Professional Documents
Culture Documents
IT Project Failure
Prepared by: SMR First Prepared on: June 2008, Last Modified on: XX
Quality checked by: MOH
Copyright 2004 Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology
LET’S START THE TOPIC
IT Project Failures
– Project Failures
– Spotting Failing Projects
• Main Lecture
• Defining Project Failure
• How to spot failures (10 ways)
• Backup Slides
• The Human Element
• Technical Limitations
• Political Issues
• Funding
• Failure to apply SDLC Methodologies
Inexperience Lack of
in scope and communication
complexity 20%
17% Failure to define
objectives
17%
Technical
issues
14%
Project Management Problems
32%
Project Failure
Technical Limitations
Political Issues
• Organizational politics
• Team politics
• Power and influence
• Protection against organizational politics
• Individual politics
Funding
• IS project should be funded adequately
• Failure to do so does not necessarily bring
about project failure
• Although a project might be successful side
effect will be unavoidable:
➨ Team members will be stressed out (overtime work)
➨ Staff turnover will increase
Methodology
• Each of the system development methodologies offers
implementation success
• However, there have been cases where project that have
followed certain methodologies have failed.
• The main reason is that methodologies are at times followed
without being understood.
• Example, the objective of prototyping in to promote a closer
interaction with the user, not just to develop a dumb
prototype system
• Besides, there are many activities (in the boxes) that require
experience, analysis and ability
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Revision
Requiremen Developme
Requiremen
ts phase First First nt phase
pass ts
pass
• Insufficient testing
Applications that do not go through a cycle of thorough
testing will probably fail in production or during
acceptance testing
Suggested solution:
❑Invest time and money for iterative testing phases
❑Impress the need for thorough testing on all team members
and associated teams
❑Consider the implementation of Total Quality Management
(TQM) programs
• Insufficient resources
Projects require a specific amount of effort and materials-
computers, telecommunications equipment, people, others
A project plan should identify what is required, when is required
and the quantity required
Project manager should plan on:
❑ Architecture/design skills to get started
❑ Normal turnover of key resources
❑ Skills transfer
❑ High intensity deadlines
❑ Short term skills requirements (e.g. facilitator, auditor, GUI
standards expert,technical guru)
• Unrealistic expectations
This type of failure occurs when managers are not concerned with
facts, but insist that some dream be fulfilled at some particular
point in time of their choosing-blatant impossible situation
Examples:
❑ Expecting someone with a COBOL background to learn C and
UNIX overnight, or vice versa
❑ Some managers think of work day as consisting of 20 hours and a
work week as having 7 days
Suggested solutions:
❑ Managers must be realistic in their expectations
• Example:
❑ A software for the greenhouse industry, developed in the 80’s
❑ Presentation of prototype well-received… prototype worked fine
❑ In the 80’s PCs horsepower came from INTEL’s 8088 chip
❑ In the 80’s 5 1/2 inch floppy disks, 360 kb capacity were used
❑ After several iterations to the prototype the product improved its
functionality well
❑ However, the new added functionality made the product slower
❑ The application quickly exceeded the 360 kb of one floppy, and
grew to fill several diskettes
❑ The user had to swap disks while navigating through certain
features
❑ The application was limited by available technology
Number of Number of
records
CT050-3-3 Project Management records
Technical Limitations – cont’d
• Organizational politics
Project managers are sometimes frustrated to find general lack of
commitment within an organization to implement a project
When confronted with this situation the project manager should
undertake the following activities:
❑ Document ideas, information, and observations. Keep a paper trail
going with senior management, other departments and team members
❑ Do not become impatient or difficult to deal with
❑ Start changing the visibility of the project from tactical one to
investigative
❑ Write memos to members of steering committee, politely detailing all
issues and concerns
❑ Publicize the purpose and nature of the project
❑ Do not hide problems