Why projects fail

The top most common project pitfalls are:

1. Lack of communication, including progress reporting;
2. Unclear project objectives;
3. Failure to adequately identify, document and track requirements; and
4. Failure to set and manage expectations.

Lack of communication

Once a project is in full swing, a common issue is communication. Most project teams use e-mail to communicate updates about their projects and tasks. The problem here is that project communication resides in each individual’s inbox. So, if a new resource joins the project, there is no centralised view of the project history.  Similarly, should a team member hit “reply”, rather than “reply all”, then valuable communication may not be properly dispersed.