Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
IT Management
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
More E-Mail Newsletters 
 

Why IT projects fail

There's a difference between managing risk and preventing failure.

August 25, 2003 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Ever wondered why IT project status reports are so upbeat, managers continue to fund losing efforts, and some projects are doomed from the start? Sue Young, CEO of ANDA Consulting in Colchester, Vt., thinks about that all the time. She talked with Computerworld's Mitch Betts about preventing failure in IT projects and why risk management isn't enough.

Why are IT status reports often so rosy, even for projects in trouble? Because status isn't reported in objective, observable terms. It's often put in subjective terms like "percent done," or "red," "yellow" or "green." As long as you allow reporting to be done in subjective terms, you're going to get results that could be colored. Instead, you should look at "Is it done or not done?" where done has a clear definition. If you want to use colors, have a clear definition of what those colors mean.
Another reason is that if your reward system values compliance -- not rocking the boat, looking like you're on schedule -- and it doesn't value the early detection of problems, it leads to rosy status reports.
The third reason is fear, whether it's fear of looking bad or losing your job. You're not likely to remove fear in the workplace, but if you change the other two factors -- status reports that are objective and observable, plus a rewards system that values the early detection of problems -- then you'll have status reports that are reliable.

Are some IT projects just plain doomed from the start? Yes, I still see that. Either the data required for the project doesn't exist anywhere in the company, or the project is out of alignment with the business strategy, or the objective is simply unattainable.

Why do managers continue to fund losing efforts? One, they don't have any empirical evidence that the project can't be salvaged. Two, they want to salvage what's already been invested. The third reason is fear - fear of looking bad, fear of losing their job, fear of making a mistake.

At what point do you decide to kill the project despite the sunk costs? When you know that it can't possibly succeed. That requires knowing your definition of success. If you know that even if you pour more money into it, it's not going to be worth the benefits that you get out of it, then it's already failed, whether you keep going at it or not.

Sue Young, CEO of ANDA Consulting
Sue Young, CEO of ANDA Consulting
What's the best way to kill a project? I don't know that


Additional Resources

Xerox
By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!
Microsoft
Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.
Sybase
In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Business Process Management: Leveraging Competencies and Streamlining Processes to Achieve Operational Excellence
(Source: IBM) BPM is a business management practice that encompasses process automation, process modeling and simulation, process modularization and service orientation, process monitoring,...  

BPM ROI calculator
(Souce: IBM) Content-rich processes, from opening a new account to customer billing, are central to day-to-day operations. These processes, however, tend to be...

Your Solution for Delivering and Optimizing Applications Across the Enterprise
Learn why a large US food processor chose Citrix NetScaler to securely deliver a new Oracle ERP solution to external partners and remote...  

BPM Survey Results: The Real-World Analysis
(Source: IBM) Business Process Management (BPM)enables faster, more confident decision making, which results in more transactions conducted, which ultimately leads to more satisfied...

Application Delivery Solutions
Learn why a $6.5 billion international producer and marketer of alcoholic beverages chose Citrix NetScaler to increase Web app performance and ensure high...  

Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....

8 Must-Have Features to Handle All of Your Network Demands
The functionality you need in your next load balancer. Learn how you can replace your aging load balancer with a true web application...  

The Value of Real SaaS at Workday
Cost savings, speed to value, and innovation brought to the enterprise by Workday's software-as-a-service solutions for HR and Payroll....

Accelerate SSL Encrypted Applications
The amount of SSL traffic is growing in the enterprise. Because it is encrypted, it cannot be properly controlled and accelerated. Blue Coat...  

SaaS at Flextronics, Inc.
Dave Smoley, CIO of Flextronics, discusses the real value of software-as-a-service and why he chose Workday for his HR solution....

 

Putting the Right Model in Place to Better Balance IT Supply and Business Demand
IT leaders manage business demands and IT resources in many ways, but which methods are most effective? Tom Welsh, senior consultant of Cutter Consortium, compares two approaches and outlines their pros and cons in this Compuware-commissioned white paper. Get objective appraisals and real-world examples for both.

Download this white paper 
CIO best practices: Optimizing your Project Portfolio Management solution for greater business value
A Project Portfolio Management discipline goes beyond ordinary project management to link IT with the business and help IT leaders better understand the benefits, cost, risks and value of all projects. Download this Compuware white paper and learn how to boost the business value of your IT organization.

Download this white paper 
Exclusive eBook: Six Project Metrics Every CIO Should Know for Application Delivery Success
Most IT organizations spend their time measuring whether projects are on time or on budget. Read this IT executive guide to learn what key data tells you the degree of quality, client satisfaction and how well requirements were met. Make these metrics part of your overall application delivery management process - and your software can't fail.

Download this eBook 
IT Planning and Control: Unveiling the Interrelationships between ALM and PPM
Listen in as Gartner Analyst Matt Light discusses two hot topics-- Project Portfolio Management and Application Life-cycle Management--and how you can bring these disciplines together to improve application quality and delivery. Get recommendations on merging the two methods and learn what type of results you can expect.

Download this podcast