Digital failure research project

Ever been part of a digital project that didn’t quite go to plan?

I’ve spoken to people working at cultural organisations, funders, suppliers, and consultants who have all seen projects that:

• Took longer than expected, impacting momentum and resources
• Were more complex than anticipated, stretching teams beyond capacity
• Didn’t fully achieve their goals, despite best efforts and good intentions

In March and April I ran a short, anonymous survey to explore where digital projects face challenges, and what we can learn from them.

The survey received dozens of responses which revealed some common themes:

• Tight, unrealistic timeframes leading to compromised outcomes
• Lots of opinions, but a lack of clear direction and ownership
• Strong buy-in and motivation at the start, but priorities shifted, and the project lost focus
• A recognition that trial projects could have helped teams develop their understanding before committing to a big, unsuccessful investment
• The difficulties of trying to fit agile, user-centred projects into a largely waterfall, traditional organisation without broader culture change work also going on

I’ll be sharing key findings in a report published later this Spring. No finger-pointing, just practical lessons that I hope we can all use.