Why Do Most Projects Fall Short of Expectations?

By:

AmplifyTech

2025-04-03

Projects often begin with great enthusiasm and high expectations, yet many fail to deliver the anticipated results. According to a Forbes article from February 2022, thousands of projects fail because people do not see the value in them. The lack of alignment between what is “nice to have” versus what is a “must-have” leads to dissatisfaction.

This issue isn’t limited to cloud technology—it affects mergers & acquisitions, IT transformations, business processes, organizational design, and leadership initiatives. We explore the critical role of expectation management and how structured planning can prevent projects from failing.

Organizations must actively manage expectations throughout the project journey to overcome these challenges.

Three Stages of Managing Expectations

1. Set Expectations: System Selection

The first step in ensuring success is setting the right expectations when selecting a system. This involves:

Evaluating technology against system requirements – Ensure the chosen solution aligns with the organization’s long-term needs.
Customizing the demo – Generic demos may look impressive, but tailoring them to business-specific use cases helps make an informed decision.
Setting priorities – Clearly define what features are essential (must-haves) versus what would be beneficial but not critical (nice-to-haves).

As Brandon Sanderson wisely said, “Expectations were like fine pottery. The harder you held them, the more likely they would crack.” Being flexible and realistic at this stage prevents disappointment later.

Construction X’s System Selection

For small and medium businesses looking to scale, the best choice is often to accept and adopt the best practice and out-of-the-box workflows and opportunities built into the system. Construction X did the opposite. They led the team to believe the system would adapt to them and their current state. The reality was the system couldn’t do that without significant customization and configuration, which is time-consuming and costly and subject to future risk effort and cost too.

Management wouldn’t put the dollars or hours into building the promised system. And that made sense as there would not have been a return on the investment. Yet, everyone’s expectations were they’d have little involvement and the chance to stay the same unless they saw a need to improve.

Here’s the thing: Construction X was a great company, but their workflows got built up like most growing businesses, not strategically but more like a three-year-old playing block. A bit random, a bit from each individual that passed through and a bit from various departments and even leaders.

It was time for a change – not just of the system but of the workflows. Yet, management didn’t anticipate that, and they misled the teams and scoped the ERP inaccurately, causing all kinds of distress and ultimately a failure.

The next time they attempted to scale, Leadership had the war wounds. This time, they did it right. They stepped back and looked at their goals and their strategy.

What makes us unique?
How do we differentiate?
What’s our magic?

They selected a few key areas to design within the chosen system. Whether they had to pay and spend time to configure or customize or they found a great option was uncertain during the system selection. But they knew those needs and were able to expect them and articulate them.

The custom demo was based on a case study that hit the magic. It wasn’t the ‘once in a year’ crazy transaction, which will always be manual! But it was a quirky business-as-usual transaction representing the Ideal Client Profile and the type of work that Construction X wants more of.

The rest? They brought in the right people throughout the buying or selection process and started on buy-in early. But they made it clear, “We are adopting best practices. Come and learn.”

Expectations were managed. The change was anticipated and managed through the allocation of time, communication and lots of training.

Ultimately, the key to project success lies in clear communication, strategic alignment, and proactive expectation management. Construction X’s journey illustrates the consequences of unrealistic assumptions and the benefits of a well-managed approach. By defining priorities, engaging stakeholders early, and aligning project goals with business strategy, organizations can navigate challenges and achieve lasting success.

The next time a project is initiated, leaders must ask: “Are we setting the right expectations?” When organizations approach projects with foresight and flexibility, they increase the likelihood of achieving their desired outcomes.