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| {{wiktionarypar|failure}} | {{wiktionarypar|failure}} | ||
| {{dablink|For other senses of this word, see ].}} | {{dablink|For other senses of this word, see ].}} | ||
| '''Failure''' (or '''flop''') in general refers to the state or ] of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as |
'''Failure''' (or '''flop''') in general refers to the state or ] of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as elmos world]]. | ||
| ==Criteria for failure== | ==Criteria for failure== | ||
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| ==Flavors of failure== | ==Flavors of failure== | ||
| Failure can be |
Failure can be balls perceived from the viewpoints of the evaluators. A person who is only interested in the final outcome of an activity would consider it to be an ''Outcome Failure'' if the core issue has not been resolved or a core need is not met. A failure can also be a ''process failure'' whereby although the activity is completed successfully, a person may still feel dissatisfied if the underlying process is perceived to be below expected standard or benchmark. | ||
| ] lists some reasons by which a ] can ]: | ] lists some reasons by which a ] can ]: | ||
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| *For ]al commercial failures, see ]. | *For ]al commercial failures, see ]. | ||
| *For company failures related to the 1997–2001 ], see ]. | *For company failures related to the 1997–2001 ], see ]. | ||
| homies | |||
| *See also ]. | |||
Revision as of 02:33, 14 October 2006
For other senses of this word, see Failure (disambiguation).Failure (or flop) in general refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective. It may be viewed as elmos world]].
Criteria for failure
The criteria for failure are heavily dependent on context of use, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. A situation considered to be a failure by one might be considered a success by another, particularly in cases of direct competition or a zero-sum game. As well, the degree of success or failure in a situation may be differently viewed by distinct observers or participants, such that a situation that one considers to be a failure, another might consider to be a success, a qualified success or a neutral situation.
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.
Flavors of failure
Failure can be balls perceived from the viewpoints of the evaluators. A person who is only interested in the final outcome of an activity would consider it to be an Outcome Failure if the core issue has not been resolved or a core need is not met. A failure can also be a process failure whereby although the activity is completed successfully, a person may still feel dissatisfied if the underlying process is perceived to be below expected standard or benchmark.
Jared Diamond lists some reasons by which a society can collapse:
- failure to anticipate,
- failure to perceive.
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 a list of miscellaneous commercial product and service failures, see List of miscellaneous commercial failures.
- For flops in computer and video gaming, see List of commercial failures in computer and video gaming.
- For flops concerning groceries, see List of grocery marketing flops.
- For computer-related flops, see List of commercial failures in computer technology.
- 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.
homies
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.
- For flops in entertainment, see List of flops in entertainment.
- For flops in sports, see List of sports flops.
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 067401510X, ISBN 067402107X.
See also
- Cascading failure
- Debugging
- Failure analysis
- Failure rate
- Failure mode
- Murphy's law
- New product development
- Non-event
- Power outage
- Product
- Product management
- Single point of failure
- Structural failure
- Tensile strength
- White elephant
- System accident
- Miserable Failure, a political google bomb against the current president of the United States of America, George W. Bush
External links
- Critical spare parts
- Failure magazine
- On Entreprenurial Failure
- Designing Building Failures
- Success with Failure, Comic strip featuring the ups and downs (mostly the latter) of IT consulting