Debunking IT Project Failure Myths

Firms commonly use three metrics to decide whether a project effort is successful: Did the project meet its schedule, stay within budget, and deliver on requirements? During project development, these same criteria are used to assign a progress status of red, yellow, or green. Firms use these same measurements to establish project success rates simply because they are so obvious and business execs easily understand them. IT execs often get measured on these outcomes and are held accountable for the results delivered by project managers; when a project is deemed a failure, this accountability can be bad news for IT. The problem is that this IT accountability is frequently misplaced. Worse still, the conclusion of failure is often incorrect.