4 Most Common Project Management Mistakes That Lead To Project Failure

A project manager often manages various projects simultaneously and is responsible for making sure that there are no project management mistakes, because even a simple mistake can cause the project to fail. 

But still, organizations, as well as project managers, tend to make some common mistakes. Reworking on these mistakes seriously hinders the project’s success. And these mistakes often lead to loss of money, time and goodwill.

In this blog, we will discuss some common project management mistakes that project managers, as well as organizations make.

Common project mistakes:

1. Inexperienced Project Manager & Team
2. Poor Communication
3. Poor Resources Allocation
4. Scope Creep

1) Inexperienced Project Manager and Team

One of the most common factors that lead to a project failure is not having a talented project manager and team. Project managers sometimes only work in specific niches. So, before choosing any project manager, think about the nature of the project and then hire a project manager with relevant experience. In simple words, a project manager who specializes in construction cannot successfully complete an IT project.

If people with the proper knowledge, skills, and experience are not there in the project, it is bound to fail.

While hiring a project manager, evaluate competency, skills, knowledge, and experience to make sure of the right fit. And then let the project manager hire the team.

Furthermore, the hired project manager should have professional qualifications such as PMP certification & must have good experience of successfully managing projects. By the way, if you’re a project manager who is still not certified, then jump on to this link for some handy tips on how to crack PMP certification.

2) Poor communication with the team and stakeholders

Communication has always been a critical factor in the success of any project. If there is a lack of proper communication and collaboration among the team, then there is no chance a project will succeed.

For the success of a project, it is imperative to have proper communication with the team as well as the client consistently. And not only that, but you also have to make sure that the stakeholders are equally involved in the project as you and your team.

Keep them informed on each step and take feedback. Create an environment with a clear hierarchy with open communication and trust and encourage team members to convey the problems and constraints.

3) Poor Resource Management

A project manager is responsible for allocating different resources, i.e., human resources & financial resources. Failing to manage these resources properly will lead to project failure.

It is always recommended to select and allocate the team members to tasks based on their skills and experience, not on the basis of their availability. Understand your team members’ skills, knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses, then allocate them relevant tasks. It is also very important to identify the gaps between the team member’s skills & project requirements. If any such gap exists, a project manager needs to close this gap by providing necessary mentoring, training, and supervision.

And when it comes to financial resources, try to keep your budget tight at the start and be sure to keep something aside for unforeseen surprises.

4) Scope Creep

Scope creep is the most common of all project management mistakes that result in project failure.

Scope Creep refers to an uncontrolled expansion of the scope of a project without any changes in the timeline, budgets, and resources. In simple terms, it’s when the stakeholders suddenly start demanding more output from the project than initially agreed.

It normally starts with a slight change request, followed by several more requests as the project manager easily accommodates these changes.

These frequent demands always diverge the team’s focus & affect the planned cost and the project’s schedule.

To avoid scope creep, it is important to keep clients/stakeholders involved during the planning & objective setting process. And a good scope statement should be handed over to stakeholders, which includes the project goal, deliverables, and inclusions-exclusions of scope.

Conclusion

These are the most common yet the biggest project management mistakes that result in project failure, and to avoid these mistakes you need to be proactive, open to communications, and very cautious. We hope this blog would have helped you share the problems you have faced during your project management journey.