The Reasons for Project Failure - Research Paper Example

The Reasons for Project Failure Introduction A project is a temporary effort attempted to produce a unique or special item or service. The project must deliver what the customer needs. It must be born in mind that every project is different from the other and has its own merits and demerits in implementing. While trying to complete a project, there can be chances of project failure as well as its success. Here, we have to concentrate the on the failure part only. Projects fail to deliver fundamentally due to mismanagement (Filed in Management Hints, 2009). That happens when planning is not stringent; necessary skills are absent, the available skills are not properly utilized and sufficient control is not exercised (Frank, 2003). At the outset, the exact need of the client is not studied properly. The company does not have the expertise to handle the project. May be it is their first such project. May be it is not a direct project. It involves Herculean tasks, about which company has little experience. One more reason may be the increase in cost of raw materials, which rises exorbitantly almost every day, which the management did not bother to take into account at the time of quoting. The simple truth is, the more the delay, more will be the cost of materials and labor. That point is overlooked. The staff and the managers are not competent enough. Some of the machinery and material are to be imported. The formalities in such matters are not given due importance. Even in the case of the items to be imported, the specification does not match. All these factors amount to poor planning. Workers have their own attitudes and they are not concerned about deadlines. They think that it is not their concern. The merely keep a vigilant eye on salary alone every month without break. Natural calamities also play their part. Project Management Project management is a carefully planned endeavor to execute a specific goal. It involves working out a project plan, setting the project targets, determining the tasks, methods of implementing them, finding out the material requirements, studying the cost involved and the time required to accomplish (Project Management, 2009). Taking care of the implementation of the plan, good control over the man and material, engineering and supervision, performance - all these constitute project management (Alf, 2009). Usually the project is carried out in stages. It is the responsibility of the management to successfully complete the project. Operation and Maintenance come after that, which also come under project management. Project management involves scope, cost and schedule. Scope constitutes systems, skills and discipline (Donna, 2009). System means facilities, equipment and components. They are the items that can be touched or felt. Skill refers to the capability of the humans to achieve the needed outcome. Discipline looks into the leadership and organizational quality of the management to ensure that the system and skills are applied in the optimum manner to achieve fruitful results. At the outset, the scope is to be understood. The resources needed to accomplish the objective are man, material and money (Project Management: Why Projects Fail, 2009a). The nature of work, sequence and time are to be looked into. That will constitute a proper schedule. The primary requirement of project management is to accomplish all the objectives of the project as specified in the contract in the allotted time, with minimum expenditure (Dan, 2009). For that, the project management must plan to utilize resources in the most efficient manner. There comes the challenge. Any project has two out comes- success or failure. When the job is done in time, as per schedule, as per specification and requirement and to the satisfaction of the client, it is said that project is successful. Along with this, the company attains its targeted profit and enhances its reputation (Holly, 2007). Failure results, when the company is not able to complete the job in time, specifications are not adhered to, quality of material is substandard and so is the workmanship (Frank, 2003). The client’s requirement is not fulfilled. It results in bringing loss to the company and clients as clients have their own commitments (Donna, 2009). As a result, the company’s name is also spoiled. Sometimes it may result in the abandoning of projects themselves. In fact there is one more outcome, namely, Challenged. This case is not as bad as failure. The project is completed in time. Nevertheless, it does not exactly match the requirement. There are loopholes, defects and so on. More time and money would have to be spent to set things right (Alf, 2009). This may cause lot of hardships to all. To ensure success of the project, the team deputed for the project has to be dynamic (Donna, 2009). They must be told that monetary benefits will be given to them. When they do work, they must be patted on the back. They must be given a feeling that they are also a part of the company and that the company substantially depend on them. All these lead us to some important points of consideration while planning for a project. Project will fail if planning is not good. Planning should be future oriented. Management has to plan for all the hazards and delays likely to occur in the future (Alf, 2009). It has to anticipate work loss due to labor strike, natural calamities, postal delays etc. The material delivery, production in the suppliers’/ manufacturers’ units, capacity and resources of the subcontractor - all these have to be considered. A good management anticipates problems and delays in advance and takes remedial measures such that delay is avoided. The authorities must have weekly and monthly meetings to review the progress of the project and take remedial measures in the event of any hardship, hindrance or delay (Donna, 2009). If any modification or change is required, it should be immediately implemented in consultation with the client. Otherwise, things will go out of control. If the management fails to make proper planning there is every chance of project failure. Each member of the team has to be given his responsibilities and they are to be defined. Then there is no duplication, and nobody can throw the responsibility on another. In other word, each one has to be accountable. The charts like, the work done, the work in progress, work to be done should be updated every day (Kevin, 2009). Such steps will give an idea where the company’s position as far as the said project is concerned. That will help the manager to take any alternate steps, if required, to put everything under control. Apart from natural disturbances, the reasons contributing to project failure include poor planning by the inexperienced managers and staff, lack of communication between managers and subordinates, poor leadership, poor expertise in implementing, poor resources, lack of availability of quality materials and unnecessary waste of time and waste of materials (Alf, 2009). Concisely, the failure is mainly due to mismanagement. The reasons are improper specification of the project, unreasonable time schedules, unnecessary delays, lack of skilled, qualified staff, laborers (Dan, 2009). An important point to consider is that if the top brass of the company do not involve directly, the project can be a failure. Apart from poor planning, the factor, which contributes to the project failure, is inadequate definition. Before the project starts, a proper definition of the project and plan of action is necessary (Frank, 2003). What we generally see is that the project manager simply accepts the job (well, he has no other go) and leave it there as he is busy with many other tight or penalty jobs, which are nearing completion and where his concentration is inevitable. So considerable time would have elapsed even by the time he studies the job. Strictly speaking, it is necessary to involve the project manager not after booking the order, as being done now, but much before that, probably even at the time of quoting, so that he is well aware of the job requirements (Donna, 2009). But that is not being practiced. Estimation is done by one department and execution by another. Before starting the project, the project manager must study the contact thoroughly, learn the schedule, determine the money, material and manpower involved and all other relevant factors (Alf, 2009). Unfortunately, the project manager does not have the required time to run the project smoothly as he has already lost much time even to start it. Now his only objective is to complete it in time. Naturally, quality suffers. Not only the manager, but also all in the team are subjected to tension to meet the deadline (Project Management: Why Projects Fail, 2009b). It is said that project management is a philosophy of management. It is not an administrative function. It deals with managing of human beings for execution of certain works. It depends on those who can effectively and efficiently utilize the human beings. Project management deals with discipline, organizing and responsibility (Project Management, 2009). Discipline includes teamwork, commitment to duties and managing of time. There is a famous proverb: “one plus one makes eleven.” It throws light on the fact that a group can achieve what is not individually impossible. So everybody must be made to understand the importance of organizing. The manager has to teach the workers their responsibility (Alf, 2009). They must be told how important they are for the company. They must be persuaded to work hard for achieving their target. When the manager overlooks such things, naturally the project fails. The true manager takes care of the problem before it occurs. He will not wait for things to happen. He makes things happen. One factor, which is generally overlooked in project management, is risk analysis. The project manager is under the false pretext that nothing will go wrong (Project Management is Risk Management, 2009). Such an assumption is not prudent. Project Failure When a project fails, it is advisable to make a thorough investigation. At least that will educate the project manager to take suitable corrective measures in future. Following causes will also result in project failure: Biting more than one can chew What need to be achieved and what can be achieved? This point must be thoroughly looked into. It should not happen that the project manager realized quite late that successful execution of the project was impossible with the existing manpower, material etc in the allotted time. In addition, much money was wasted already (Chin, 2003). There came a situation when their only interest was just to complete the job. The end result amounts to poor project delivery, dissatisfaction of the client and marring the image of the company. It is to be understood that the company should only take up the projects they are capable of handling (Frank, 2003). Otherwise, it amounts to ‘burning the fingers’. Absence of methodology Methodology or system of methods depends on the size of the project. It is based mainly on specification of the project. Methodology pertains to planning, developing and executing (Kevin, 2009). This helps the project manager to assess the daily progress. With this, he can take remedial steps if any delay is found. Without this, the project he has to run from pillar to post to meet the schedule, at times sacrificing the quality (Chin, 2003). In short, the control over the project would be lost. Non involvement of the end users from the beginning This is probably the most important point. Unfortunately, this is not given the necessary importance. The project is for the end users. They are the ones using the project, once it is executed. Their actual requirement must be clearly studied. So they must be involved in the project from the beginning and periodically. It does not mean that specification can be overlooked. Specification has to be strictly adhered to (Chin, 2003). A well planned, challenging project should not become mediocre. Overlooking the human factor Another main reason for project failure is undoubtedly the neglect of human factor. Inter departmental politics, absence of communication and lack of teamwork contributes to this. A project’s success depends much on human effort (Chin, 2003). If there is inter departmental conflicts, the project is bound to suffer. It is inevitable that all in the team work towards a common objective. There is nothing wrong in doing their best for their department, but it should not be at the expense of the interest of the project (Kevin, 2009). Selfishness should be set aside. Non participation of senior management The top management personnel must be involved in the project from the beginning. That will be helpful to solve inter departmental problems. In spite of the best efforts, there are chances for project failure, but they may be beyond anyone’s control (Duncan, 2009). No matter how well he plans the project, however, there may be times when a project is cancelled for reasons beyond the control of the project manager, such as changes in management or priority shifts or something like that. It is human tendency to skip responsibilities and put the blame on somebody else for any mistake (Filed in Management Hints, 2009). It is the same case with the company authorities; they refuse to accept the blame. They try to ignore the reason for failure. It must be understood that failure, at times, does good also. It helps to learn more. It makes an individual more agile. It should be a healthy discussion for the benefit of the company. When such discussions are avoided, mistakes are likely to happen again (Chin, 2003). They make accusations against somebody else merely to cover up their faults. This may give temporary relief, but in the long run, it will be damaging for the company. Let us consider these facts: 1. Failure spoils the image of the individual (Holly, 2007). His ego does not permit him to accept the blame. So prefers to hide mistakes. 2. Self examination, patience, permissiveness etc. are required in the analyzing procedure. The managers are not interested in sparing time on going through the reasons for failure (Frank, 2003). 3. The mindset of the people is such that they are not interested in a clean, clear study of the problem. They may merely want to escape being put to task. They neglect to look at the cause of the failure (Duncan, 2009). They do not bother preventing it either. They consider that analyzing the failure is not within their scope. The do not want to take stock of the failure; with the result they invite distressing experiences. Failure has definite advantages. At the outset, failure analysis will prevent repeat of mistakes (Alf, 2009). It will minimize risks. It has substantial benefits with respect to organizing. It can show the loopholes, which may lead to failure. Next, it fetches ways to solve debatable matters. Moreover, more important, it tells people not to worry about mistakes, but learn from them and avoid playing the blame game (Maniam, 2007). And finally, it enlightens the company to accept that both success and failure are two sides of the same coin and both contribute to the growth. It is time for them to recognize the hidden benefits of failure as well (Why Projects Fail, 2003). Let us consider an example of a turnkey project. The sales department of a reputed company booked an order for a prestigious hospital project in the heart of the city on 1st January 2008. Completion period was twelve months. The chief minister was scheduled to inaugurate the hospital on 1st January 2009. It was a turnkey project involving civil, mechanical and electrical works. The project had to be started from scratch. The civil works included excavating the earth/digging, casting foundation, raising pillars, laying floors, slabs, ceiling, roofs, building walls, fixing windows, doors, plastering, concreting, painting, interior decoration, false ceiling, etc (Filed in Management Hints, 2009). Mechanical works involved installing water storage tanks, water piping, plumbing, drainage, boilers, fire fighting systems, diesel generator sets, cold storage and air-conditioning equipment installation and associated piping, ducting etc. Electrical work constituted installation of switchgear equipment, transformer, switchboards, cabling, lightings, ventilation and exhaust systems, heaters, lifts, and electronic equipment and their controls. Being a hospital project, installation of a number of relevant equipment and their sophisticated controls was also included in the contract. This is a challenging job. The project manager, obviously, needed the service of a team of engineers, drafters, supervisors, skilled mechanics, laborers etc, in different disciplines. Commercial and clerical staffs were also required. Design drawing had to be made, and submitted for approval. Procurement of material and equipment was required, at times, from upcountry or outstation. The Project Manager had to do the planning as soon as the order was got (Maniam, 2007). Any delay in this would ultimately amount to failing to meet the deadline. Too many activities were involved. Therefore, he had to subcontract some of the works. Being a hospital project, it enjoyed relaxation of certain government levies. That was to be considered. The government had to be involved with respect to this. If this point were forgotten, lot of inconveniences and waste of time and expenses would have resulted. Regarding electronic controls, all sophisticated controls were to be imported. There were government formalities for all these. Further, the electrical requirements should match. Otherwise, more money would have to be spent for purchase of converters. (For example, electronic items in most of the advanced countries are of 115 Volts, 60 cycles, but in India, the standard is 230 Volts, 50 cycles). These should not be over looked. To make a long story short, the project was completed and handed over successfully in time. However, practically all the top managers had horrid time, sleepless nights and nightmares. The company had to spend more. They were forced to engage more workers. Ultimately, the profit of the company was meager. Analysis: It is quite easy to put the blame on the project manager if the project fails (Why Projects Fail, 2003). He is penalized for mismanagement. What control does he have over the workers? The union controls them. This is India. Workers strike for weeks together for no obvious reasons. All of a sudden, there is strike. Buses do not ply. Workers take it as an excuse for not coming to duty. Then there is the transport strike. How can the materials be transported? Apart from that there comes the rainy season. Even after the rainy season, at times there is unexpected rain. In addition, everything is disturbed. How can the poor project manager be responsible for all these? The yardstick for project failure in India is different from that in western countries, where such unforeseen circumstances are rare. Mistakes are common. In fact, it is relative. How much one can learn from mistake? That is important. Mistakes lead to improvement. Same thing applies to project also. If this concept is not recognized, it amounts to disappointment and failure. Remember, Thomas Alva Edison failed many times before inventing the bulb. When everything goes on well, there is no chance for brain work and thereby attain wider knowledge. On the other hand, failure makes an individual concentrate, think deep and put greater effort. Therefore, failure makes him more efficient. Do not take failure as end of the world. Accept failure as an opportunity to learn (Chin, 2003). This will get rid of the disappointment. If one does not bother about the failure and go to the next step, he will have no time for beating the bush. When he fails, it is because he has not taken the correct path. Therefore, he will be tempted to change his course. In addition, the outcome is gain of greater knowledge. He must consider every stumbling block as a stepping-stone. Such a posture will change the mindset towards handling any issue. No doubt, a failure will make anyone crestfallen, but that is only a temporary phase. When an immediate task is at hand, the previous instance is simply forgotten. If failure is being treated as a ground to accomplish a unique task, the attitude towards failure changes (Duncan, 2009). There are chances to prevent failures. When one is alerted that he is in the wrong path, he can take measures to change the track. Not all these mean that the project manager can sleep over the project and let it go to dogs (Dan, 2009). It only emphasizes the fact that he need not be perturbed about the failure. As already mentioned, the reasons are many. It is not a one-man show. He is accountable for many things, but there are things about which he can do nothing. In any case, he has to shoulder his responsibilities well so that he is not targeted. Another important point is that the project is not to be done in one day (Why Projects Fail, 2003). It takes a good number of days or weeks. If he reviews the progress of work periodically, in an honest and systematic way, he can easily determine the position of the project and take remedial measure. Success and failure are parts of life. This philosophy holds well in project management as well. Newton failed a thousand times in his expeditions before finally succeeding. He is respected for his achievement and contribution to the humankind. . No one bothers about his failures. It is interesting to imagine what would have been the condition of the world if Newton had given up after his first failure. How great is his contribution to the world. Conclusion In any project, the requirement of the user should be ranked first. Otherwise, the user cannot put the project to best use. The purpose of the project is to meet the need of the user. If the user is happy with the project, it is success. If not, it is failure. While starting a project, there should be proper planning and risk analysis in order to get to the deliverables in a successful manner. The client should be involved in the planning process so that ever step is done according to his will and permission. In this manner, there will be minimized chances of project failure. Projects fail because of mismanagement, improper specification of the project, unreasonable time schedules, lack of skills and expertise, unnecessary delays, lack of skilled, qualified staff and laborers, lack of methodology and coordination of management. If management considers all the mentioned reasons of project failure, the success chances will be enhanced. References Alf, A. Pedersen. (2009). Project Management Failure – Background. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://www.databasedesign-resource.com/project-management-failure.html Chin, Paul. (6 May 2003). Cold case file: why projects fail. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/cio/article.php/2201981 Dan, Daley. (10 November 2009). Project Management Fits All Sizes. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://new.industrialpress.com/node/1281 Donna, Ritter. (28 May 2009). The Nature of Project Management. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://certifedpmp.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/the-nature-of-project-management/ Duncan, Haughey. (2009). PMP Avoid Failed Projects 2000-2009. Retrieved November 20, 2009 http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/avoid-failed-projects.html Filed in Management Hints. (1 November 2009). Project Management Analyzing Failure on Projects. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://cmguide.org/archives/1943 Frank ,Winters. (11 August 2003). The Top Ten Reasons Projects Fail, Part 7. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://www.gantthead.com/article.cfm?ID=187449 Holly, Hawkins. (8 October 2007). Why Projects Fail. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://blogs.isixsigma.com/archive/why_projects_fail.html Kevin, Lonergan. (2009). Project Management 1997-2009. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/project/project.htm Maniam, Regina. (3 January 2007). How to Succeed Despite Fear Of Failure. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/how-to-succeed-despite-fear-of-failure-88401.html Project management: why projects fail, 2005-2009. (2009a). Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://www.flyingsolo.com.au/p250036232_Project-management-Why-projects-fail.html Project management: why projects fail. (2009b). Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/miscellaneous.html Project management is risk management. (13 March 2009). Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://ix0.org/isay/215 Project Management, Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management Why Projects Fail. (December 2003). Retrieved November 20, 2009 from http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/project-management/projects-fail Read More