There are many problems that often occur in system development projects. The following lists some common situations and observed problems.

Old System Issues

• Many bugs or problems encountered
• Existing system difficult to use and not user friendly
• System limitation and hence not flexible for specific daily operation
• Previous project completed in hurry with insufficient time and resource allocated
• Only most serious issues are tackled, all the rest use temporary solution or left unsolved
• Previous vendor didn’t have the sufficient knowledge to handle due to tender awarded only to comparatively better candidate
• Previous staff are left with frustration or even fired due to high pressure under tight schedule with no satisfactory solution come out
• Limited knowledge transfer by verbal conversation, no matter technical or business operation
• Poor documentation or not up to date with some missing or inaccurate information

Common Observation

• Large scale project usually cannot be completed as planned with many quality issues found and involves extra human and financial resources.
• Project finished either in extended time or with adjusted scope, worst case got terminated
• For project divided into phases, usually due to delay in first phase, next phases started while first phase not complete. Too many tasked accumulated for next phases to solve and got delay too
• Situation not much difference no matter how large the company is, where the people is graduated from and what gender or race they are
• Only simple project with experienced staff, well-known technology and familiar business operation has a higher success rate
• Tender complexity is under estimated, too many or too complicated task required with insufficient time allowed
• Tender leaves too much room for additional requirement in the future
• Over workload due to adoption of multiple approaches at the same time, i.e. cloud and on premises environment, waterfall plus agile
• Time is over spent on minor issues & work, not concentrate on core & major one
• Waste time in too many meeting with few practical uses especially for daily one
• Not well aware to manage and control work to meet deadline
• Time spent on mutual criticization but not focus on finding solution together
• Stakeholder with highest authority involve too late and overthrow existing work
• User know what they really want until the system is visualized or they could try
• User requirement changes are too many and too frequent
• Controversary between user and vendor on whether new requirement is within scope
• Stick to existing approach of work and refuse to change or report even problem found
• Technical difficulties encountered that solution takes time to find out and try
• Adoption of inappropriate technology without full evaluation and too late to change
• Unable to recruit suitable staff but only comparatively better
• Exaggerated control work by monitoring side on vendors for own but not project benefit
• Vendor afraid of negative rating and hide all the problems even better solution could easily be found if discussed with client together
• Project Management Office with inappropriate person appointed will not function well.
• No record of requirement meeting details leading to wrong or missing implementation
• No architect to check the overall system design with different sub-system & component
• Missing hard or soft skills required for successful project management: knowledge, human relationship, facilitation, negotiation, leadership, team building, optimistic and perseverant.
• New members added but catch up takes time cannot solve current problem