Not every project ends in success — and that’s perfectly normal. Early in my career, I worked on a project that ultimately failed, but it turned out to be one of the most important learning experiences of my life.

The Failed Project: A Community Events Platform
The goal was to create an online platform where local communities could post, share, and manage events. It seemed simple at first, but several critical mistakes led to its failure.

What Went Wrong

1. Poor Planning and Scope Creep
   We underestimated the importance of planning. As the project evolved, new features were added without updating the timeline or budget, leading to missed deadlines and frustrated stakeholders.

2. Weak Communication
   I didn’t communicate challenges or delays early. I thought I could “fix things quietly,” but this only caused surprises for the team and clients.

3. Overengineering
   Instead of focusing on the core features, I spent too much time building “fancy” components that weren’t necessary for the initial launch.

4. Ignoring Feedback
   We didn’t test with real users early on. By the time we gathered feedback, we had already built features people didn’t need, and missed what they actually wanted.

Lessons Learned

✅ Plan before you build — Take time to understand the requirements, break them into phases, and stick to the scope.

✅ Communicate consistently — Share progress, roadblocks, and changes with the team and clients.

✅ Start simple — Build a minimum viable product (MVP) first; you can always add features later.

✅ Listen to users early — Test prototypes and gather feedback before committing to full development.

Final Thoughts
Failure can feel discouraging, but it’s an incredible teacher. This experience taught me humility, resilience, and the importance of focusing on people, not just code. As I continue my journey, I now embrace challenges and failures as stepping stones toward growth.