Six Rules for Great IT Project Success
Project delivery makes IT organisations credible. When IT “gets it right” at the project level, its ability to impact the financial results of a company increases and its leadership in providing strategic direction improves. Good project delivery is the key to unlocking the door from the back-office to the boardroom.
And yet, according to a recent survey by Accenture, only 29% of IT projects are considered successful. The average cost overrun is 56%; the typical delay is 84%. After decades spent learning and implementing project management methodologies, measurements and controls, the success rate of IT projects is no better than when a single computer took up an entire room.
Now, despite the need for companies in the 21st century to innovatively embrace technology to compete, CIO’s still find themselves hearing second-hand about their company’s strategy while line-of-business executives embrace the “IT as a commodity” philosophy.
5 Reasons to Kill IT Projects
A survey of IT experts revealed 43 percent of their organisations had recently killed an IT project. The study, conducted by ISACA, an independent IT governance group, highlighted the top 5 reasons these organisations named for terminating projects prior to completion.
Here’s the list, with my commentary on each issue:
1. Business needs changed: 30%
There are many conditions and situations where a business legitimately changes its requirements after starting a project. If the project no longer provides meaningful value, then it’s best to stop throwing good money after bad.
