Why do some projects fail despite good planning? Uncovering the invisible flaws in project management.

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Most project managers will tell you: a well-crafted Gantt chart, motivated teams, a coherent budget… and yet, some projects derail. Delays, cost overruns, unmet objectives. It’s not (just) a question of organization. It’s often a question of blind spots.

So, why do projects fail when they seemed "perfect on paper"? Here is a field analysis of the invisible causes and levers for action.

1. The project plan is not the on-the-ground reality

The planning is often too linear, rigid, idealistic. It does not take into account unforeseen events, vague dependencies, or human delays.

Lever: implement agile, iterative, and evolving management. Rather than planning every detail at day J+100, work in phases with regular synchronization points.

Useful tool: real-time dashboards to track progress by task and detect blockages as soon as they appear.

2. Teams do not understand why they are doing things

A project that progresses without a shared vision is like a team rowing without a course. Result: demotivation, disengagement, delays, mistakes.

Lever: always connect each action to a business objective or a concrete impact. And communicate regularly with the teams, not just at the beginning and end of the project.

3. Operational follow-up is too vague

Who does what? When? Is it done? Is it validated? Too many projects fail due to a lack of simple and visual tools to monitor progress and responsibilities.
Emails get lost, Excel files multiply, tasks are not tracked...

Lever: adopt a unique, shared solution that centralizes procedures, tasks, validations, and progress evidence.

That’s where tools like Vesuv make perfect sense: assigned checklists, real-time tracking, automatic notifications, timestamped documents, etc.

4. Change management is underestimated

Changing a business procedure, a tool, a habit… It’s not "just a step" in the project. It is often at the heart of the problem.

Lever: integrate change management from the project design phase. Involve on-the-ground users, train, support, adapt tools to their realities.

5. Risks are identified… but not really monitored

Creating a risk matrix at the beginning of the project is good. Revisiting it regularly, updating it, and connecting it to operational follow-up is better.