What are the common causes in project management horror stories?

Poor communication is a common cause. When team members don't communicate effectively, misunderstandings happen. For example, developers might misinterpret the requirements from the clients or other team members.

One common element is lack of proper resource management. For example, hiring the wrong people or not having enough resources. Incompetent leadership also plays a role. A bad project manager who doesn't listen to the team or make good decisions can doom a project. Additionally, scope creep is often seen in horror stories. The project keeps expanding without proper control, making it impossible to finish on time.

Another one is when there is a lack of buy - in from top management. A project might be using Lean Six Sigma principles, but if the leaders don't support it fully, resources can be restricted. For instance, not providing enough funds for training employees. As a result, the employees can't implement the methodology effectively. The project then fails to achieve the expected improvements in terms of cost, quality or time management.

One horror story is when a project manager didn't communicate well with the team. He just gave orders without explaining the overall goals. As a result, the team members were all working in different directions. They wasted a lot of time and resources on tasks that were not really relevant to the final outcome.

Miscommunication is a very common one. Like in the story I just told about the different understanding of the deadline. People often assume others know what they mean but it doesn't always work out that way.

Once, a project had a tight deadline. The project manager didn't communicate well with the team. He just gave orders without listening to the team's concerns. Halfway through, we realized the initial plan was unrealistic. But he refused to adjust. In the end, the project was delivered late, and the quality was far from satisfactory. Clients were furious, and the company lost a big contract.

One of the top stories in project management could be about the successful implementation of Agile methodology in large - scale projects. Agile allows for more flexibility and faster adaptation to changes, which has revolutionized how projects are run.

One common cause is lack of proper testing. If you don't test all aspects like functionality, compatibility etc., it can lead to disasters during deployment.

One common cause is human error, like an accidental deletion or incorrect data entry. For example, an employee might accidentally drop a crucial table in the database.

One common cause is physical exertion without enough water intake, like in sports or long hikes.