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Project Failure

The document discusses common factors that contribute to IT project failures based on a survey of over 800 IT professionals. The top factors are related to project management processes rather than technical issues. Specifically, failures around defining clear and measurable objectives, setting unrealistic timelines and budgets, and changing objectives during the project are among the most common causes of failure. Additionally, poor communication, lack of leadership skills from the project manager, and lack of senior management support can increase the likelihood of project failure. Technical skills are less important for project success than soft skills like communication and clear roles/responsibilities.

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ankirote
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149 views

Project Failure

The document discusses common factors that contribute to IT project failures based on a survey of over 800 IT professionals. The top factors are related to project management processes rather than technical issues. Specifically, failures around defining clear and measurable objectives, setting unrealistic timelines and budgets, and changing objectives during the project are among the most common causes of failure. Additionally, poor communication, lack of leadership skills from the project manager, and lack of senior management support can increase the likelihood of project failure. Technical skills are less important for project success than soft skills like communication and clear roles/responsibilities.

Uploaded by

ankirote
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Project Failure We have all been there - involved in an IT project that is going off the rails: deadlines are

missed, budgets busted and the original objectives (if they still matter) look ever less likely to be achieved. According to research firm Forrester, about two-thirds of major IT projects fail to deliver some of their original objectives, and more than a quarter fail altogether. What makes the difference between a project that delivers and one that does not? What are the crucial factors, among the hundreds of possible culprits, most likely to determine whether project ends in triumph or tragedy? If we knew which factors to focus on which ones above all others are most likely to cause a project to flounder if they go wrong we would be better able to improve the miserable success rate of IT projects. In one of the biggest pieces of research of its kind ever conducted in the UK, Computer Weekly and process consultancy The Coverdale Organisation have investigated the causes of IT project failures in the UK We asked than 800 senior IT professionals to tell us which factors actually contributed to the failure of real projects in which they have been involved not their general opinions on what makes projects fall, but their experience of live (or, more appropriately, dead or dying) projects. What emerges quite clearly from their responses is that the most important factors are not IT-specific or technical issues. The real problems are failings in the way people work together to produce a desired end result things like communications, leadership, clarity of purpose. According to the research the most common problems contributing to project failures are with the project management process. The other categories of project failings, in order of descending importance, are failings concerning the project leader, stakeholders, the project team and suppliers or third parties. Within the project management process it is most important to focus on the up-front stuff defining good objectives, setting realistic estimates, identifying resources. Getting these bits wrong is much more likely to lead to project failure than problems further along the process. Defining, agreeing, understanding and communicating clear, measurable project objectives is a particularly significant part of the project management process. The crucial characteristics needed in a project leader are communications skills and leadership skills. Understanding of technology and technical competence are less critical for the project leader; more

important for the project team; and particularly important for suppliers and third parties. Even so, for the project team, issues such as having clear roles and responsibilities, team working and motivation are more important than technical competence or formal training. The involvement and support of senior management is a key issue without it, projects are much more likely to fail. Issues concerning suppliers and other third parties are not among the 10 most common factors contributing to project failure, although managing them tightly and ensuring that they have appropriate technical competence are the most iiuportant things to get right in that relationship. For new project managers, the top priority must be: communication, communication, communication. Our respondents identified the project process as clearly the most important project stumbling-blocks. Three of the top four project killers are failings in the way the project is put together unrealistic time and budget estimates, poorly defined or unmneasurable objectives and changing objectives during the course of the project. Three-quarters of respondents said that unrealistic estimates had been a major contributor to project failures. Coverdales Steve Goodman who has had years of experience with major IT projects in blue-chip firms, says that failure to identify clearly what is involved in a particular task can lead to wildly-varying time and bud get estimates. With one project team we agreed a work breakdown structure and then asked them separately to estimate the time required for each task. For one task estimates ranged from half a day to two weeks. Goodman also emphasises the importance of clear objectives, though he adds that all stakeholders must have the same understanding of exactly what those objectives mean what the result will look like when it is delivered. If we agree that we are going to deliver a famous film star with dark eyes, we all need to be clear whether we mean Gary Grant or Mickey Mouse. Failings in the project leader came second only to problems with the project process. The research suggests that good project leaders need to be good communicators, good leaders and proactive rather than reactive. Whether they have had formal project management training, their understanding of the technology involved or their experience of similar projects are less significant. The next time you embark on a major IT project, take a look at the culprits listed above if you spot any of them in your project, beware.

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