Case Study of Project Failure
The aim of the failures method
Introduction:
The aim of the Failures Method is to investigate some identified failure to learn what aspects of the situation may have led to the failure occurring. The investigation consists of comparing “ideal” models against the real-life failure situation. This comparison is expected to reveal discrepancies between the two, highlighting areas of concern. These discrepancies can then be interpreted in relation to the failure situation and conclusions can be drawn. (West, 1998) Investigating whether failures can be avoided, or reduced by some degree, is certainly a worthwhile effort. Studies suggest that most IS project disasters are avoidable (Heerkens, 2002). Many times, warning signals occur long before an information systems project has begun to fail. History has shown that software projects are far more likely to be successful if they are highly focused and built upon well-understood technology (Heerkens, 2002). There are many writers who tell us why projects fail. For instance, (Field, 1997) tells us that “projects fail too often because the project scope was not fully appreciated and/or user needs not fully understood.” (Hulme, 1997) tells us that “MIS projects and associated procurements take place in an environment characterized by the following: Lack of management continuity and an incentive system that encourages overly optimistic estimates of the benefits that can be attained from doing the project.” And (Leicht, 1999) tells us that high user expectations can actually be the cause of project failure. (Hoffman, 2003) tells that projects fail because of poor alignment between IT departments and business users. Project managers too often act as “process cops and report compilers and loose sight of what they 're supposed to be doing - to make sure projects are running effectively”. Hodgson (2002). Tells us “projects fail - that 's the fact of life. Too many fail because the average project is like an iceberg -
Introduction:
The aim of the Failures Method is to investigate some identified failure to learn what aspects of the situation may have led to the failure occurring. The investigation consists of comparing “ideal” models against the real-life failure situation. This comparison is expected to reveal discrepancies between the two, highlighting areas of concern. These discrepancies can then be interpreted in relation to the failure situation and conclusions can be drawn. (West, 1998) Investigating whether failures can be avoided, or reduced by some degree, is certainly a worthwhile effort. Studies suggest that most IS project disasters are avoidable (Heerkens, 2002). Many times, warning signals occur long before an information systems project has begun to fail. History has shown that software projects are far more likely to be successful if they are highly focused and built upon well-understood technology (Heerkens, 2002). There are many writers who tell us why projects fail. For instance, (Field, 1997) tells us that “projects fail too often because the project scope was not fully appreciated and/or user needs not fully understood.” (Hulme, 1997) tells us that “MIS projects and associated procurements take place in an environment characterized by the following: Lack of management continuity and an incentive system that encourages overly optimistic estimates of the benefits that can be attained from doing the project.” And (Leicht, 1999) tells us that high user expectations can actually be the cause of project failure. (Hoffman, 2003) tells that projects fail because of poor alignment between IT departments and business users. Project managers too often act as “process cops and report compilers and loose sight of what they 're supposed to be doing - to make sure projects are running effectively”. Hodgson (2002). Tells us “projects fail - that 's the fact of life. Too many fail because the average project is like an iceberg -
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