No matter how many hours of hard work and good intentions go into a project, sometimes they fail anyway. This result can be frustrating, especially when the “fault” could have been prevented. Still, pointing fingers doesn’t change the ending. Instead, it becomes a “lesson learned” that helps you not repeat the error in the future.
However, you don’t have to learn every mistake yourself. There’s a global community of project managers who have already figured out many of the reasons most projects land flat, and they have tips for you to prevent them. Here, we’ll share the top project fails and how to fix them.
1. Determination to Outbid the Competition
Competitive bidding in project-oriented businesses can be like an expensive game of Name That Tune. Your competitor says they can complete a project in X amount of days for a cost of Y. And you really want the client’s business, so you offer X minus one, at a lower cost — without looking into the details to see if what you’ve just promised is feasible and cost-effective.
This kneejerk reaction is common in startups and the early days of running a professional service business. But as you grow, you learn to let the numbers decide the results using strategies like the Quote-to-Cash (Q2C) process. There’s a client in need of your services, and, using a strategy like Q2C instead of trying to outbid the competition, you can develop a quote and deadline for deliverables.
For more on how to master the quote-to-cash process, read this article by Accelo. Regardless of which strategy you use, though, plan the numbers and timeline carefully. Outbidding the competition without evaluating what you’re offering is an easy setup for failure.
2. Failing to Plan Your Resources Wisely
You’ve generated a quote, evaluated the work necessary, and provided a deliverable date. But within those steps, you’ve neglected to check the resources available for that timeframe.
Many projects fail because of poor resource planning. This step involves checking available cash flow to handle the cost of the project before clients pay their invoice, and reviewing human resource availability, too.
Your employees or contracted workers expect to get paid for their time. Will they be willing to wait until your client pays in full? Is the deposit you requested enough to cover the resources to do the job? Which team members are you earmarking for the work, and do they have the capacity to take on the job?
Keep in mind the need for outside vendors, supplies, and other workloads. For example, if a specialist’s input is necessary for part of the project, will they be free to help you when their part of the job is ready?
The sooner you contact a team member, an outside vendor, or a specialist, the more likely they’ll be able to fit you into their schedule. However, waiting until a day or week before is yet another project management mistake. You want to show them that you value their time by checking in with their availability as soon as you know you’ll need them.
3. Being Vague and Ambiguous With the Goals
So your client has given you the freedom to achieve a target without clear directions. It sounds like the ideal job, but this lack of a path can breed ambiguity, which leads to confusion and unclear forward movement.
Before you start working on the project, take some time to determine what a successful finished deliverable will look like. Set clear goals, and then share them with the client for their approval. Even if they gave you carte blanche on the job, having their nod prior to doing the work helps avoid arguments later if the finished project isn’t what they had in mind.
This goal-setting will help your team understand what needs to be completed, too. Use a system that shares visibility throughout the project, giving everyone a picture of where the job is at the moment, a place to communicate in real-time, and a centralized dashboard to host documents and resources.
This shared system helps prevent miscommunication and encourages teamwork and flexibility. It also gives you a proactive way to handle any issues with scope creep.
Conclusion
Project failures happen to the best of us. As long as they’re not your norm, you can mitigate the damage, learn from them, and move on. Still, it’s best to avoid these fails when possible. By recognizing the top three project fails listed here and working to prevent them, you and your team are setting the work up for a better chance of success.
