3.7 Factors for successful and failed projects

3.7 Factors for successful and failed projects

1. Success

   • Management involvement
     • Senior managers must be involved at all stages
     • Weigh up costs and benefits
     • Up to date knowledge of IT systems
   • End user involvement
     • Users should be used rather than making assumptions
     • Can give valuable contributions during testing and documentation
     • Need to be trained properly to use system
   • Client to 'sign off' deliverables
     • At each stage they should be signed off with approval to proceed to the next stage
   • Realistic expectations
     • Managers should have up to date IT experience so they don't expect the system to do the impossible
     • Time frame and budget should be manageable
   • Professional standards
     • Appropriate skills to produce the best product
     • Each stage documented properly
     • Industry-standard methods followed

2. Failure

   • Poorly organised installation
     • Which would adversely affect the users
   • Concentration on low level data processing
     • Rather than with the needs of the end user in mind
   • Poor teamwork
     • Lack of communication, friction, unequal division of work, lack of motivation
   • Inadequate analysis
     • Wont produce a fully functional ICT system
     • Full client/user involvement and approval needed
   • Lack of communciation/involvement between team/managers/users
     • Leeding to the end result being inefficient or not used
   • Emphasis on computer system
     • Too focused on the system and not the needs of the user
   • Poor design
     • Poorly chosen techniques may make the system slower
   • Innapropriate testing
     • Major errors may go undetected until installation due to lack of time, poorly chosen test data, bad test plan
   • Bad user support and maintenance
     • To deal with problems quickly so users have a better experience
   • Incomplete documentation
     • Causes problems if a new developer has to take over