Why IT projects fail | IT Project Failures | ZDNet.com http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?

p=329&tag=btxcsim

IT Project Failures
Michael Krigsman

August 10th, 2007

Why 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 case

Insufficient or non-existent approval process
Poor definition of project scope and objectives
Insufficient time or money given to project
Lack of business ownership and accountability
Insufficient and/or over-optimistic planning
Poor estimating
Long or unrealistic timescales; forcing project end dates despite best estimates
Lack 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 control
Poor or no requirements definition; incomplete or changing requirements
Wrong or inappropriate technology choices
Unfamiliar or changing technologies; lack of required technical skills
Integration problems during implementation
Poor or insufficient testing before go-live
Lack of QA for key deliverables
Long and unpredictable bug fixing phase at end of project

Stakeholder Management & Team Issues

Insufficient attention to stakeholders and their needs; failure to manage expectations

Lack of senior management/executive support; project sponsors not 100%
committed to the objectives; lack understanding of the project and not actively
involved
Inadequate visibility of project status
Denial adopted in preference to hard truths
People not dedicated to project; trying to balance too many different priorities
Project team members lack experience and do not have the required skills
Team lacks authority or decision making ability
Poor collaboration, communication and teamwork

Project Management Issues

No project management best practices

Weak ongoing management; inadequately trained or inexperienced project managers
Inadequate tracking and reporting; not reviewing progress regularly or diligently

1 of 2 29/7/2008 14:15
Why IT projects fail | IT Project Failures | ZDNet.com http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=329&tag=btxcsim

enough
Ineffective time and cost management
Lack 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, that’s the definition of failure.
Given the complexity of IT projects, with many moving parts distributed among a diverse group of
stakeholders, it’s not surprising that expectation mismatches occur all the time.

Differences in expectations, goals, and priorities are substantial contributers to non-technical

complexity, 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.

Popular on CBS sites: Fantasy Football | Miley Cyrus | MLB | Wii | GPS | Recipes | Mock Draft

Visit other CBS Interactive Sites

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

2 of 2 29/7/2008 14:15