When IT fails?
During
IT Dev Projects
Project Sponsors or Senior
Managers CANCEL IT
development projects
because:
Budget / Time Overrun
Poor Quality
Safety / Security Concerns
Business Case no longer
prevails
During
IT Production
Operations
Senior Managers CANCEL
IT
production services
because of stakeholders’
satisfactions of:
Escalating Service costs
Poor service quality eg
reliability, time to deliver
Safety / Security Concerns
Business case no longer
prevails
Key Causes of IT Project failures
1. Lack of Strategic Alignment between Business & IT (CORRESPONDENCE FAILURE)
 No or weak upfront business case with no clear program logic and related KPI
measures justifying the project
 Business case may exist but business conditions have changed, invalidating
business case while project is underway
2. Project scope creep (PROCESS FAILURE) – development scope of requirements
increased beyond what was originally planned  requiring more $, resources & time 
blowing out planned budget, resource availability and deadlines
3. Poor communications among stakeholders (INTERACTION FAILURE)  what is planned
does not deliver what is expected due to misinterpretations and/or no communications
Why Projects fail
** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a4ZxOAQifE
3 Models for Identifying IT Failures
Factor Based Models
Identifying a checklist of
conditions that cause IT
project & production failures
Stakeholder Analysis Models
Identifying power brokers that
cause IT project & production
failures
These condition based or
risk factors can be classified
by:
Power plays between
stakeholders can, especially
during decision making, can also
result in IT cancellations
• Cultural,
managerial
&
technical categories (Feghali
& Zbib, 2007)
• Leadership, communications,
skills and resources, budget
and project management
categories (Oz & Sosik, 2000)
• Project management, top
management,
technology,
organisational,
complexity
size and process categories
(Al-Ahmad, 2009)
• etc
3D Sphere Models
Identifying organisational
drivers that cause IT project
& production failures
Dimensional modelling of
organisational Risk factors
that can contribute to IT
failures – classified by
• 4 Managerial Risk Factors
• 7 Cultural Risk Factor
• 18 Technical Risk factors
IT Failures – Risk Management Practice Models
Risks – Causes of IT Failures

Issues – Problems when
risks eventuate

IT Project or Production
Cancellation = Failure
Literature Comparison of Software Project Risks
Schmidt, Lyytinen, Keil & Cule
OZ & Sosik
Fairley & Whillshire
Lack of top management
commitment to project
Poorly communicated
goals/deliverables
Excessive schedule pressure
Failure to gain user
commitment
Lack of Corporate Leadership
Changing Needs
Lack of User involvement
Poor project management
Lack of documented &
maintained project plan
Lack of required
knowledge/skills
Budget & schedule deviations
Excessive & secondary
innovations
Lack of frozen requirements
Requirement / scope creep
Changing scope/objectives
Lack of scientific methods
Introduction of new
technology
Ignoring the Obvious
Failure to manage user
expectations
Unethical behaviours
Insufficient / inappropriate
staffing
Conflict between user
departments
(Tesch, Kloppenborg & Frolick, 2007)
Top 10 Risks in IT System Replacement Projects
Risk
Mitigation Tips
Ineffective user
involvement
Involve users in project planning, change mgt & training; foster frequent
communications; choose small team of decision makers who knows the users well;
have clear roles, responsibilities & expectations
Ineffective executive
support
Clearly define the sponsor role at the beginning of the project; decision making rules
Scope Creep
Evaluate and redefine RFP requirements to eliminate ambiguous, incorrect,
inconsistent, and/or unverifiable language; don’t get blog down into deep technical
details
Schedule flaws
Use agile iterative methods and factor 20% contingency
Staff Turnover
Establish process standards; rotate duties, embrace communications and team work
Unrealistic Expectations
Promote a culture that embraces continuous improvement and evolution. Don’t
oversell your capabilities.
Ineffective project
management
Get experienced people
Specification
breakdown
“Reduce complexity by focusing on outcomes. Avoid over-specification and the lure of
being ‘perfect’. Provide mechanisms for continuous improvement and evolution.”
Technology and
Uncertainty
Reduce concurrent project streams; defer integration of peripheral systems eg KM;
focus on delivery required outcomes not bells and whistles
Excessive Direction
(micro management)
Develop trust within team to delegate work and share decision making; use KPI
measures as work appraisal measures.
(Komperud, 2012)
Organising Risks via PMBOK – Process Groups
Project
Initiation
Planning
Project
Planning
Execution
Controlling
Closing
Factored Risks Mgt in these Areas
Project Integration Mgt
Project Scope Mgt
Project Time Mgt
Project Cost mgt
Project Quality Mgt
Project HR Mgt
Project Comms Mgt
Project Procurement
Mgt
Project Risks Mgt
Covers other Risks
(details see http://www.softexpert.com/regulation-pmbok.php)
NOW we are into
Collaborative Projects Across Multiple Sites
Project risks and issues are high
Project Management is Complex
•
•
•
•
Requires :
Common project language across sites
Shareable project information across sites
Coordinated workflow management across sites
More complex project risks management
 new international external risks – political, economic,
social, technology and environmental differences
cross cultural communication and management factors
Communication Strategies in Collaborative projects (2.26m)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f60dheI4ARg
Case study – application of stakeholder analysis
Evaluation
their Coalition
Identify
stakeholders
What do they want in the IT projects?

Map out interests