ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to make people aware of how frequently IT projects go wrong and, before they commit to an IT project, gives them some common scenarios where the risk and cost of an IT project is not the only option. IT projects usually exceed their forecast and schedule, and deliver less than expected where some projects will overrun by more than 100 percent. By 2010, the CHAOS Report had become the CHAOS Manifesto, with 15 years of data on why projects succeed and fail, representing 70,000 completed IT projects originating from respondents worldwide. The common scenario is seeking to fully automate a new business process before that process is mature and well understood. This typically happens when a business introduces a new product or service. There is an understandable desire to want the new process to be properly supported by technology in order to provide the best product or service possible.
