DEALING WITH PROBLEM PROJECTS

Dealing with Problem Projects

Abstract

The information Technology related project is very complex and hard to execute in the best of manner. When compared to different projects they have the highest percentage of failures. A survey released in 2005 found out that 31% of the software projects completely failed. They coasted around £89 pounds to the Stakeholders. Half of the projects which were completed increased by more than 189% of their original forecasted budget. In other research it was found out that only ten percent of the total projects fully met their objectives. Overall 80 % of the projects were late and were surpassing their respective budget. Thus in this report we have included a case of Taurus company which was meant to fulfill the needs of London Stock Exchange by introducing computer based transaction of Stock . The project started but ultimately it was abandon after wasting millions of pounds and Time.

Dealing with Problem Projects

Introduction

The management of information technology Project is a very challenging task for organization, with many projects failing to reach the desired objectives. The failure rate in this sector is astounding; a study in UK which was conducted in 2005 found that 31 % of the software project never saw the day light which resulted in the loss of £89 Billion to the investor and half of the project increased by 189 % of their original estimates. With the investment of £250 billion Pounds each in the Information Technology the failure rates are astounding (Standish Group, 2005, p4).

In other research it was found out that about 90% of all Information Technology project did not meet their projected objectives, 80 % of the overall project were late in competition and were also going out of the budget, and 40 % of the projects were abandoned (Clegg, et.al, 1997). Thus the overall impact of this sort of failure on national front is great.

The cancellation of the Information Technology projects are mostly linked to the combination of poorly project goals, completion of the project not properly forecasted, poor control of the managers, poor coordination at all levels, inferior infrastructure and escalating cost of project (Ewusi-Mensah, 1997, pp. 73-80).One of the major factor of the failure is related to the lack of senior managers interest to hold regular meetings to monitor the cost of project. Thus government should make it mandatory for failing project to deliver a report which explains the possible reasons for failure. DiscussionProject Problem

In order to understand the Information Technology Project Problem, first we need to understand what the project failure is basically is. Here is the definition of failure in general term, it is usually meant for those project which are late or have crossed their projected budget. Other reason can be its inability to reap the expected benefits or fulfill the expectation of users and management (Cannon. 2005, pp.10). Instead of just putting the failure into one basket, a number of authors put Information System project failure in four different categories which are as ...