we have met the enemy - he is us - the human factor in project failure

We Have Met The Enemy – He Is Usor ICT Project Failure – The Human Factor

Peter M Salmon, CA, AIITPManning Charles & Associates Limited

ITx2014 – Auckland – 9 October 2014

My background

• Over 40 years experience with projects

• Formerly partner with Coopers & Lybrand

• Led professional services in Asia/Pacific for

Unisys

• Extensive involvement in project assessment

• Varied background in business consulting

10/10/2014 © October 2014 Peter M Salmon and Manning Charles & Associates Ltd 1

Project “Failures” – some examples

• KPMG survey results showing that only one-third of

projects are delivering the desired outcome.

• Only a minority of survey respondents are

consistently using best practices to deliver results.

• Reported success rates vary widely across different

industries, with organisations in the IT sector

reporting better results

• Some notable failures Novopay, INCIS, Capital &

Coast DHB and UK’s –NHS IT project

• ??? And the rest


ICT Project Performance*

• Organisations in the Information Technology sector

view themselves as more successful than average at

completing projects successfully. They reported

above-average project success (21%) on key

measures of timely delivery, delivery on budget and

delivery of stated deliverables.

• The data does not explain the drivers behind this

trend. One explanation may lie in the higher maturity

in general of project management in the IT industry

*Source KPMG 2013 Survey


Impact of ICT Project Failure

• Cost of failure is huge – US$ 6.2 trillion p.a

worldwide by one estimate , for IT alone

• At a minimum a huge destruction of wealth and in

many instances a wasteful spend of money

• Many projects – are late, over budget or don’t meet

planned objectives

• Negative impact on services, productivity

• Many organisations fail to properly measure value


http://bit.ly/3CiK33

So then

• Why do so many projects fail?

• Why despite the news reports, enquiries,

conferences, papers, courses and books do we

still see such a high failure rate?

• Why are so many so quick to allocate blame to

the project managers?

• Given what appears to be waste on a massive

scale, why do we keep pouring money into

projects in this way?

• What stops us from achieving improvement?


The Villain

• Business Managers

• Consultants

• Vendors

People


Why are we the villains?

• A cynical, but quite possibly accurate post at ComputerWeekly.com identified 5 probabilities regarding the conduct of IT projects in the UK or US, whatever the political complexion of the administration:-– 1) Over-optimism

– 2) A willingness to believe inspirational thought-leaders in the private sector who say that, yes, complexity in government can be simplified with technology (as opposed to changing the way things are done)

– 3) An insistence by ruling politicians and senior civil servants that what seems to be an IT-based disaster is, in fact, a success

– 4) What can be covered up will be

– 5)Knowledgeable critics will be dismissed as Luddites


http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/tony_collins/2009/11/it-projects-among-the-worst-fa.html

Why are we the villains?

• A touching belief in silver bullets and the

benefits of snake oil

• The desire to be seen to be doing something

• Ego

• Organisational politics

• Our capacity for self delusion, despite

realities presented to us e.g. we are making

an investment = this does not stack up

economically


Contributory factors include

• Complexity impedes effective delivery – we

cannot resist the temptation to ‘solve world

hunger in one project’

• Inadequate or lacking business case – many

projects should never have been undertaken

• Failure to address underlying core business

issues

• Project management ineffective – KPMG

noted decline in use of PMOs

• IT procurement weaknesses


Contributory factors include

• Core management skills shortage –

leadership

• Treating governance as a mechanistic

process

• Organisational cultures which promote happy

talk rather than reality – communication

• Failure to share learnings


What can we do?

• Make informed decisions, thus avoiding the

degradation of value resulting from broad-brush

actions, which are often the kneejerk reaction to a

crisis

• Focus investment so as to create and maintain

value; enabling mitigating action where risk to value

emerges

• Rigorous assessment and delivery of new initiatives,

in a manner based on optimal benefit/value

achievement over the lifecycle, with appropriate risk

mitigation when required• See as well Thorp: Using governance to navigate through troubled times


http://www.computerworlduk.com/advice/it-business/2006/using-governance-to-navigate-through-troubled-times/

Leadership - the key to resolution

• Effective leadership at entity and project level is

critical

• Leadership must , in my strongly held view, be

combined with a sound ethical framework and

robust values of integrity and straight dealing

• Without leadership and values the plethora of

acronyms such as ISO 38500, CoBIT, SarBox etc will

be worthless; as will all the frameworks and

legislation

• The required leadership must be underpinned,

organisationally and personally by integrity and

strong values – cannot be over emphasized


Reducing the risk of failure• Requires leadership, which means that leaders and others must

be coached and educated to necessary levels of understanding

• Implementing appropriate policies, processes and

organisations with unambiguous roles, responsibilities and

accountabilities

• Needs rigourous performance reporting :- Programme and

Project Reviews, Portfolio Management etc.

• Various studies suggest substantial value results (20% +)

• Requires strong senior executive commitment to make it

happen and to embed robust, effective governance in the

organisational culture


The Four Ares

10/10/2014© October 2014 Peter M Salmon and Manning Charles & Associates Ltd 14

Are we doing the right

things?Are we getting the

benefits?

Are we getting them

done well?

Are we doing them

the right way?

Enterprise

Operations

Business

Adapted from the ‘Four Ares’ developed by John Thorp in The Information

Paradox

Strategy

Organisation Delivery

Value

Alignment of process with

business objectives.

Organizational structure and

process, and the integration

of programmes within

Organizational capability,

resources available and

supporting infrastructure needs

Proactive management

of activities seeking to

maximize benefits

Conclusion

• Understanding the human dimension is imperative

• Important to develop a clear view of outcomes

required

• Clear focus on the overall perspective is invaluable

• Getting the engagement of all parties is critical

• Building a climate of trust aids resolution of

governance situations, rather than blame

• When setting up structures and processes, harness

culture and people to them, not in competition or

combat with them

• Organisational and personal values are critical

10/10/2014 15© October 2014 Peter M Salmon and Manning Charles & Associates Ltd

Important Notice – please read • This notice applies to all materials and information available in

this presentation.

• All information and materials are provided on an 'as is' basis and

are not intended in any way to be comprehensive.

• Any reader making use of this material does so at his/her own risk

and readers are advised to take independent professional advice

before acting on any information or materials found here.

• Neither Peter Salmon, nor Manning Charles & Associates Limited ,

accepts any responsibility for, nor do they give any

representations or warranties, express or implied, that any of the

information and materials contained in this document and

presentation are complete, accurate or free from errors or

omissions.

16© October 2014 Peter M Salmon and Manning Charles & Associates Ltd10/10/2014

About Peter Salmon

• Peter Salmon is a senior executive and consultant with

Manning Charles & Associates, and has had a long career in IT,

working with C-level executives, management and staff to

provide successful business focused outcomes across many

business sectors.

• Peter's consulting experience includes IT consulting, general

consulting, financial investigations and litigation support.

• His other experience includes executive management,

professional services, practice management including service

economics and profitability, quality assurance and resource

management.


Peter Salmon – Contact Details

Should you wish to contact Peter on this or any

other matter, where he might be able to assist then

please contact:-

Phone:- +64 21 533651, or

Email:- [email protected]

Web:- Some Thoughts – Peter Salmon’s website


mailto:[email protected]

http://petermsalmon.wordpress.com/

we have met the enemy - he is us - the human factor in project failure

Leadership & Management