why do projects really fail?

It's a simple fact of life in the project management world: Some projects fail. Not surprisingly, project managers and executives alike want to know why-and almost all of them have their own theories.

Executives should be looking at the big picture, says Graeme Sinclair, partner with KPMG Audit and Risk Advisory Services, Wellington, New Zealand. "Failure is being designed into the way that organizations are going about projects, rather than embracing a three-part big-picture model that includes approval, execution and evaluation stages," he says. "If businesses have this format in place, then it is much easier to address problem areas, while providing potential learning opportunities."