Why projects fail: 8 causes and how to prevent them

Many project managers know what it feels like when a project doesn't work out. If you're reading this, you're already taking a step to avoid that outcome. Here, we'll cover eight common reasons projects fail and how you can prevent them, along with some helpful tools to keep you organized. Let's get ahead of these challenges together.

What is a project failure?

A project is considered a failure if it doesn't achieve its goals, deliverables, or deadlines. Some signs of this are:

• The project didn't meet your objectives.

• You didn't get the deliverable you wanted.

• Work wasn't completed on time.

However, failure can mean different things to different people. Sometimes, even if a project misses a deadline or a deliverable, it still brings valuable results.

For example, here at Asana, we believe that if you succeed 100% of the time, you likely weren't ambitious enough in your planning. That said, it's important to make sure projects fail for the right reasons, like setting a stretch goal to inspire forward momentum, rather than due to an avoidable pitfall.

8 common causes of project failure (and their solutions)

The good news is that you can solve these common problems. With some planning ahead, you can avoid project failure.

1. Unclear objectives

Problem: Your team isn't aligned on project goals, and there's no way to measure success.

Project objectives are the specific, time-bound goals you plan to achieve by the end of your project. Without clear objectives, it's hard to keep your team aligned or know if your project was a success.

For example, if your team is building a new checkout page for your app, you need a clear goal, like "reduce average checkout time for users by 30% in Q2." Without this, it's hard to decide which features matter most or measure how well you did after the project ends.

Unclear objectives are a common problem. The 2021 Anatomy of Work Index, which surveyed over 10,000 knowledge workers, found that less than half of all employees understood how their day-to-day work contributed to broader goals.

Solution: Set clear objectives as part of your planning process.

Effective project objectives align your team and serve as a benchmark for measuring success. Set objectives before you begin, and they can guide your project. Even better, involve your team in the goal-setting process to ensure everyone is aligned from the start.

It's a good idea to set objectives as part of your overall project plan, which also lays out project stakeholders, deliverables, timeline, and more.

2. Lack of executive support

Problem: Your project loses momentum without sustained leadership involvement.

Even well-planned projects can slow down if leaders aren't involved. Without their support, teams may have trouble getting the resources, budget, or help from other departments they need. Signs of this include:

• Delayed decisions and shifting priorities

• Difficulty securing resources and budget

• Team members questioning the project's importance

For example, imagine you're leading a company-wide software rollout. Initially, your executive sponsor is enthusiastic and helps you secure budget approval. But as competing priorities arise, they become harder to reach, skip steering committee meetings, and stop advocating for the project in leadership discussions.

Solution: Establish clear success metrics with executives and schedule regular check-ins.

To maintain executive engagement, start by aligning on what success looks like before the project begins. Define clear metrics that matter to leadership and connect your project milestones to broader business objectives.

Next, send regular short updates, like a weekly or biweekly email that covers progress, any issues, and decisions needed. This keeps your sponsor in the loop and interested.

3. Poor communication

Problem: Team members don't understand when or how to communicate updates.

Communication has become more complicated. The 2021 Anatomy of Work Index found that people switch between 10 apps 25 times a day, and 27% say they miss actions or messages because of this.

With today's app overload, it's hard to know when and where you should surface important project updates. That means work may be at risk if project team members aren't aligned on what communication channels to use, when to use them, or who should communicate what.

For example, if you manage a remote team across North America and Europe, you might use email, messaging, video calls, and shared documents. Without clear guidelines on when to use each tool, team members may share updates in places not everyone checks.

Solution: Create and share a communication plan.

A communication plan outlines how you'll share important, ongoing project information. It gives your team clarity on:

• Which tools to use: Define the right channel for each type of update

• Frequency and ownership: Specify how often updates are shared and who shares them

• Stakeholder involvement: Identify when to loop in key stakeholders

A good communication plan means you spend less time searching for information and more time working on your project goals.

A communication plan typically includes the frequency, channel, audience, and owner for each type of communication you'll be using. For example, you might include these details for weekly project status updates:

• Communication type: project status updates

• Frequency: weekly

• Channel: email

• Audience: project team

• Owner: project manager

4. Scope creep

Problem: Your project deliverables change as work progresses.

Scope creep is hard to spot because it often comes on slowly; you could even say it creeps up on you. It's what happens when project deliverables exceed the project scope, and you end up with more work than you bargained for.

For example, imagine you planned to publish 10 blog articles this month as part of a new product launch. However, you got a request from a stakeholder to add two additional posts to support a different product. With that new ask, your resources are stretched thin, and you need to delay publishing deadlines across the board.

Scope creep is a major driver of missed deadlines and failed projects. In fact, respondents in a 2021 Project Management Institute survey reported that 34% of projects in their organization experienced scope creep in the past year.

Solution: Define and circulate your project scope before you begin. If you set your project scope early, it's easier to finish on time and stay within budget. Planning ahead helps you avoid last-minute requests that could overload your team. Having your scope written down also makes it easier to say no to extra tasks.

You can document your project scope with a scope statement or scope management plan as part of your project plan or as a standalone document.

After you create your project scope, share it with stakeholders so everyone knows what is included and what isn't.

When stakeholders have this clarity, they're less likely to tack on additional asks. And when you do get an extra request, you can use a change control process to determine if it's important enough to add.

5. Unrealistic expectations

Problem: Success isn't attainable.

Big goals can motivate your team, but they also need to be realistic. If your objectives are too ambitious, your team may feel stressed and deadlines might be missed.

For example, imagine your sales team has a stretch goal of 100 commissions this month. But two team members are on PTO, so the rest of the team will need to work overtime to achieve the goal. That means there aren't enough resources to achieve the objective, and success is unlikely.

Overly ambitious objectives can be kryptonite for project timelines. According to the 2021 Anatomy of Work Index, the most common cause of missed deadlines is unrealistic expectations.

Solution: Set SMART project objectives.

With a bit of planning, you can set goals that inspire your team without needing overtime. Make sure your goals are SMART:

• Specific: Clearly defined outcomes

• Measurable: Quantifiable success criteria

• Achievable: Realistic given your resources

• Relevant: Aligned with broader priorities

• Time-bound: Clear deadlines and milestones

When your objectives are attainable and within scope, you can mitigate project risk and set your team up for success.

6. Limited resources

Problem: You don't have the resources you need to get the job done.

Resources include everything you need to finish a project, such as budget, people, time, space, or tools. If you don't have enough, your project could be delayed or even stopped.

For example, imagine you're working on an ad campaign for a new product. The deadline is approaching, but your budget for freelance video editing has run dry. With only one in-house editor to help, you need to delay the campaign's launch.

Solution: Make a resource management plan in advance.

Unexpected things like budget cuts can happen, but with some planning, you can help your team have what they need to reach project goals. A resource management plan lays out the amount and type of resources you need, and capacity planning helps you understand team bandwidth before you get started.

Key resources to plan for include:

• Employee bandwidth and availability

• Budget allocation

• Tech equipment and tools

• Workspace or facilities

Then, use resource allocation best practices to identify exactly when each resource should be allocated to each project.

7. Scheduling delays

Problem: Missed deadlines cause rushed work and significant project delays.

A missed deadline here, a delayed meeting there; this may seem inconsequential in the moment, but it can ultimately snowball into rushed work, stressed teammates, and significant project delays.

For example, picture this: you're planning a museum exhibit, and your logistics meeting with the venue has been rescheduled a few times. There are now two weeks until the grand opening, and your team will need to speed through the planning process to be ready on time. Scheduling delays like this are increasingly common, with 26% of deadlines missed each week according to the 2021 Anatomy of Work Index.

Solution: Include a project schedule as part of your project plan.

Remember the ever-useful project plan we mentioned earlier? This typically includes a detailed project schedule. A project schedule lays out each step you need to complete, who's responsible for that work, and when each task is due.

An effective project schedule provides your team with clarity on how the pieces connect. You can easily identify which milestones depend on others and work backward from due dates to ensure enough time for each step. Including your team in the scheduling process helps account for everyone's timeline and responsibilities.

8. Lack of transparency

Problem: Team members can't find important project documentation.

So you've crafted a killer project plan complete with a project schedule, communication plan, resource management plan, and SMART objectives. Now what?

If those documents are static and not easily accessible to your team, it can be hard to communicate updates without time-consuming status meetings. And even so, information might get lost in the mix.

Solution: Use a work management tool to centralize project information.

Work management helps you organize workflows and set up processes so your team can collaborate long-term. The right work management tool acts as a single source of truth for project information, documentation, and status.

We're (obviously) partial to Asana, because it gives teams a living system where everyone can view and manage work in a way that works best for them. Regardless of the tool you use, project management software helps your team access the information they need and ditch Excel trackers that quickly become outdated.

How to set your projects up for success

Now that you're aware of these common reasons for project failure, here are some tools to set your projects up for success: A project charter to pitch your project to stakeholders.

A project plan to keep work on track. This includes:

• Goals and project objectives

• Success metrics

• Stakeholders and roles

• Scope and budget

• Milestones and deliverables

• Timeline and schedule

• Communication plan

You'll also want:

• A resource management plan to manage your team's workload.

• A risk register to identify potential setbacks.

• A project kickoff meeting to align on key details and gain stakeholder buy-in.

• A project management tool to coordinate it all.

You've probably picked up on a theme here: when it comes to avoiding project failure, advance planning is key. By empowering your team to plan strategically and account for all your project's moving pieces, you can set a track record of success. Ready to give your projects the best chance of success? Get started with Asana today.

Frequently asked questions about why projects fail