025 Case Study: Using the “Messaging House” Framework to Build a Digital Transformation Roadmap 23
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 Forbes Technology Council 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. - Wesley Crook, FP Complete
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. - Guy Yalif, Intellimize
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, AtScale
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
Via Forbes
Explore more on these topics
![Top 10 Vietnam IT Outsourcing Vendors [MOST UPDATED] - TIGO CONSULTING](/Uploads/Vietnam12012023111455_thumb.jpg "Best IT Outsourcing Companies in Vietnam with Reviews 2023")
Guest Blogging: The Definitive Guide
Top Trending Topics
Share This
Link copied!
Recently Updated News