Why Tech Projects Fail

A company will say they want to improve customer service, for example — but no one ever bothers to say what that looks like. Shorter call times? Fewer calls? Higher customer satisfaction? How will you know when you’ve succeeded? Without a goal a project is doomed.

Too often, technology projects are deemed “IT” projects and relegated to the IT department, regardless of what the project actually is.

Without leadership it is difficult to get employees on board and who to look to for guidance.

When projects are dubbed “IT projects” and left to the IT department, there’s also a lack of accountability that can develop.

It’s important for someone on the team to communicate clearly and regularly what’s happening with the project to others.

A clear plan and someone to keep track of it is vital for keeping projects moving forward.

Technology projects are made for people, not machines. A lack of real-world user testing before launching is a common problem.

Before embarking on any IT project determine the answer these five essential questions:

1. What business problem that needs to be solved?
2. What data or tools will be needed to solve the problem?
3. How will success be measured?
4. How will the insights and knowledge learned be presented?
5. How to test and implement the solution?
6. What business problem is being solved?