Interesting piece in Mind Tools giving some reasons why projects fail. Consider the six reasons listed in the article:
- The wrong business requirements have been addressed
- It's not possible to deliver the business case
- Governance is poor
- Implementation is poor
- People lose focus on the project's benefits
- The environment changes
The first five can all be traced to poor communication. Communication about the need for the project, what the project should deliver, managing the project, and executing the project.
Even the sixth reason, "[t]he environment changes," can be affected by the quality of communication. Someone should notice the environmental changes and could alert the rest of the project stakeholders. But, without good communication practices or a culture that encourages open communication, environmental changes can go unnoticed or underestimated until real harm to the project has occurred.
This is why I argue that every failed project is due to poor communication.
