ABSTRACT

Hyvari (2006) provides a different spin on this, as shown in Table 5.2. A wide variety of management considerations (e.g., project scope, scheduling, risk, tracking,

estimation, etc.) can “make or break” a project. We usually call these considerations critical success factors. There is a diversity of opinions on what drives project success. The Standish Group’s “top ten” reasons include the following:

1. User involvement 2. Executive management support 3. Clear business objectives 4. Optimizing scope 5. Agile process 6. Project manager expertise 7. Financial management 8. Skilled resources 9. Formal methodology 10. Standard tool and infrastructure

In the discussion that follows, all of these critical success factors-except the last two-are from the Standish Group’s study of successful and unsuccessful projects. The last two factors, “Contract negotiation and management” and “Implementation” are lessons learned from various

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Table 5.1 Classic Project Mistakes People-Related 

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governmental IT projects (a method for assigning a green, yellow, or red indicator to this category on the basis of these success factors is shown in Tables 5.3, 5.4, and 5.5):

Executive support: The executive sponsor must have a global view of the project, set the agenda, arrange the funding, articulate the project’s overall objectives, be an ardent supporter, be responsive, and finally, be accountable for the project’s success. User involvement: Primary users must have good communication skills allowing them to clearly explain business processes in detail to the IT personnel. Primary users should also be trained to follow project management protocols. Finally, users must be realists; they should be aware of the limitations of the project. Experienced project manager: Project managers must possess technology and business knowledge, judgment, negotiation, good communication and organization. The focus is on softer skills such as diplomacy and time management. Clear business objectives: The project objectives must be clearly defined and understood throughout the organization. Projects must be measured against these objectives regularly to provide an opportunity for early recognition and correction of problems, justification for resources and funding, and preventive planning on future projects. Minimized scope: Scope must be realistic; it must be possible to complete the project within the specified duration. Scope must be measured regularly to eliminate scope creep. Agile business requirements process: Requirements management is the process of identifying, documenting, communicating, tracking, and managing project requirements, as well as changes to those requirements. An agile requirements process enables one to manage requirements quickly without generating major conflicts. This is an ongoing process and must stay in lockstep with the development process. Standard infrastructure: Establish a standard technology infrastructure that includes operational and organizational protocols. This infrastructure must be commonly understood and regularly assessed. Formal methodology: Following a formal methodology provides a realistic picture of the project and the resource commitment. Certain steps and procedures are reproducible and reusable, maximizing projectwide consistency. Reliable estimates: Be realistic.