Why your project didn’t turn out as expected

You’ve been eagerly awaiting the completion of your project, only to receive a result that doesn’t match your expectations. How is that even possible? Everything was agreed upon — the technical specifications, milestones, functionality — yet the final product is completely off.

In this article, I’ll share my experience and explain what to do if your project has already been delivered in the wrong format, and how to prevent this from happening again.

Why do projects get delivered in the wrong way?

To avoid problems at the final stage, it’s important to understand the most common reasons behind client dissatisfaction:

1. Vague technical specifications.
2. Poor communication.
3. Lack of interim quality control.

These issues can be minimized by establishing clear processes at every stage. Always ensure that your technical documentation is detailed, your communication is transparent, and you conduct regular milestone reviews.

What to do if the delivered project doesn’t meet expectations?

Step 1: assess the problem

Determine how far the final product deviates from the agreed specifications:

• Are critical features missing?
• Are there functional errors?
• Are the problems minor details that don’t impact the overall functionality?

Step 2: discuss the issues with the development team

Initiate a conversation with the team to:

• Clearly define the problem.
• Explore possible solutions together.

Step 3: bring in an expert

A third-party consultant can provide an objective review of the project’s quality.

Step 4: request fixes or compensation

If the contract terms were violated, you have the right to:

• Request necessary corrections.
• Demand compensation for the mistakes.

How to prevent issues in the future

Every stage of a project should be structured and well-documented. Here’s how to avoid last-minute surprises:

During the initial agreement phase:

• Clearly defined technical specification (ToR):

  Outline every detail of the project, including technologies, functionality, and real-world examples that clarify expectations.

• Success criteria for delivery:

  Define measurable indicators of success. For example, “Page load time should not exceed 3 seconds.”

• Contract details:

  Include key points like:

  • Delivery deadlines.
  • Milestone review process.
  • Guidelines for implementing changes.
  • Penalties for non-compliance.

During development:

• Set up interim checkpoints:

  Break the project into phases (prototyping, design, testing) and get client approval at each step.

• Maintain continuous communication:

  Use a shared workspace (Slack, Notion, Jira) for real-time updates and make sure all agreements are recorded in writing.

During the final delivery:

• Comprehensive testing & live demonstration:

  Test the product against all predefined criteria in the technical specifications.

• Independent expert review:

  If there are concerns, get a third-party expert to assess the final result.

A structured approach like this ensures predictability and alignment throughout the project lifecycle, reducing the risk of unexpected issues.

Real case study: how we fixed a post-delivery issue

At the start of our agency, we encountered a frustrating situation: we delivered a website, but the client wasn’t happy with the result.

Even though we had multiple discussions during the process, one critical detail was overlooked: the site was not designed for mobile responsiveness.

The client had mentioned this at the beginning, but since there was no proper documentation process, this information was lost along the way.

How we fixed it:

1. We quickly adapted the website to make it fully responsive.
2. We updated our contract to ensure that mobile optimization was explicitly included in future projects.
3. We introduced a structured approval system to avoid undocumented changes.

Since then, we’ve never repeated the same mistake, and our delivery process has significantly improved.

Conclusion

Clear documentation, a well-defined contract, and consistent quality control are the best safeguards for successful project delivery. But if things still go wrong, remember — every problem can be fixed through adjustments, expert reviews, or contractual revisions.

Spend more time on preparation — it will save you a lot of time on fixes later!