Let's start with a disturbing statistic. According to a 2015
Standish Group report, only 29% of software projects were successful, 52% were
questionable (cost overruns, budget overruns, or lack of content), and 19%
failed. Although these conclusions first appeared several years ago, the
results are no less true today.
In addition, the percentage of projects that the client
considers valuable is 59%, while the percentage of projects that the client
considers satisfactory is 56%.
Unsatisfactory project results have become the norm in the
IT industry when the customer is not satisfied with the result. So what can we
do about it?
A good starting point is to look at some of the critical
reasons why software projects fail.
Reason 1: Not enough time
The deadline is often set before the start of the project
and is non-negotiable. This deadline leads to a reckless rush to start with the
assumption that the sooner you start programming, the sooner you will finish
the project.
Rushing into programming is almost always the wrong
approach. It is very important to take the time to create a good design. Lack
of good design leads to constant change throughout the development phase. When
this happens, time and budget are quickly used up.
Solution:
Resist the temptation to start programming right away.
Allow enough time to create a good design and the rest of
the project will go a lot easier.
This approach will enhance your reputation when you deliver
something that meets your customer's expectations and works right the first
time.
Reason 2: Insufficient budget
Many projects have the lowest price, the most successful
supplier policy, or a budget that is too low not based on project requirements.
When this happens, everything slows down. Resources arrive slowly or never
arrive; corners are cut and quality suffers.
Solution:
Be realistic about the budget and base it on full
requirements.
Avoid basing supplier selection solely on the lowest price.
Reach out to a vendor or team with a proven track record of
budget execution.
Use a vendor selection checklist like the one below to find
the right vendor for your project.
Vendor Selection Checklist Introduction Page
Reason 3: Poor Communication
There is a saying “never assume anything”, especially when it
comes to software projects. Good communication with the client, users and
development team is essential for the success of the project. Ask yourself
three questions:
Does everyone on the team understand you?
Do they know what you expect from them, or did you assume
they did?
Do they communicate well with each other, with users and
with other departments?
Solution:
Find any communication failure now. This can lead to
confusion and complications later in the project.
Never assume that everyone understands everything that
happens in a project.
Take the time to create an environment where communication
is accessible, open, and frequent.
Reason 4: Never analyze project progress
As the project progresses, things change, which
significantly affects the project. It is important to constantly monitor the
progress of the project in order to overcome difficulties in a timely manner
and warn stakeholders of possible delays and changes in results.
Solution:
Always set milestones to track progress with your team and
stakeholders throughout the project. Adjust if necessary to stay on course.
Be close to your team so you understand what's going on and
what challenges they're facing.
Reason 5: Inadequate testing
When there is a need to comply with requirements, testing
often suffers. Testing is left to the end of the development cycle with minimal
testing effort. The result is usually a buggy product and a dissatisfied
customer.
Solution:
Test throughout the development lifecycle, testing each
module or component as it is developed.
Simply defer integration testing to a later stage in the
development lifecycle, resulting in less stress and a better product.
Reason 6: Testing in a production environment
It's amazing how many organizations test products in their
production environment. Using a production environment is a high-risk strategy
that can lead to security breaches and accidental untested releases that break
production systems.
Solution:
Develop a quality assurance and release process for new
software products.
Provide an environment separate from the production
environment for testing and bug fixing.
Cause
