Failure is an unavoidable part of any project process: it's the degree of failure that makes the difference. If task fails, there ways to reallocate resources and get back on track. But a systemic collapse will derail the whole project. a are What good can come from failure? A lot, actually. Sometimes a project reaches too far beyond its means and fails, which is unfortunate, but can also serve as a teaching moment. If project managers don't learn from their mistakes, then they're not growing professionally and will revisit the same problem in future projects. Project managers can learn as much, if not more, from failed projects as they can from successful ones. A post mortem should be part of any project plan, and especially so when a project crashes and burns. There are valuable lessons in those ashes. Question: Based on the above observation and insight, analyze the causes of each project failure, how the anomalies could have been prevented and the lessons learnt given that Project managers need to always follow up on their work, analyze the data and make an evaluation about what needs to be done to keep the project relevant. ( 20 Marks) BETAMAX The word Betamax has become almost synonymous with failure. But when it was first released, Betamax was supposed to become the leader in the cassette recording industry. Developed by Sony, Betamax was introduced in the mid-1970s but was unable to get traction in the market, where JVC's VHS technology was king. Surprisingly, Sony continued to produce Betamax all the way into 2016. Long before it discontinued the technology, Betamax was already irrelevant. Betamax was an innovative product, and it even got to market before VHS. But soon the market had options that were cheaper and better than Betamax, making it a failed project. Sony's mistake was thinking that the project was complete once the product went to market. NEW COKE Coca-Cola is one of the most iconic brands in the world. It would take a lot to tarnish that reputation. But that's just what happened when New Coke was introduced in 1985. People didn't know why the Coke they loved and drank regularly was being replaced. The company knew why. They were looking to improve quality and make a splash in the marketplace. The fact is, New Coke sunk like a stone. It wasn't like New Coke was just released on an unknowing public, though it might seem that way. In fact, the new recipe was tested on 200,000 people, who preferred it to the older version. But after spending $4 million in development and losing another $30 million in back stocked product, the taste for New Coke evaporated. Consumers can be very loyal to a product, and once they get into a habit, it can be very difficult to break them of it in favor of something different. It's not that Coca-Cola neglected market research to see if there was a need for developing a new product, but they were blind to their own customers' motivations. New Coke was a failed project because the researchers needed to do more than a mere taste test. They needed to understand how people would react when the familiar Coke they loved would be discontinued and replaced by a shiny new upstart. Market research must be handled like a science and an art