Improve It Project Success Rates

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Improve IT Project success rates By Rebekah Tilley Table of Contents Introduction 1 Plan 3 People 5 Communication 7 Risk Management 8 Balancing Time, Quality and Budget 9 Time 9 Quality 10 Budget 10 Conclusion 11 Works Cited 12 Introduction Many studies have been conducted on IT project failure rates. “According to an often-quoted study from the Gartner Group, 75% of I.T. projects fail. The Standish Group conducts an annual survey of I.T. projects. Their latest report shows a decrease in project success rates. • 32% of all projects succeeded: delivered on time, on budget, with required features. • 44% were challenged: late, over budget, and/or with less than the required features. • 24% failed: cancelled prior to…show more content…
There is a quote that Winston Churchill is famous for which says, "Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it". These are words to live by and what this means is that we must always learn from our mistakes and understand what worked and what didn’t work. “A recent Gartner user survey shows that, while large IT projects are more likely to fail than small projects, around half of all project failures, irrespective of project size, were put down to functionality issues and substantial delays” (Mieretz, 2012). This research investigates the importance of five critical factors that are necessary in order to have a successful IT project. These factors include: plan, people, communication, risk management, and the balance between time, quality and budget. Plan Careful project planning will ensure project success. Planning can be applied not only to projects, but to any subject area. There is an inspiration quote by Yogi Berra who was well known for his witty quotes that says, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else”. These inspirational words most certainly applies to any project, especially an IT project. As with any IT project, you are trying to solve the client’s problem. You must first determine what the problem is, and then plan how you are going to solve it. It is important to answer some basic questions, including: who, what, when, where, why, how and how much? You must know
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