Failure in Projects

Abstract

The rate of failure in projects is much higher than would be expected. In fact, there seems to be a close connection. As statistics reveal, only a small percentage of projects can be claimed to be successful. Most cited failure factors are unclear objectives, insufficient communication, lack of top management support, and poor scheduling. As we show, these factors disregard the context, genesis, and transfer of projects. Failure starts already with collecting and selecting good ideas. After that, the planning is much more crucial than most people would expect. Finally, projects can fail at the end when an organisation is confronted with the generated outcomes. The most general cause of failure, however, lies in the reason for existence of projects. We assume projects exist to fail. The article is illustrated with a case study and ends with some recommendations on how to deal with failure.