10 Signs Your Software Implementation Project May Fail

When it comes to project failure, it's rarely ever attributable to a single reason. When a project is going nowhere quickly enough, you can often see the signs. Often, there are too many unpleasant signs. Regardless of the reason behind the failure, a decision will need to be made quickly on when to pull the plug.

 Here are some signs you should be aware of:

1. The project is technology-led

Allowing the technology or the vendor to determine and constrain requirements has been the dearth of many a project. In an ideal world, business owners would have a clear understanding of their processes and requirements before purchasing a solution upfront and not use the technology as a way to “discover requirements”. While I do understand the need to understand the capabilities of existing solutions in order to come up with "practical" requirements, buying a solution only to discover it doesn't meet business needs is like placing the cart before the horse and can cost the business time and money, without any guarantee of meeting the needs of end users.

 2. The goal is not clear

Every project should have a set goal and scope defined. If these keep changing or is not properly defined from the get-go, team members will make up project objectives as they go, leading to a constant state of confusion and stress over what the project is really intended to accomplish.

3. There is a fear of speaking out

If team members hold back critical information for fear of being criticized or judged, this can prevent important issues from being raised and discussed. An environment where people cannot speak their thoughts freely can stifle ideas and creativity. A healthy relationship among team members is essential to a productive working environment and a successful project outcome.

4. Requirements are inaccurate

Requirements elicitation is a key step in any project that involves software implementation. All other stages in the software development lifecycle depend on accurate requirements, regardless of the implementation methodology adopted. If requirements are inaccurate, incomplete or do not represent the views of end-users, all other artefacts that require this input such as solution designs, test cases and the final system will be inaccurate as a result.

5. Project team members are under pressure

There's never enough time in the day to get the work done. This may be attributed to bad planning or a lack of adequate resources to deliver project needs. When team members don't have enough time during the day and have to work extra hours to meet deadlines, an unsustainable pace of work that can only lead to burnout, missed deadlines and unrealistic expectations is created.

6. Blame culture

When team members start blaming each other instead of addressing the root cause(s) of issues, productivity will suffer. Blaming others is never constructive and can affect the morale of project team members. Healthy project teams look at solving issues and how best to work together to achieve desired outcomes. Team members should be able to show up for meetings or make mistakes without fear of being blamed.

7. Premature focus on system features & validation

Skipping critical requirements elicitation and validation activities to show system features directly to users before requirements are fully understood can lead to burnout on the part of stakeholders and a perceived sense that things are "not working". 

If the super users or business representatives who are supposed to champion the project cause are constantly exposed to a defective system before their requirements have been articulated, it's only a matter of time before their confidence in the system declines. Perception can easily become reality, after all.

8. Excessive software defects

Too many defects in the pipeline? It's time to address these issues instead of trotting along as if they don't exist. Sift through the list of issues and determine what's actually blocking and what isn't.

9. Absent project manager

This symptom is particularly worrisome - Frequent time outs, holidays and early exits. A disinterested project manager can be demoralizing. If the person that's charged with keeping the project on track is hardly ever available, the project is headed nowhere. Individual team members may not always have the visibility to make the decisions that matter. If no one is in charge, the project is going nowhere.

10. Lack of process/methodology

It's pretty hard to improve business processes when internal project processes are not sorted out. Not devoting sufficient time to analysis, not having the right voices in the room or disregarding recommended project management processes that are necessary for delivering successful projects can lead to failure down the track.

Projects can fail for a number of reasons – a combination of bad practices sustained over time can certainly lead to project failure. As a project manager or team member, it’s important to see the signs early enough and escalate appropriately. As a professional, you should consider very seriously whether it’s a project you should be involved with at all. It may be in your best interest to leave the project and not have it mar your career.