The Root Cause of IT Project Failure: An Analysis of Causes and Consequences

There are certain things in life that just seem to go together. Peanut butter and jelly, peas and carrots, steak and potatoes, Information Technology projects and failure. IT project failure is an ever present problem that by some estimates costs American companies more billions of dollars each year. An article by Jorge Dominguez points out how little we have progressed over the years. He shows that according to the Standish Group's latest Chaos Report (a report done each year on IT project and failures and their causes) 68% of all IT projects were either challenged or failed outright. In today's connected economy, IT project failure impacts everyone. Ever spend a long time waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles? A quick Google search of IT project failure and DMV will reveal several project failures costing $40 million or more at various DMV's across the country. The cost of theses project failures are passed on to consumers, by way of time lost waiting in long lines, and wasted tax payer dollars.

Defining IT project failure has been somewhat subjective. There are some that believe that failure can be defined in quantitative terms such as exceeding the budget, the schedule, or failure to deliver contracted/documented functionality. This definition has been questioned by IT practitioners who deliver systems that work, deliver on agreed upon requirements, but fail in another category. A simplified, general definition could be, a project that costs a great deal more than you expected in terms of time or money, and does not satisfy the end users.

The three most important factors in IT project failure are people, people and people. According to Sue Young in a 2003 ComputerWorld article, all problems are people problems even the technical ones. There are several research studies that support that view.

IT project management, like other types of project management relies on the successful coordination of people to achieve business results and deliver the expected value. In their paper, "New Possibilities for Project Management Theory" Cicmil and Hodgson point out that project management is largely a social activity. It is a social construct. If the project fails to deliver the expected value, it is easy to simply blame the software, or the hardware rather than the people involved who failed to deliver. If you look at the myriad of reports and research done on the topic of IT project failure, all of the causes identified can be distilled down to people and the way they think and behave.

Issues in IT project failure come from the cognitive flaws that all people have. Three cognitive issues that can work to impact IT projects are linear thinking, escalating commitment to a failing course of action, and delusional optimism.