John,

How's about management shortsightedness, stupidity and greed? <g> To mention a few of the more sublime reasons... <g> I have seen projects fail for these reasons when they could have been raging successes. Go figure. One had a projected market cap of over four billions of dollars. They're still struggling and while I hope they make it, after two reverse stock splits where essentially all we developers who got them off the ground have no position anymore it kind of makes you wonder at the depth of human depravity. I purchased just under 30,000 shares by exercising my earned options and after those two reverse splits I think I now have 186 shares. <g> Pure greed IMO.

You're quite right though.. I've seen fear of change ruin more projects then just about anything else. I've about come to the conclusion to not take work from a company that will not let me also reengineer their business processes or at least have a management-level input. If you don't have the boss's ear you're essentially going to fail it seems. Some lackey will often want to ruin you to make their own failures (why are you on the job in the first place?) seem less eggregious.

>How about office politics. The person "in charge" wants the project to be successful, but the person who has the bosses ear, and hates the project contact, wants it to fail!