Causes for IT Project Failure, I
Part 1 in a 3 part series
As the demand and size of a company grows, the role of the project manager becomes increasingly important. In an ever increasing technology-based world, multi-site project management is becoming the norm, and thus our project managers find themselves carrying much of the weight of a company’s success on their backs. Despite the fact that technology clearly improves productivity by streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency and effectiveness, many IT projects are failing. Why? There are several causes for failure. In this three-part series I will provide advice on how you might avoid them. They include:
• Poor planning
• Unclear goals and objectives
• Changing objectives during the project
• Unrealistic time estimates
• Lack of executive support and user involvement
• Failure to communicate and act as a team
• Inappropriate skills
Planning:
Project managers often plan poorly for IT projects, especially in multi-site rollouts. Unfortunately for them, they are not often given enough time to plan, or worse, the project is already on its way before it is defined. Taking a step back and planning multi-site rollouts, even if it has already started will save time and money in the long run. It is important to define a critical path, as many activities can only start once another activity is complete. Risk calculations must also be completed and taken into account.
More to come in the next post… in the meantime, BigWave can help eliminate many of the causes of IT project failure. Contact BigWave today for more information.
Written by John Livermore - Multi-site Project Management
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