The common causes.
BUILDING THE WRONG THING
The commonest cause, and the most expensive.
Nobody established what was actually needed.
UNCLEAR OR CHANGING REQUIREMENTS
Where change is not expected and accommodated.
UNREALISTIC ESTIMATES
Accepted under pressure, then treated as commitments.
POOR COMMUNICATION
Between the people who know the problem and the people building the solution.
ACCUMULATED COMPLEXITY
Every change becoming harder than the last, until progress stops.
NO FEEDBACK UNTIL THE END
Discovering the problem when it is too late to address.
ABSENT OR LATE TESTING
Defects found when they are most expensive.
KEY PEOPLE LEAVING
Where knowledge existed only in their heads.
SCOPE GROWING WITHOUT TIME GROWING
WHAT MOST OF THESE SHARE
They are not technical problems.
WHAT REDUCES ALL OF THEM
Delivering something small, early, to real users, and repeating.
WHY
It surfaces every misunderstanding while correction is still cheap.
