At some time or another, you've probably worked on a project that just doesn't make it on time, on budget, or both. Don't worry, you're not alone. According to some industry studies, including the Chaos Report recently released by the...
At some
time or another, you've probably worked on a project that just doesn't
make it on time, on budget, or both. Don't worry, you're not alone.
According to some industry studies, including the Chaos Report recently
released by the Standish Group, as many as 65% of software projects
fail. OUCH. What went wrong? You tell us... do these sound familiar?
1. An
Unrealistic Development Schedule
All too often, there is not enough
time to build the product's core feature set, let alone satisfy new requirements
that inevitably make their way into the design spec. When a software development
project falls behind, the business starts to lose money, and the project
falters.
2. Resource Scarcity
Not recognizing your
company's resource limitations can be a software development project's undoing;
re-inventing the wheel in-house puts your project behind schedule, reduces your
competitive advantage, and puts a strain on the business.
3.
Underestimating a Project's Complexity
From cross-platform support
to performance and scalability, each technical challenge puts stress on an
over-subscribed development team that often did not anticipate the number of
technical challenges they would encounter. As a development project unfolds, the
technical issues amplify and become unwieldy, overwhelming, and expensive to
fix.
4. Being Held Hostage by Third-Party
Vendors
Using third-party software components can help reduce the
complexity of your project and can even improve its quality. But proprietary
third party software comes with its own set of challenges.
5. Not
Budgeting for Developer Expertise
Invest in quality people—whether
they're in-house or external experts—because getting your hands on the right
development expertise is your first defense against project
failure.
6. Budget Restraints
This point is
self-explanatory (especially in the current economic climate).
7.
Dismissing Open Source
By rejecting open source you miss out on
proven, stable, and scalable low-cost solutions.
Some of these probably sounded eerily familiar, didn't they? At least now you know you don't need to feel alone!
Check out our White Paper discussing Ten Myths About Running Open Source Software in Your Business. Maybe they'll help you avoid some of the pitfalls moving forward—especially pitfall number seven.
