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| In general '''Failure''' refers to the state or ] of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of ]. | In general '''Failure''' refers to the state or ] of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of ]. | ||
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==Criteria for Failure== | ||
| It may also be difficult or impossible to ascertain whether a situation meets criteria for failure or success due to ambiguous or ill-defined definition of those criteria. Finding useful and effective criteria, or ], to judge the success or failure of a situation may itself be a significant task. | It may also be difficult or impossible to ascertain whether a situation meets criteria for failure or success due to ambiguous or ill-defined definition of those criteria. Finding useful and effective criteria, or ], to judge the success or failure of a situation may itself be a significant task. | ||
Revision as of 14:51, 28 February 2007
For other senses of this word, see Failure (disambiguation).In general Failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as the opposite of success.
Criteria for Failure
It may also be difficult or impossible to ascertain whether a situation meets criteria for failure or success due to ambiguous or ill-defined definition of those criteria. Finding useful and effective criteria, or heuristics, to judge the success or failure of a situation may itself be a significant task.
Commercial failures
A commercial failure is a product that does not reach expectations of success, failing to come even close. A major flop goes one step further and is recognized for its complete lack of success.
Most of the items listed below had high expectations, significant financial investments, and/or widespread publicity, but fell far short of success. Obviously, due to the subjective nature of "success" and "meeting expectations", there can be disagreement about what constitutes a "major flop."
- For flops in computer and video gaming, see List of commercial failures in video gaming.
- For flops concerning groceries, see List of grocery marketing flops.
- For aviational commercial failures, see List of commercial failures in aviation.
- For company failures related to the 1997–2001 Dot-com bubble, see Dot-com company.
- See also Vaporware.
Other failures
- For military disasters, see List of military disasters
- For events that were highly anticipated but either did not happen or turned out to be disappointing, see Non-event.
See also
References
- Lansdowne, Bridget L.M. BOOM, BUST, BANG!: A History of American Failures. Staskin Mellville-Organization Press, 2004. ISBN ?.
- Charles Perrow, Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies, New Tork: Basic Books, 1984. Paperback reprint, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-691-00412-9
- Sandage, Scott A. Born Losers: A History of Failure in America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-674-01510-X, ISBN 0-674-02107-X.