Project failure factors: Which item below is <em>not</em> generally cited as a core factor in systems development project failure?

Introduction / Context:
Many systems development efforts fail due to process and governance problems rather than organizational size. Understanding true root causes helps managers implement prevention strategies such as stakeholder engagement, iterative delivery, and gate reviews.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Common failure themes include poor requirements, weak sponsorship, and integration issues.
• Organizations of all sizes can succeed or fail; size alone is not causal.
• We must pick what is not a recognized failure factor.

Concept / Approach:
Failure drivers are typically behavioral and managerial: missing user input, unrealistic schedules, scope creep, inadequate testing, integration breakdowns, and sunk-cost bias that keeps doomed projects going. Company size can influence complexity, but it is not a direct, universal cause of failure.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Evaluate each option against established failure studies.Note that user involvement, integration failure, and failing to cancel are known drivers.Identify “size of company” as non-deterministic and select it as the exception.

Verification / Alternative check:
Post-mortems across startups and enterprises show that disciplined practices can overcome size issues, while lack of discipline can sink projects at any scale.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Inadequate user involvement: Leads to misfit solutions.
• Systems integration failure: Causes end-to-end breakdowns.
• Continuing doomed projects: Wastes resources due to sunk-cost fallacy.

Common Pitfalls:
Attributing failure to size instead of addressable process issues; ignoring early warning indicators and not enforcing stage-gate stops.

Final Answer:
size of company