Failures in IT Management

Failures in IT Management

Managing information technology is not an easy task. The information systems function has performance problems in many organizations. The promised benefits of information technology have not occurred in many documented cases. Studies by management consulting firms and university researchers have shown that many businesses have not been successful in managing their use of information technology.

Research highlights that only one in eight information technology projects can be considered truly successful (failure being described as those projects that do not meet the original time, cost and (quality) requirements criteria).

Despite such failures, huge sums continue to be invested in information systems projects and written off. For example the cost of project failure across the European Union was €142 billion in 2004. That research looked at 214 information systems (IS) projects at the same time, interviews were conducted with a selective number of project managers to follow up issues or clarify points of interest. The period of analysis covered 1998-2005 the number of information systems projects examined across the European Union.

Key reasons why projects get cancelled

➢        Business reasons for project failure

➢        Business strategy superseded;

➢  Business processes change (poor alignment);

➢  Poor requirements management;

➢  Business benefits not clearly communicated or overstated;

➢  Failure of parent company to deliver; ➢  Governance issues within the contract;

➢        Higher cost of capital;

➢        Inability to provide investment capital;

➢        Inappropriate disaster recovery;

➢        Misuse of financial resources;

➢        Overspends in excess of agreed budgets;

➢        Poor project board composition;

➢        Take-over of client firm;

➢        Too big a project portfolio.

Management reasons

➢  Ability to adapt to new resource combinations;

➢  Differences between management and client;

➢  Insufficient risk management;

➢        Insufficient end-user management;

➢        Insufficient domain knowledge;

➢        Insufficient software metrics;

➢        Insufficient training of users;

➢        Inappropriate procedures and routines;

➢        Lack of management judgment;

➢        Lack of software development metrics;

➢        Loss of key personnel;

➢        Managing legacy replacement;

➢        Poor vendor management

➢        Poor software productivity;

➢  Poor communication between stakeholders;

➢  Poor contract management;

➢  Poor financial management;

➢        Project management capability;

➢        Poor delegation and decision making;

➢        Unfilled promises to users and other stakeholders.

Technical reasons

Inappropriate architecture;

➢  Insufficient reuse of existing technical objects;

➢  Inappropriate testing tools;

➢        Inappropriate coding language;

➢        Inappropriate technical methodologies;

➢        Lack of formal technical standards;

➢  Lack of technical innovation (obsolescence);

➢  Misstatement of technical risk;

➢  Obsolescence of technology;

➢        Poor interface specifications;

➢        Poor quality code;

➢        Poor systems testing;

➢        Poor data migration;

➢        Poor systems integration;

➢        The International Dimension IT management

International dimensions have become a vital part of managing a business enterprise in the internetworked global economies and markets of today. Properly designed and managed information systems using appropriate information technologies are a key ingredient in international business, providing vital information resources needed to support business activities in global markets.

The following table summarizes the major aspects of information and knowledge management. It is mainly intended to serve as an orientation aid for the vast literature on this topic. Furthermore it should give a rough assessment of which disciplines (and professions) are engaged in which aspects of information and knowledge management. Accordingly, information systems and business informatics can be attributed to the management of information technology. Organizational and management sciences deal primarily with knowledge management (in a narrow sense). The management of (codified) information and the study of information use are the domains of records management and library and information science.

The major dimensions of the job of managing global information technology include

E-Business/It Strategies

➢        E-Business application portfolios

➢        Internet-based technology platforms

➢        Data resource management