IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2012 - (Page 18) Trends Industry signals to keep you in the know Seven Reasons IT Projects Fail Avoid these pitfalls to help ensure IT success By Joseph Gulla I t’s interesting to explore the reasons IT projects fail. It immediately raises the converse question: Why do they succeed? Perhaps that’s the more important question. For that reason, it’s not enough to only examine reasons for an IT project’s failure but also determine what can be done to improve the chances of success on future projects. In reviewing literature on project management, some factors emerge that influence the success or failure of a project (see “Five Areas Influencing Project Success or Failure,” page 20). By categorizing documented causes of IT project failure, a majority—54 percent—are attributed to project management. Surprisingly to some, technical challenges are the least-cited factor at 3 percent. Project management disciplines have been a part of IT for many years. So why are so many challenges still directly associated with how a According to “Improving IT Project Outcomes by Systematically Managing and Hedging Risk,” a 2009 IDC report by Dana Wiklund and Joseph C. Pucciarelli, 25 percent of IT projects fail outright. Meanwhile, 20 to 25 percent don’t provide ROI, and up to 50 percent require material rework. Sound familiar? You’ve probably observed projects that, even if they weren’t outright failures, didn’t meet their financial objectives or required some significant rework in at least one area. 18 MARCH/APRIL 2012 ibmsystemsmag.com/mainframe ILLUSTRATION BY JUDE BUFFUM http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/mainframe Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2012 IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2012 Table of Contents Editor’s Desk: Rethinking System z IBM Perspective: Smarter Computing, Enterprise Modernization and the Mainframe Insider: Proper Tools Can Bring Flexibility to Application Development IT Today: Six Things You Didn't Know About the Modern Mainframe Trends: Seven Reasons IT Projects Fail Cover Story: Agile Thinking: How to leverage existing technology to gain a competitive advantage Features: All Together Now: A centralized business analytics environment delivers great value Improving Upon the Gold Standard: System z pushes the limits of high availability Tech Corner: Processor Design Innovations Empower the z196 Developer: Accurate Project Scoping Helps Map Out a Faster Route to Success Solutions/Advertiser's Index: PASSPORT Host Integration Objects - LegaSuite 6 Stop Run: Mainframer Clarence Golson Reflects on a Diverse Career Built on a Single Platform IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe Edition - March/April 2012 http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/mainframe_20180708 http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/mainframe_20180506 http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/mainframe_20180304 http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/mainframe_20180102 http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/2018mfse http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/mainframe_20171112 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