Stop Blaming the Vendor: The Real Reasons Software Projects Fail (and How to Make Yours Succeed)
Tech
Written by:
Duc Doba
The Reality of "IT System Development Projects" That Rarely Get a Good Rap
At Tokyo Techies Inc., a core part of our IT consulting services involves hearing familiar refrains from our corporate clients:
"We entrusted the development to a vendor, but their poor performance left us with a useless system."
"We hired a freelancer, but deadlines kept getting pushed back, and ultimately, the initial goals weren't fully achieved."
"We chose agile development, but detailed design, requirements definition, and source code weren't properly documented, leaving us with no records and a failed project."
While these issues can certainly stem from a development vendor's lack of skill or responsibility, our in-depth analysis often reveals significant problems on the client's side as well.
At Tokyo Techies, we've been involved in the "rescue" of numerous projects. Drawing on this experience, this article outlines the typical patterns leading to IT project failures and clarifies how client companies should prepare to avoid them. We hope this will be beneficial to as many individuals and companies as possible.
Key Factors Contributing to IT Project Failure
Lack of Client-Side Strategy Mutual understanding between management and the IT department is crucial for system development. However, we often see issues like:
Limited knowledge and experience regarding systems on the management side, leading to a shallow understanding of the system development objectives.
Lack of experience within the IT department or a missing vision for the necessary skill sets.
Over-reliance on external consultants, hindering internal decision-making.
Setting unreasonable schedules and failing to verify the feasibility of the plan early on before the kickoff.
Hiring freelancers based solely on years of experience or keywords in their resumes without verifying actual skills. Subsequently, clients who completely delegated tasks to freelancers without adequate follow-up often ended up completely dissatisfied with the deliverables.
For example, one company decided to "revamp their business system within six months" but outsourced the specification process to the IT department without adequately reviewing their business processes. This resulted in constant changes to the specifications and a fundamental shift in direction mid-development, ultimately leading to project failure.
Unclear Definition of Done When is a system considered complete? Without a clear definition, even the criteria for selecting a development vendor become ambiguous.
The process leading to completion isn't clearly defined. For instance, there's no process for documenting decision-making (often because the roles of the client and the development vendor aren't clearly defined, leading to complete delegation), and deliverables lack design documents, source code, or operational guides.
Choosing development vendors based solely on price or timeline rather than expertise.
Different definitions of "done" held by the client.
Selecting the right development vendor requires not only a proven track record but also the ability to point out unreasonable client demands and realistically adjust the development plan. We've encountered cases where a client initially stated, "As long as the system works, it's fine," only to later add requirements like "The UX isn't good" or "We need more management features," significantly increasing development costs.
Inadequate Resource Allocation Planning
A Proof of Concept (POC) is completed, but the source code isn't provided, preventing customization.
A lack of anticipation for specification changes leads to significant rework even for minor modifications.
Six months are spent on requirements definition, yet nothing tangible is produced.
These are common situations that hinder project progress, and they all stem from a lack of proper resource allocation planning. In one consultation, a client spent the first six months defining requirements, but once the development phase began, they realized, "Actually, this requirement isn't needed," and "We need this new feature," causing significant delays. While thorough requirements definition isn't inherently bad, parallel prototyping can provide early insights into:
What features are truly necessary?
How user-friendly is the prototype in actual use?
How can unexpected changes be handled?
Identifying these issues early could have reduced wasted development effort and allowed for a more flexible approach.
Mismanagement of Consultants "We don't have enough internal resources, and we lack a clear overview of the development project, so let's hire experienced consultants." This decision isn't necessarily wrong. However, the way consultants are engaged can lead to project chaos.
We often see cases where:
Clients completely rely on consultants, making their own review and decision-making processes superficial.
Proposals are excellent from a business perspective but lack sufficient bridging to engineers, causing friction during implementation.
Requirements definition and design progress, but dissatisfaction arises on the ground because the system is "not actually usable."
In one project where we were brought in to "fix" a client's development, external consultants had created detailed specifications. However, the implementation team found that the documentation:
Didn't align with the actual business workflow.
Was technically difficult to implement.
Didn't consider real-world usage scenarios.
Because the client lacked basic technical knowledge and requirements verification skills, they couldn't identify these issues during the review phase. As a result, the specifications were largely unusable, and the development team had to redesign from scratch.
The lesson from such cases, and what we at Tokyo Techies as a team of IT consulting experts want to convey, is that the key is not to completely "delegate" to consultants but to adopt an attitude of "thinking together." Consultants are partners in design and requirements definition, but the client also shares responsibility for the project's success.
By focusing on at least these three points:
Developing a basic understanding of the technology within the company.
Fulfilling the review role diligently.
Considering design and requirements from an "operation and implementation" perspective.
You can avoid the typical pitfall of "the design was good, but the implementation failed."
Tokyo Techies' Four Conditions for Successful Development Projects
At Tokyo Techies, we go beyond simply undertaking system development. We also provide high-level IT consulting in upstream processes such as CTO advisory, technical leadership recruitment support, RFP creation, and development vendor selection. Throughout this, we consistently emphasize the importance of "designing and executing elements directly linked to project success, together with the client."
Here are the four conditions that Tokyo Techies believes are essential for a successful project:
Clear Project Planning and Overall Sharing For smooth project progression, it's crucial that all stakeholders have a common understanding. At Tokyo Techies, we clearly define the plan in a document-based format in the initial stages and share it with all relevant parties. Furthermore, by establishing regular progress review meetings, we support consistent decision-making and smooth execution.
Immediate Response to Risks and Flexible Course Correction No matter how meticulously a project is planned, uncertainty is inevitable. Tokyo Techies has a system in place to respond quickly when risks materialize, and we implement adjustments as needed, such as:
Reviewing resource allocation.
Readjusting scope.
Rescheduling user and security testing.
By prioritizing "initial response to problems over simply identifying them," we aim to avoid critical impacts.
Strengthening Software Traceability and Design Document Alignment To ensure project transparency and future scalability, Tokyo Techies rigorously links requirements definition, design, implementation, and testing at the document level. This includes:
Workflow diagrams and screen designs.
Requirements specifications and non-functional requirements.
Test cases and quality assurance items.
This minimizes rework costs in later stages and builds a flexible foundation for future in-house development or vendor transitions.
Building Independent Operation Capabilities Through Knowledge Transfer and Internalization Support Our ultimate goal is not just to deliver software but to establish a system where the client can independently operate and improve it. To this end, we incorporate initiatives focused on "knowledge retention and transfer" into our projects, such as:
Organizing and delivering deliverables and documents in a structure that is easy to follow later.
Conducting workshops and review meetings at the end of each phase.
Gradually transferring tasks to client personnel, providing opportunities to learn through practical experience.
For example, during the PoC and early development stages, Tokyo Techies members partner with client representatives to jointly work on requirements gathering, design, and testing. This prevents knowledge silos and supports the acquisition of skills that can be replicated on-site.
Conclusion: Project Success Relies on a "Co-Creation" Mindset
The success of IT system development projects depends not only on selecting an excellent development vendor but also on the client's proactive involvement and strategic decision-making. By correctly defining the project direction, ensuring all stakeholders share common goals, and progressing while complementing each other, genuine results can be achieved.
Tokyo Techies has a proven track record of restructuring numerous "stuck projects." We are not just a development company; we emphasize working alongside our clients from the conceptual stage as an "IT partner" that supports business growth and transformation.
If you have projects that are not progressing or have stalled midway,If you lack internal technical judgment and don't know how to proceed,If you have ideas but are struggling with PoC or requirements gathering,
Please feel free to contact us for a consultation.
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About Tokyo Techies
Based in Tokyo, Japan, we are a one-stop IT consulting firm offering product development, IT due diligence, and cybersecurity services.
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