9 Reasons Why Website Projects Fail
If the project is coded incorrectly, you often have to throw it away and start over. The cost of fixing all of these problems can be significant. Our experience with one of our customers inspires us to craft these detailed pitfalls to avoid the next time you embark on a similar project, regardless of whether you’re the developer or the customer.
These are some of the most common reasons that cause many web projects to fail.
Unclear definition of scope and requirements
Everyone is so eager to get going, but they don’t think about how everything is going to work and what will happen in different scenarios.
This is especially true when a company first brings its business online. Most customers think they know what they want, but the devil is in the details. I bet he’s met a lot of clients who, when pressed to detail their process, haven’t thought through all the ramifications.
Be sure to do a detailed planning exercise before you start building.
Lack of stakeholders
Management wants a new website to meet corporate goals and increase their ROI. So management doesn’t take the time to get involved when key decisions are made.
Big problems can arise when management tries out the Beta and finds out that it’s not what they initially wanted. Changes can be very costly in time and money if they are made at the end of a project instead of at the beginning.
Bite off more than you can chew
Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. Rome was not built in a day. If you have a really complex project, build it in phases. You don’t have to publish everything on the web at once. There is nothing wrong with replacing existing websites after completing three or four phases.
Website design without purpose or function
You’ve probably seen some beautiful designs for new projects that just can’t be built or would be too expensive to build. It’s best to structure all functionality with the platform you’re using in mind before designing.
Then have the development team work with the designer, together creating something that is both beautiful and functional. Otherwise, you could end up with a Frankenstein site that is neither.
Don’t use version control
Today it is inconceivable to build new websites without some kind of source code control system. When developers create, support, and update source code files for a large application, coordination can be complex.
Source control systems record all file changes, with comments, in a project. Must have the ability to reverse functionality, merge work, and work offline. Proper source code control is vital to any project.
Lack of good project management
Website Project Manager
The Project Manager (PM) is the quarterback (or number 10) of the football team. The PM is responsible for the successful planning, execution, monitoring, control and closure of a project.
The PM must understand the needs of the customer and provide communication to and on behalf of the developers. Without a competent PM, the project will go off the rails and become a runaway train ending in disaster. A good PM will post weekly progress reports keeping everything on track.
Hack the kernel or source code
Hacking is changing the structure of the source code. When an unqualified developer doesn’t know how to do something, he tends to hack the code on websites to make it work. This causes a number of problems and greatly affects quality. If a developer fixes one problem and another arises, it can be the result of many hacks.
Doing so will make it nearly impossible for site updates due to security and bug fixes. It also makes it difficult to maintain the site for those who join later and could possibly leave a site vulnerable to vulnerabilities.
Scope Glide
The main job of a good PM is to keep things in order. As he progresses through development, it’s natural for him to come up with new ideas and things that he wants. He must realize that every time he makes a change, everything increases the time and cost of a project.
If a website is built and tested, you will need to test it again after the change. Some changes are beneficial, especially if they make the website better for users. But too much indecision and changes can derail a project. Scope Creep occurs when decision makers are not involved from the beginning or the project did not go through proper planning.
Lack of cohesive quality assurance
All projects have bugs, so it’s better to find the problems first instead of the users. Spend 20-25% of your development time doing proper QA. Make sure there is a complete quality control plan; otherwise, you could have a very troubled website.
Developers must think about quality from day one and be responsible for fixing their problems. Otherwise, things could get very sloppy.
