Project Failure: The Way Forward and Panacea for Development

Abstract

There is an unambiguous relationship between development and the successful execution of projects as well associetal wellbeing. This paper examined the concept of project failure. The rationale was to identify the mainfactors responsible for project failure and suggest strategies aimed at curbing project failure and facilitatingdevelopment in the future. Data was obtained from a focus group comprising of eight project managementpractitioners in Nigeria. The results were recorded, transcribed and entered into the qualitative research softwareNVivo. Validity and reliability were achieved by first assessing the plausibility in terms of already existingknowledge on some of the issues raised by the focus group participants. The emerging key issues suggested thatproject failure may be contingent on several factors but established based on consensus that corruption and lackof professionalism were among the main causes of project failure in Nigeria. The main results were furthersynthesised into action points which included: the need for an introduction of governance mechanism toincorporate processes standard guidelines that supports projects to achieve their objectives, enshrining punitiveactions against erring project stakeholders who engage in corrupt and unethical practices.