Why Software Projects fail and How you can avoid it? The blog discusses in detail the main 7 reasons for software project failure and also gives you the solutions to avoid it.
The emergence of software has made living simpler for most of us. When we say most of us, we mean the people who have access to the software. It has become a universal language for businesses of all types and sizes to communicate worldwide. All IT sectors, the auto sector, healthcare, and government organizations such as banks, social security, etc depend upon software products to perform their day-to-day activities.
Software has become a quintessential part of our lives. We can never imagine our lives, especially now, without this software. It makes any process fast and easy and helps businesses focus more on their growth by working efficiently. The right and the best kind of software that suits your business needs can work wonders. So, it is always recommended to choose your software wisely.
We should always learn from the failures of others and try not to repeat the mistakes made by them. This will help us make robust software and add to our development experience, which we can share with our peers and guide them as well.
In this article, we have listed the major reasons that lead to software project failures in most cases and tell you how you can avoid these mistakes. This will help you define and make your software development strategy way more accurate and quick.
Most of the time, the team which brings in the software projects in any organization is not fully aware of how much time the software will actually take to get completed. They hastily promise the client that the project will be completed by such and such time. It makes it very difficult for the programmers to complete the project within that time frame.
The possible solution to this problem is first to understand the client's requirements, communicate those to the software programmers, and provide a detailed project completion timeline to the client after discussing with them. This will ease the burden of these developers and help set realistic and achievable goals, which ultimately will lead to the development of the best quality software that is reliable and robust. This will also help in setting the foundation for building a lifetime relationship with the client. If satisfied with the software product, the client can make repeated purchases or support related activities done by you.
Many companies most of the time fail to realize the importance of time, budget, and availability of the right amount of resources for software project completion. They promise to deliver the project in a short span of time without understanding the complexities involved. This leads to project failure many times and thus setting unrealistic expectations.
The best way to avoid getting into this situation is always to keep someone from the top management informed and, if possible, directly or indirectly involved from the beginning till the project reaches its completion stage. The scope and project requirements often can change midway, so it's always a good decision to keep a person involved actively from the start till the very end, just before the final product/project is shared with the client.
Before the development phase begins i.e., during the planning phase, project specifications should be clearly defined during the planning phase. If they are not clear initially, then there will be a mismatch between what the client wants and what we are making/made as to the end product. The teams should coordinate internally to understand the requirements clearly in order to deliver the desired output.
The more time the planning phase takes and by taking more time, we mean that the planning should be good, the less time we will waste on developing the wrong kind of software that does not match the project specifications. So, it is advised to discuss these specifications in advance to avoid chaos and confusion at a later stage when things might turn ugly.
When the project is about to reach the deadline, and still a major portion of development work needs to be done, project managers usually keep on adding more resources into the development team, thinking that this will help speed up the project completion process. This, in turn, backfires most of the time as the more people, the greater the confusion. There arises a lack of proper coordination and communication within the team.
To avoid such a situation, the best way is to always break the development tasks into smaller chunks and then decide the approximate resources required to complete the project before the deadline. This will not only help maintain a healthy environment within the team but also lead to better coordination and hence robust software project development.
When the software completion starts reaching the deadline and still a lot of development work is pending, the part which is compromised is the testing phase. But, this is the major mistake made by most software development companies. Testing is as important as any other stage in SDLC ( Software Development Lifecycle ) stages. If a software is not thoroughly tested right from the beginning, it can lead to a very bad user experience as nobody likes to pay for a software project full of bugs and crashes at times.
Always ensure the testing is performed consistently after every part of the software development gets completed, not just at the end of the project. Keep following this best practice to deliver bug-free software to your client. Always plan the project development process in such a way that there is enough time left for thorough software testing as well.
Regardless of how arranged your development strategy is, the absence of visibility can rapidly lead to disappointment. It's fundamental to make a framework that is perceivable for the venture supervisor and all colleagues. Project transparency incorporates project straightforwardness of assignment status, clear correspondence, and document maintenance and management.
So, to have a good amount of project transparency within your team, always ensure that your job as a project manager will ease only when you maintain a centralized digital place where all the project-related documents and other task information are clearly mentioned. This saves time and helps keep every team member well informed and on the same page.
An absence of time and arranging, a shortfall of assets, and a lacking spending plan are generally normal explanations behind disappointments with programming. However, the absence of an able project manager is an especially key and repeating issue.
Effective Communication is an absolute necessity for finishing a task on schedule. Thus, without an efficient project manager or coordinator, a venture will probably become disconnected and vague. On the off chance that nobody in your group has the right stuff needed to push through an advancement project, you might need to investigate recruiting outside specialists who can convey the outcomes you're searching for.
Take into consideration the importance of a good project manager in order to reach a successful project completion and hence contribute to the growth of an organization.
Conclusion
The software development process should be planned properly beforehand and should always be in the hands of a competent project manager. Communication is always the key. Focus on understanding the project's requirements and do re-visit the project completion timelines as the specifications might change midway through the project development. Also, do assign a sufficient amount of time for software testing. These were the key takeaways.
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