Causes of Failure in a Sales Support Project

Before starting a project I usually try to take a mental note of the causes of failure in a project, some of them are issues that could persist throughout the duration of the contract. So I have compiled a generic list of common causes of failure that I have encountered that I keep my eye out for !, They are :

• End user stakeholders not involved throughout the project. (My biggest Gripe !)
• Minimal or no stakeholder backing; lack of ownership.
• Weak business case.
• Plan asks for too much in too little time.
• Poor estimates, especially financial.
• Unclear stakeholder requirements.
• Passive user stakeholder involvement after hand-off.
• Unclear expectations.
• Assumptions, if they exist at all, are unrealistic.
• Plans are based upon insufficient data.
• No systematization of the planning process.
• Inadequate or incomplete requirements.
• Lack of resources.
• Assigned resources lack experience.
• Staffing requirements are not fully known.
• Constantly changing resources.
• Poor overall project planning.
• Missed deadlines and no recovery plan.
• Budgets are exceeded and out of control.
• Lack of re-planning on a regular basis.
• Lack of attention provided to the human and organizational aspects of the project.
• Project estimates are best guesses and not based upon history or standards.
• Not enough time provided for proper estimating.
• No one knows the exact major milestone dates or due dates for reporting.
• Team members working with conflicting requirements.
• People are shuffled in and out of the project with little regard for the schedule.
• Each stakeholder uses different tools, which be incompatible with the tools of project partners.
• Weak project and stakeholder communications
• Poor assessment of risks if done at all.
• Wrong type of contract.
• Poor project management; team members possess a poor understanding of project management, especially virtual team members.
• Technical objectives are more important than business objectives.

If you want some perspective on how you or your company needs to enhance their Sales/Client Management Capabilities, please email me at shubhanjan.saha@gmail.com