NOTE: Some managers have reported that up to 75% of a product’s personnel will leave if they are not immediately re-assigned to another project.

• • Planned project/product has become obsolete.
  • Failure to meet deadlines or the conditions of the contract.
  • Investors show little interest in it.
  • Project is not achieving its objectives.
  • Project scope is too large.
  • Final project will result in a loss of sensitive operations, data or trade secrets.
  • Final project/product produces significant and harmful side effects that cannot be time/cost effectively resolved.
  • When client does not pay you.
  • Customers don’t buy/ demand has ebbed/ not using final product/project is not very commercial/distribution channel will not support the project.
  • Project’s progress is too slow/ takes too long to complete.
  • When there are too many projects competing for the same resource pool.
  • End product is too shocking for the mainstream customer to use.
  • Too many uncontrollable variables.
  • Project’s end product could harm the environment.
  • Loss or anticipated. Loss of a legal case.
  • Product is not ready for sale on announced opening date.
  • Actual sales do not meet forecasts.
  • Project is a long way from (or doubts exist due to a prolonged goal) being developed.
  • Project lacks significant executive support.
  • Project is too long in the research and development (R&D) phase.
  • Contractor is not adhering to agreed upon plan(s)/ contract cannot be reformed.
  • Final product is unable to withstand normal operating stresses.
  • Final product is/will be too expensive to operate.
  • Non-payment by a client.
  • Project will violate citizens’ civil rights.
  • Project is duplicated somewhere else in the firm.
  • Contract is cancelled.
  • Mission is/becomes unclear.
  • When further action or expenditure of resources will not resolve the issues in a reasonable amount of time.
  • When project fails to perform key tasks in field tests.
  • When project champion cannot: 1) Prove that the project is essential to corporate strategy, 2) Bring costs under control.
  • Stopped funding
  • Halted data collection
  • Payback period too long
  • Major components/ systems never been:

1.            properly stress-tested in advance/ not back-stopped with manual back-up plans
2.            tested in real-life situation and fails/ed under low/ moderate or appropriate testing loads
3.            Tested many times, individually and again tested many times, as part of the entire whole