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IT Project FailuresMichael Krigsman

August 10th, 2007

hy IT projects fail

Posted by Michael Krigsman @ 5:39 am

The all about agile blog has compiled a list of why IT projects fail:

Project Initiation & Planning Issues

Unclear or unconvincing business caseInsufficient or non-existent approval processPoor definition of project scope and objectivesInsufficient time or money given to project

Lack of business ownership and accountabilityInsufficient and/or over-optimistic planningPoor estimatingLong or unrealistic timescales; forcing project end dates despite best estimatesLack of thoroughness and diligence in the project startup phases

Technical & Requirements Issues

Lack of user involvement (resulting in expectation issues)Product owner unclear or consistently not available

Scope creep; lack of adequate change controlPoor or no requirements definition; incomplete or changing requirementsWrong or inappropriate technology choicesUnfamiliar or changing technologies; lack of required technical skillsIntegration problems during implementationPoor or insufficient testing before go-liveLack of QA for key deliverablesLong and unpredictable bug fixing phase at end of project

Stakeholder Management & Team Issues

Insufficient attention to stakeholders and their needs; failure to manage expectationsLack of senior management/executive support; project sponsors not 100%committed to the objectives; lack understanding of the project and not activelyinvolvedInadequate visibility of project statusDenial adopted in preference to hard truthsPeople not dedicated to project; trying to balance too many different prioritiesProject team members lack experience and do not have the required skillsTeam lacks authority or decision making abilityPoor collaboration, communication and teamwork

Project Management Issues

No project management best practicesWeak ongoing management; inadequately trained or inexperienced project managersInadequate tracking and reporting; not reviewing progress regularly or diligently

y IT projects fail | IT Project Failures | ZDNet.com http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=329&tag=btxcsi

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8/14/2019 Denial Adopted in Preference to Hard Truths in Project Management

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enoughIneffective time and cost managementLack of leadership and/or communication skills

Note that these points are all about management, rather than technology.

Projects fail when expectations are not aligned with results; in a sense, thats the definition of failure.Given the complexity of IT projects, with many moving parts distributed among a diverse group of

stakeholders, its not surprising that expectation mismatches occur all the time.

Differences in expectations, goals, and priorities are substantial contributers to non-technicalcomplexity, which is the underlying cause of most IT failures.

Michael Krigsman is CEO of Asuret, Inc., a software and consulting company dedicated to reducing software

implementation failures. Click here to discuss this post with him on Twitter.

See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

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y IT projects fail | IT Project Failures | ZDNet.com http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=329&tag=btxcsi

2 29/7/2008 14:15