Few Reasons why Projects often end up Dead in Archive

Projects are like babies, you conceive them, nurture them, take care of them, and hope they do you good also. Mostly a project doesn’t get out of their “toddler” phase and most often than not they get stuck and sucked down procrastination. Since we are talking about projects and failure, so why not analyze the reasons that make them end up in an archive folder. 

Before we get to that we need to remember the fact that not all projects end up in the archive. Some of them become the greatest success stories. So there is a fair chance that you will not end up like the majority. So here is how we at “Staff Timer App” believe there are reasons for a project to turn out dead.

Now let’s get to the point and discover why do projects fail:

 

Not implementing the “Tenth man principle”

This is an important ignorance that everyone is the culprit of. We do not disagree with the popular decision and mostly a project suffers for that because no one is ready to question the set beliefs. This is not only mundane but also it shuts down the door of innovation, which in the long run can be disastrous. 

The tenth man principle refers to a rule very popular amongst think tanks that are concerned with foreign policy. The rule is that if 9 men in a room agree it is the sworn duty of the tenth to disagree it allows a fresh angle on the issue. This is an acceptable rule and it must be followed with conviction. We all want to do something new but we ignore the power of the question. 

 

Your plan “C” must have a C1 and C2

The biggest issue is the nonavailability of contingency plans. Mostly project heads are used to one way traffic. They make plans based on assumptions that are not entirely wrong to do but the fact is for a product that is yet to be launched getting assumptions are not the best thing you can rest your plans on. 

The better way to do so is to make contingencies for your contingencies. As you will never know what will happen next to a concept it is better to work on all possible angles and leave “no stone unturned”. 

 

Make sure you play on your strengths

The first and foremost thing you need for success is the ability to play within your strengths. There are always certain departments that compliment the others for example if your strength is the design you must make sure that you don’t get beaten by your “future rivals”. 

So if tech is something you are struggling with, complement it with your design and invest in your weakness so your project does not suffer from it. 

So you need to invest in your weakness and strengthen your strength further. 

 

Script, script, and script

Alfred Hitchcock was once asked: what makes a film great? He replied: “Script, Script and Script”. The same is the case with project success. The more you read on it and do a background check the better are the chances of it being successful. 

Most projects do not take off due to lack of research and once the process starts teams are mostly reacting to stimulus. As there is no research you can never be ready for what follows. The thing is for your projects to fly they must be backed by research and possible use cases. There is nothing more frustrating than trusting your team about project research and it comes up short. So avoid hustling in the wrong direction and do what needs to be done, research. 

 

Hustle the market

In this day and age for you to stumble upon an idea that is not already in the market is a near-impossible task. The market is filled with ideas that we might feel redundant but there are people making fortunes from it. The thing you need to do is hustle for your client. There will be bigger sharks in the market already those who will be pouncing at the clients so will not be getting the lion share. So for your project or idea to fly, you’ll need to hustle for your life. 

 

Do everything planned

The key to success is that you have a clear cut plan for the future. You cannot go in blind and hope for the best. Sometimes it might work but the safe and professional way is to plan your progress. Do not go out of the ordinary unless there is a dire need for it. The thing is having layout eases a lot of pressure. You will not be dumbfounded easily and your path would be smoother. 

 

Conclusion 

Projects take off and fail, what matters is the attitude of the person. You can either give up or keep on trying. The key to a successful project is trying hard and every time refreshing your approach. Have people critically analyze your work, study your competitors, and learn from them. Bring in innovations and be patient. Do not give up, your project will be successful. Project management is a continuous effort it requires constant evolution of process and method.