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Main reasons for unsuccessful information technology projects

Main reasons for unsuccessful information technology projects. Kerli Metsla. Failure of software projects. Highest probability of being cancelled or delayed among all business activities Even if in budget and on time: low reliability + execcisve errors Capers Jones & Associates 2006.

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Main reasons for unsuccessful information technology projects

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  1. Main reasons for unsuccessful information technology projects Kerli Metsla

  2. Failure of software projects • Highest probability of being cancelled or delayed among all business activities Even if in budget and on time: • low reliability • +execcisve errors Capers Jones & Associates 2006

  3. Criterias of being a failure • Cancellation x • Budget + 30% • Schedule +30% • Missing the planned benefits Whittaker, B. (1999). What went wrong? Unsuccessful information technology projects

  4. Main reasons • Survey in Canada • Poor project planning • Weak business case & missing components • Lack of management involvement & lack of management support Whittaker, B. (1999). What went wrong? Unsuccessful information technology projects.

  5. A: Poor project planning • Most common RISK MANAGMENT IN SCHEDULING! I am not done yet! What do I do now?

  6. B: Weak business case 1. Missing several immportant compontents 2. Keyusers donot understand : • Complexityof the deliverables „That´s a piece of cake“ • Fundingdone without enough research to the importance of the software to the business „Do we really need this? Who is going to use it? How much time do we have?“

  7. C: Lack of management involvementand support Doom from the start! Leads to: • „ This new thing is complicated. I´ll stick to the GOOD OLD one.“ • „I don´t understand it, let´s change it. Most of it. OK, all of it. „

  8. often contribute to failures • Delivering an untested (BETA) versions of theproject – full of bugs • Vendors to not deliver on time or at all • Poor estimates and definition of requirements in project specifications • The bigger the company the bigger the bugdet overruns (lack of skills or expertise of the project manager and monitoring of progress) Whittaker, B. (1999). What went wrong? Unsuccessful information technology projects.

  9. Different viewpoints EXECUTIVES DEVELOPERS • Plan not accurate enough • Wrong status reporting • Poor quality and reliability • Rejection of accurate and conservative plan • Schedule pressure • Major new requirements mid development Jones, C (2006). Social and Technical Reasons for Software Project Failures.

  10. The FIVE root causes 1. Inaccurate scheduling • Needed before final version • No historical data • Changes and addiotions • Modern estimating tools do not apply well on major projects • Executives pressure in changing original schedules 2. Too optimistic status reporting • Managers not trained enough – too optimistic • Expected bugs vs actual bugs Jones, C (2006). Social and Technical Reasons for Software Project Failures

  11. The FIVE root causes 3. Unrealistic schedule pressure • External business deadlines sets the terms • Need to defend original estimates 4. Changes mid project • Businesses are dynamic May lead to bankruptcy (UK second largest: Auto windscreens 2006); Integrated National Crime Information System (INCIS) project in New Zealand. Jones, C (2006). Social and Technical Reasons for Software Project Failures Flyvbjerg, B., Budzier, A.Why Your IT Project May Be Riskier Than You Think

  12. The FIVE root causes 5. Inadequate quality control • Fixing bugs : most expensive part + delaying the project. „A distressing number of project managers are not aware that more than 50 years of empirical studies have proven that projects with effective quality control cost less and have shorter schedules.“ (Jones, 2006) Jones, C (2006). Social and Technical Reasons for Software Project Failures

  13. ConclusionHow to avoid my project from failing? 1. Plan the project with management well informed 2. Risk management! 3. Accurate information (research for scheduling) 4. Teamwork = managers + developers (reporting) 5. No large changes mid project 6. Correct status reporting – no „basicly done“ 7. Quality control – do not skip or do poorly!

  14. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

  15. Sources: • Flyvbjerg, B., Budzier, A.Why Your IT Project May Be Riskier Than You Think. http://hbr.org/2011/09/why-your-it-project-may-be-riskier-than-you-think/ar • Jones, C (2006). Social and Technical Reasons for Software Project Failures. – CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering, 19(6), 4-9. • Whittaker, B. (1999). What went wrong? Unsuccessful information technology projects. – Information Management & Computer Security, 7(1), 23-29.

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