Success and Failure
PROJECT :SUCCESS AND FAILURE WHAT IS SUCCESS, WHAT IS FAILURE, AND HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR ODDS FOR SUCCESS?
Robert Frese
Systems Analysis
Dr. Vicki Sauter
UM-St. Louis
December 16, 2003 We know why projects fail, we know how to prevent their failure – so why do they still fail?”(2)This statement could be applied to the recent Space Shuttle disaster, or the 2003 collapse of a large portion of the U.S. electrical grid. But the author was talking about Information Technology and Information System project failures, as they existed in 1994. Information Technology and Information System failures have been the topic of many articles, conferences, symposiums, studies, and research initiatives. The literature of the IT and IS community is rife with articles and commentary about project failures. But just how bad is the situation? Do a large percent of projects really fail or do we only hear the bad news? What is failure and what is success? And lastly, what can you do to improve your success quotient? Let’s start by looking at project failure rates and why projects fail.
There are many writers who tell us why projects fail. For instance, Field(12) tells us that “projects fail too often because the project scope was not fully appreciated and/or user needs not fully understood.” Hulme(13) tells us that “MIS projects and associated procurements take place in an environment characterized by the following: Lack of management continuity and an incentive system that encourages overly optimistic estimates of the benefits that can be attained from doing the project.” And Leicht(5) tells us that high user expectations can actually be the cause of project failure. Hoffman(15) tells that projects fail because of poor alignment between IT departments and business users. And in another article Hoffman(9) tells us that project managers too often act as “process cops and report compilers and loose sight of what they’re supposed to be doing – to make
Robert Frese
Systems Analysis
Dr. Vicki Sauter
UM-St. Louis
December 16, 2003 We know why projects fail, we know how to prevent their failure – so why do they still fail?”(2)This statement could be applied to the recent Space Shuttle disaster, or the 2003 collapse of a large portion of the U.S. electrical grid. But the author was talking about Information Technology and Information System project failures, as they existed in 1994. Information Technology and Information System failures have been the topic of many articles, conferences, symposiums, studies, and research initiatives. The literature of the IT and IS community is rife with articles and commentary about project failures. But just how bad is the situation? Do a large percent of projects really fail or do we only hear the bad news? What is failure and what is success? And lastly, what can you do to improve your success quotient? Let’s start by looking at project failure rates and why projects fail.
There are many writers who tell us why projects fail. For instance, Field(12) tells us that “projects fail too often because the project scope was not fully appreciated and/or user needs not fully understood.” Hulme(13) tells us that “MIS projects and associated procurements take place in an environment characterized by the following: Lack of management continuity and an incentive system that encourages overly optimistic estimates of the benefits that can be attained from doing the project.” And Leicht(5) tells us that high user expectations can actually be the cause of project failure. Hoffman(15) tells that projects fail because of poor alignment between IT departments and business users. And in another article Hoffman(9) tells us that project managers too often act as “process cops and report compilers and loose sight of what they’re supposed to be doing – to make
References: (1) THE CHAOS Report (1994), The Standish Group, http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/chaos_1994_1.php Viewed Nov 17, 2003 (2) Martin Cobb, (1996) Viewed Nov 17, 2003 (3) Kirksey, Kirk A, (1990). “Storm Warning: Danger Signs During Software Implementation”, Health Management Technology, 11, 6; pg 35 (4) Wixom, Barbara H. (2001). “Am Empirical Investigation of the Factors Affecting Data Warehouse Success”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 25 No.1, pp 17 – 41. (7)) Lewis, Bob. (2003). “The 70-percent failure”, InfoWorld. (8) Levine, Mordy (1994) (9) Hoffman, Thomas “Value of Project Management Offices Questioned”, Computerworld, July 21, 2003. http://www.computerworld.com/printthis/2003.0,4814,82345,00.html, Viewed 11/7/2003 (10) King, Julia. “Survey shows common IT woes”, Computerworld, June 23, 2003, http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/story/0,10801,82404,00.html. Viewed Dec 13, 2003 (12) Field, Tom. (1997) (13) Hulme, Martyn R. (1997) (14) Johnson, Jim, et al. (2001) (15) Hoffman, Thomas. 2003. “Corporate Execs Try New Ways to Align IT with Business Units.” Computerworld. October 27, 2003 http://www.computerworld.com/printthis/2003/0,4814,86466,00.html (17) Elenbass, B. (2000) (19) Jiang, James J. Gary Klein, and Joseph Balloun (1996) (21) PMTalk Newsletter, (2001), http://www.4pm.com/pmtalk03-19-02.pdf viewed 12/15/2003 (22) Macomber, Hal (2003), “Reforming Project Management”, http://weblog.halmacomber.com// (23) Hodgson, Ian. (2002). “Keeping Your Head Above Water”, http://www/conspectus.com/2002/november/article19.asp viewed 12/15/2003 (24) “The Eight Keys to Project Management Failure”, (2003), http://workstar.net/library/pm1.htm viewed 12/15/2003