Tricks of the Trade

18 Reasons Why Projects Fail

by Rita Mulcahy, PMP
Copyright 2006 by Rita Mulcahy, PMP. All rights reserved. 11.27.06
RMC Project Management, Inc. 500 East Travelers Trail, Suite 100 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55337
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Tricks of the Trade

Te following are reasons for project failure that Rita Mulcahy, PMP, has identifed based on
her experience and supporting literature on the subject. Try to determine the root cause of
the problem and then apply the tools and techniques of project management to prevent your
projects from failing.
Reasons Projects Fail
Failure to understand that a change in scope
afects schedule, cost or performance
Unrealistic time frames
Lack of project management training
Projects defned without the PMs assistance
Project team not involved in planning
No risk management
Miscommunication of scope
Planning a project using only a bar chart
No viable historical records
Inadequate budget for administration
Senior management meddling
No change control system
No efective system for controlling
the project to the project plan
Inexperience
Lack of efective communication
Failure to understand the unique
nature of the project type
Overselling
Turnover
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Exercise
Why does it happen?
What can you do to prevent it?