Discussion Topic: Project Failures Study
Please read the Lehtinen et al. (2014) paper and then answer the following questions:
Question 1: What do you believe are the three most common reasons for project failure?
Question 2: Give two examples of failures that support your choices (there are several examples in the lecturecast).
Before even reading the Lehtinen et al. paper, I believed the people is one of the most common reasons for a project to fail. That paper confirmed my thoughts. Besides the People, there are many other reasons that can lead a project to a failure such as:
It is complicated to determine the real reason for a project failure. All the actors part of a project are interrelated and depend on each other. According to McLeod and MacDonell (2011), the development and deployment of software systems is a multidimensional process where people and technology are interconnected. I would select those most common causes:
On 28th January 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after the launch. After investigation, NASA concluded that the failure was due to a technical error but not only. The engineers were aware of the risk, but their communication never went through the managers who could have postponed the launch for the safety of the crew.
In 2012, Bridgestone accused IBM of delivering a defective custom-built computer system. The implementation of that system significantly disrupted Bridgestone’s North American tire division supply chain. According to IBM, it is a lack of leadership that cause that disruption. Bridgestone didn’t have any in-house IT skilled person leading the project. IBM should have ceased the work until a suitable person was put in place at Bridgestone. IBM explained that Bridgestone did not do necessary testing before implementing the software.
Hi David
A very interesting post - as you say the reasons for a project failing are often multidimensional and involve various factors conspiring together. I think the problem is exacerbated by the complexity of IT projects in general - and software projects in particular. Unfortunately, many IT projects seemed plagued by 'featuritis' (i.e. we must have this new feature over a fully working and tested though less fully featured system) and a proclivity towards using 'new tech' rather than more tried and tested technologies and techniques.
Hi David
Thank you for your response to the discussion questions, and you have made some good points regarding the causes surrounding software engineering project failures.
As Douglas has reiterated your insights regarding the complexity of projects and the multidimensional nature of the causes which result in project failure, I have come to similar conclusions when reading through the (Lehtinen et al., 2014) article. They have found that causality can be an incredibly complex interwoven series of events that are usually specific to the case being evaluated; they continue to say that we need to look at each case’s failures in detail to develop an understanding of the complexities in the specific case rather than assuming generic outcomes which leave us with a limited overview of the situation.
Regarding the Challenger shuttle disaster (Appicharla, 2012) concludes that a breakdown in communication between NASA management and a contractor they had used called Thiokol took place. NASA managers were not aware that a fall in temperature would result in a catastrophic failure of an o-ring that created a seal in the rocket propellant containment area. However, Later it was discovered that senior NASA managers overrode the cautions of Thiokol engineers concerned about abnormally cold launch conditions.
The Challenger disaster is an example of how people can lead to massive project failures, as we have seen. Additionally, poor leadership and integrity can lead to the loss of lives in some cases.
References:
Appicharla, S.K. (2012) ‘Analysis and modelling of Space Shuttle Challanger Accident using Management Oversight and Risk Tree (MORT)’, in 7th IET International Conference on System Safety, incorporating the Cyber Security Conference 2012. 7th IET International Conference on System Safety, incorporating the Cyber Security Conference 2012, pp. 1–8. doi:10.1049/cp.2012.1517.