Why Projects Go Off Track
Projects rarely fail because of one dramatic event. Far more often they drift through a pile-up of small problems: an extra request from the client accepted verbally with no contract change, an engineer pulled to another site in a critical week, a supplier invoice never charged to the job so the budget looks healthier than it is, a weekly meeting cancelled twice. None of these matters much alone. Three months later, together, they add up to a project two months late and over budget.
That pattern holds for construction and fit-out, equipment installation, IT rollouts and consulting engagements alike. In Saudi Arabia, with the volume of Vision 2030 work in infrastructure, tourism and housing, the ability to run projects with discipline has become a real competitive advantage for contractors and service firms.
This article covers the ten challenges that come up most often. For each we describe how it shows up, why it happens and what actually fixes it. Then we work through an earned value example, share a risk register template and a set of weekly indicators, offer a 30-day improvement plan, and explain where systems help you catch problems early.
1. Unclear or Expanding Scope
What it looks like: the client asks for "a small change" every week and the team does it because each one seems minor. Two months on, the job is noticeably bigger than the contract, with the same budget and deadline.
Why it happens: scope was not written in enough detail, there is no formal change request process, or the project manager is reluctant to push back on the client.
What fixes it:
- Write scope as specific, measurable deliverables, with an explicit list of exclusions.
- Break the work into a clear work breakdown structure where every element has an output, an owner and a cost.
- Use a change order form for every addition, showing the cost and time impact, and do not start until the client signs.
- Review scope with the client in regular progress meetings.
Hypothetically, a fit-out contractor signs a SAR 1.2 million contract. Mid-way, the client asks for different flooring on two floors and gypsum work in the corridors. Done on a handshake, that is roughly SAR 140,000 of unpaid cost. With a signed change order, the amount is added to the contract and the deadline moves by two weeks.
2. Poor Resource Allocation
What it looks like: the same engineer is needed on three sites in the same week; equipment sits idle at one site while another waits for it; too many workers in one phase and too few in the next.
Why it happens: each project manager plans in isolation and nobody has a company-wide view of people and equipment.
What fixes it:
- A central resource plan showing each engineer, supervisor and major piece of equipment by project and week.
- Clear priority rules for scarce, critical resources.
- Actual hours recorded per person per project, compared with plan and used to charge the right cost.
- In Saudi Arabia, early workforce planning includes visa and iqama timelines, because one delayed step can hold up an entire crew.
If you run many jobs at once, our article on multi-project management goes into this in depth.
3. Budget Overruns
What it looks like: the project appears on budget until the final month, then large unexpected costs land all at once.
Why it happens: an optimistic original estimate; costs not charged to the project on time, such as late supplier invoices, unallocated labour and materials issued from stock without a project reference; no regular comparison of actual against plan.
What fixes it:
- Build the budget bottom-up, line by line, with an explicit risk contingency.
- Link every purchase order, material issue and labour hour to the project and budget line.
- Track commitments, meaning approved purchase orders not yet invoiced, not just what has been paid.
- Review estimated cost at completion monthly, not just cost to date.
4. Communication Breakdown
What it looks like: site works from an old drawing revision; the client is surprised by a delay nobody told them about; procurement does not know a delivery date moved forward by two weeks.
Why it happens: information lives in email, chat groups and personal folders, with no single trusted source.
What fixes it:
- A simple communication plan: who needs what, how often, through which channel.
- One weekly progress report in a fixed format: done, planned next week, open issues, decisions needed.
- One place for approved documents with clear revisions.
- A daily site log recording labour, equipment, work completed and obstacles.
5. Unrealistic Schedules
What it looks like: the project is behind from week one, the team is permanently under pressure and quality slips.
Why it happens: the duration was chosen to win the tender rather than estimated; dependencies between tasks were not mapped; client and authority approval times were ignored.
What fixes it:
- Build the schedule from tasks, with durations estimated by the people who will do the work.
- Identify the critical path, the chain of tasks where any delay moves the finish date, and watch it closely.
- Put drawing, material and permit approvals into the schedule as tasks.
- Allow for local factors such as reduced working hours in Ramadan and restrictions on outdoor work during the hottest summer periods.
6. Weak Risk Management
What it looks like: every problem is a surprise and the team is always reacting.
Why it happens: nobody set aside time at the start to ask what could go wrong.
What fixes it: a simple risk register reviewed every two weeks. For example:
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late delivery of imported equipment | Medium | High | Order early, weekly follow-up, named backup supplier | Procurement manager |
| Slow drawing approval by the consultant | High | Medium | Submit early, fixed review meetings | Project manager |
| Steel price increase | Medium | High | Fix price at contract or buy early | Finance manager |
| Shortage of skilled labour | Medium | Medium | Start recruitment early, standby subcontractor | HR |
| Late client payments | Medium | High | Invoice at each milestone, weekly collection follow-up | Accountant |
7. Misaligned Stakeholders
What it looks like: the client's management wants one thing, its end users another, the consultant a third. The project manager is stuck in the middle.
Why it happens: nobody defined who has the final say, or influential stakeholders were left out of design.
What fixes it: map stakeholders and their authority at kick-off, name a single approver on the client side, and record every significant decision in signed minutes.
8. Cash Flow
A project can be profitable on paper and still create a cash crisis. The contractor pays suppliers and labour monthly, while client payments arrive only after progress claims are certified, and part may be held as retention until the end. Run several jobs like that and you can struggle to meet payroll while every project shows a profit. The fix starts with a month-by-month cash forecast per project, rolled up across the portfolio. Our guide to project budgeting and cash flow explains how.
9. Subcontractor Control
What it looks like: the electrical subcontractor runs late and finishing stops; a subcontractor claims more quantity than was installed and gets overpaid.
Why it happens: thin subcontracts, no independent measurement of work done, and subcontractor claims not reconciled with the main client claim.
What fixes it:
- Flow down the main contract's specifications, durations and penalties to subcontracts where appropriate.
- Have your own team measure installed quantities before certifying any subcontractor claim.
- Compare what you pay the subcontractor for each item with what you bill the client for the same item, so margin is protected.
- Score each subcontractor at the end of the job and use it in future awards.
10. Closeout and Handover
What it looks like: the work was technically finished months ago, but the snag list is still open, the final account is unsigned and retention has not been released. The team has moved on and nobody is chasing.
Why it happens: closeout is treated as an afterthought rather than a phase with a plan and an owner.
What fixes it: schedule closeout tasks (inspection, snag list, handover documents, final account), name an owner who stays until the last payment, track retention in its own report with release dates, and hold a short lessons-learned session so the next tender is estimated better.
Worked Example: Earned Value
Mid-project, the hardest question is whether you are actually on track. Comparing spend with budget is not enough, because it says nothing about how much work that spend produced. Earned value combines cost, schedule and progress into a few simple indicators.
Hypothetical example. A SAR 2,000,000 project scheduled for six months. At the end of month three:
- Planned value: the schedule called for 50% complete, SAR 1,000,000.
- Earned value: actual progress is 40%, worth SAR 800,000 of budget.
- Actual cost: spend to date is SAR 950,000.
| Indicator | Formula | Result | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost performance index | 800,000 / 950,000 | 0.84 | Each riyal spent delivers 84 halalas of work |
| Schedule performance index | 800,000 / 1,000,000 | 0.80 | Progress is 80% of what was planned to date |
| Estimate at completion | 2,000,000 / 0.84 | About 2,375,000 | Expected overrun of roughly SAR 375,000 |
Looking only at spend, a manager would see SAR 950,000 of a SAR 2 million budget at the halfway point, under half, and feel comfortable. Earned value shows the project is both late and over cost, while there is still time to correct it. The only precondition is that actual cost is fully charged to the project and progress is measured objectively.
Weekly Indicators for the Project Manager
- Actual versus planned progress per major phase.
- Cost and schedule performance indices.
- Open change orders: count, value, and how many the client has not yet approved.
- Submitted but uncertified progress claims, and their age in days.
- Critical materials: arrived on time or late.
- Open high-impact risks and the status of their mitigations.
One page per project in the weekly meeting turns the conversation from "how is the project?" into "what are we doing about this number?".
Challenges and Fixes at a Glance
| Challenge | Early warning sign | Core fix |
|---|---|---|
| Scope creep | Frequent small undocumented requests | Signed change orders |
| Resource allocation | Same person needed on several sites | Central resource plan |
| Budget overruns | Costs recorded late | Every cost linked to the project, commitments tracked |
| Communication | Multiple document versions | Single source, standard weekly report |
| Unrealistic schedule | Late from the start | Estimates from the doers, critical path |
| Risk management | Every issue is a surprise | Risk register reviewed regularly |
| Stakeholders | Conflicting instructions | One approver, signed minutes |
| Cash flow | Profit on paper, deficit in the bank | Cash forecast per project |
| Subcontractors | Claims based on unmeasured quantities | Independent measurement, link to client claims |
| Closeout | Retention and snags open for months | Closeout phase with owner and tracking |
For the principles that underpin these fixes, see our article on the keys to successful project management.
Where Systems Make the Difference
Nearly every fix above depends on accurate data, on time. When the budget lives in a spreadsheet, purchasing in another system, hours on paper timesheets and invoices in separate accounting software, assembling a true picture of a project takes days, and by then it is often too late. An ERP links purchase orders, material issues, labour hours, progress claims and invoices to the project, so the project manager and finance can see budget, committed, spent, billed and collected at any time.
In Tranquil, project management tracks labour and parts costs per project or job. Contracting firms also get cost and revenue estimation, daily activity management, material management, project budgeting, timesheet invoicing and work in progress, all integrated with financial accounting, purchasing, inventory, payroll and Muqeem integration for iqama and visa tracking. Contact the Tranquil team to talk through how you run your projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common reason projects fail?
There is rarely a single cause. It is usually an accumulation of scope, estimating, communication and cost-tracking problems, with unclear scope and undocumented changes among the most frequent.
How should I handle extra client requests?
With a written change order for each one, showing cost and time impact, and no work until the client approves it.
What is earned value and why use it?
It compares work actually completed with planned work and actual cost, revealing delays and overruns early instead of just comparing spend with budget.
How often should the risk register be reviewed?
Every two weeks on most projects and weekly in critical phases, adding new risks and closing those that have passed.
Do I need a dedicated system to manage projects?
Small projects can run on simple tools. Once you run several at once and need costs, purchasing and billing tied to each project, an integrated system becomes necessary for an accurate, current picture.