Is your project over budget? Is it going to cost more than expected? Most often yes! Why is this? There are many reasons why a software project is over budget. One crucial task is to limit the requirements to match your customer's budget. The wish list must be pared down to match their funding. If a particular capability can not be given up, it must be put into a separate phase which can be implemented when the funds are available. Large projects especially have trouble narrowing their scope since the user base is so large and they are trying to be all things to all people.

It sounds simplistic but the seeds of failure are planted here in the requirements definition and implementation phase definition. A great deal of the success of the project depends on the depth of the customer's understanding of their own needs. The clients knowledge of their own procedures allows the requirements definition phase to proceed directly to the goal of mutually agreed upon and specific written requirements. Unfortunately employee turnover causes gaps in the knowledge of why certain procedures exist. In other cases there are simply too many departments involved to come to a satisfactory compromise on the requirements. Some other major reasons projects derail are shown below:

The client didn't know what they needed or wanted so:

You attend too many meetings and do not get specific answers or conclusions
You spent too much time defining the requirements and now there is not enough time left to actually implement the software
You didn't define the functional requirements in enough detail and now they are assuming you will be delivering more than is feasible on your budget.
You never could define the requirements in a few areas and now they are coming back to haunt you. The requirements definition is happening concurrently with the development.

The software packages or tools you are using to implement your project are new technology:

You have under estimated the size of the learning curve
You are encountering bugs in the system software.
The software didn't do what it promised in the nice glossy color brochures.
You can't even get your demo working.
Some key people quit and you can't find people who know your new software packages and system software well enough to produce quickly. On the other end of the spectrum, staffing is also a problem when the technology is very old.

You are lacking the resources you need to be productive:

Why software projects are late:

Your budget is too low
You do not have enough people.
You do not have enough equipment.
You do not have enough office space.
Your hardware is not fast enough or too many people are sharing the same resources.

The needed communications are not happening:

Your staff is not talking to each other enough or your client is not talking to you.
Your team members do not like each other and avoid talking.
Some aspects of the project are unknown and you do not have access to the information.
Egos, empire building, or hidden agendas are preventing crucial communications.
People who left the project did not document what they did or why.
Your staff does not work in the same building and as a result, chance meetings which result in discovery of new information are not happening. You don't know what you don't know.
Staff turnover has caused a gap in the knowledge needed to finish the application
Author Jackie Mulrooney,   President J P Systems, Inc . Software Project Management and The Art of Budgeting Improve your software project management here!

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