Why do Drupal Projects Fail?: Evaluating Success Factors and When to Use Drupal Julia Kulla-Maderhttp://www.juliakm.comIRC/Twitter/Drupal: JuliaKMDrupalcamp Atlanta 2009
Julia Kulla-MaderDrupal.org member for 2 years and 33 weeks
Part I: How I started using Drupal
Web Development Internship
Yippee! My Own Project
Limited Budget
Not a lot of time
Trustworthy
• Security
• Customizable Permissions
Small, Modular and Useful
• Lightweight core code
• 4,000+ Modules
Lots of Smart, Helpful People
• 1,400+ at last Drupalcon
• Active support forms
• Used by major businesses & nonprofits
My First Drupal Project Was a Big Success
2 Years Later...How do I measure Drupal?
• IT Manager at a growing nonprofit
• Co-organizer of Triangle Drupal
• Continuously asked, “Can I do this in Drupal?”
Part II: Drupal Success Factors Survey
• Want to answer the question, “What makes Drupal projects succeed or fail?”
• Surveyed 25+ Drupal content administrators, backend administrators, backend integrators, theme developers, code developers (Source: Drupal Kata)
• Take the survey at: bit.ly/drupalsuccess
Survey Sample
Survey Limitations
• Small Sample size (less than 30 people)
• Self-selected group, all with Drupal experience
• Lack of historical data (Drupal 6 vs. Drupal 5)
• Questions were not required
Defining Success
• Was all or part of the project abandoned?
• The total cost of the project was within what was outlined in the project budget.
• New features requirements made up 15 percent or less of the total project requirements.
• The project was completed on schedule.
Success?: Abandonment
67%
22%
11%
Total abandonmentPartial abandonmentNo abandonment
Success?: Cost
40%
60%
Within Budget Over Budget
Success?: Scope Creep
47%53%
New features > 15 percent requirementsNew feature < 15 percent requirements
Success?: Completed on Schedule
53%47%
Completed on Schedule Not Completed on Schedule
Part III: What do problematic projects have in common?
1. Early Goal Setting Avoids Scope Creep
2. On-Going Project Audits Make a Difference
3. Modules Performance Matters
• If more than 90 percent of Drupal modules do not work as expected or meet user requirements, projects will:
• run into schedule problems
• experience scope creep
4. Non-Developers Need to Understand Drupal
• Projects completed on schedule without scope creep are built by developers working with technical project managers and stakeholders who “get” Drupal
“In client work, the biggest problem seems to be a lack of technical understanding by the client contact/project manager and
a lack of clear goals for the site because of this.”
5. Beware of Big Projects (Size and Cost)
50%
17%
17%
17%
Less than 20 pages21 - 100 pages101 - 500 pages501 - 1,500 pagesOver 1,500 pages
Projects Over Budget
22%
22% 44%
11%
Less than 20 pages21 - 100 pages101 - 500 pages501 - 1,500 pagesOver 1,500 pages
Projects Meeting Budget
5. Beware of Big Projects (Size and Cost)
14%
14%
57%
14%
Less than 20 pages21 - 100 pages101 - 500 pages501 - 1,500 pagesOver 1,500 pages
Projects Meeting Schedule
50%
13%
13%
13%
13%
Less than 20 pages21 - 100 pages101 - 500 pages501 - 1,500 pagesOver 1,500 pages
Projects Exceeding Schedule
Part IV: Should I use Drupal?
Can I devote time to setting project goals?
• Projects that devoted time to setting goals had more accurate specifications
Can I create accountability in my project?
• Can someone unbiased spend time checking deliverables against milestones?
• Is there someone who can do this without compromising their role on the team?
Do I have experience evaluating modules against user requirements?
• Can you or someone you hire can accurately predict whether a module will meet your requirements?
Do non-developers on the project have Drupal experience?
• Everyone on your team needs to understand Drupal before you start planning
How big is my project?
• Big Drupal projects need more attention and are going to be inherently risky
• If you have a big project (1,500+ pages, lots of module complexity), you need to be willing to alter cost, scope, or budget down the road
Part V: Last Thoughts
What are common patterns of project success?
• Early goal setting
• On-going project audits
• More than 90 percent of modules work as expected
• Whole project team understands Drupal
• Smaller projects are more likely to meet cost and time expectations
What questions should I ask before starting?
• Can I devote time to setting project goals?
• Can I create accountability in my project?
• Do I have experience evaluating modules against user requirements?
• Do non-developers on the project have Drupal experience?
• How big is my project?
Thank you for listening