Success ends following compiler confusion (4)
I believe the answer is:
mess
'confusion' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'success ends following compiler' is the wordplay.
'ends' means to remove the middle letters.
'following' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'compiler' becomes 'me' (the person who is writing these clues).
'success' with its middle removed is 'ss'.
'ss' after 'me' is 'MESS'.
(Other definitions for mess that I've seen before include "Where one might eat" , "Medley" , "Forces' dining room" , "Disagreeable mixture" , "4 [DISORDER]" .)