The United States economy takes a surprisingly high hit from failed IT projects, with Gallup Business Review estimating a loss of $50-$150 annually in this area alone. A number of factors can influence the viability of an IT project, but some of the most common reasons for failure include overspending and the extension of projects past deadline. With only 26% of projects succeeding as reported by the Project Management Institute, many companies are scrambling to identify and rectify the sources of cost overrun and poor time management.
As it turns out, many of the issues at the heart of project failure are related to subpar organizational, communication, and management structures. Organizational failures can yield both scope creep and the over-allocation of resources, both of which commonly lead to projects spiraling out of control. Scope creep, which refers to unplanned changes, can cause a project to exceed established time and budgetary constraints, and thus a failure to produce a service or product in a cost- and time-effective manner (or at all). Likewise, when employees are over-taxed or lack managerial oversight, they are missing the direction they require to achieve maximum productivity.
Poor communications is likewise a project-killer, and can manifest in a number of ways. Ambiguous managerial input leaves team members unable to conceptualize and fulfill their roles in a given task or project, and lack of feedback likewise leads to confusion. Relatedly, team planning and cohesion are vital to a project’s success. A team that possess no means of efficient, effective communication or collaboration is scarcely a team at all.
Finally, unsupported project culture is a major contributor to failure, and this is perhaps especially true in the IT industry. Project culture refers to both the education and technological tools required to successfully complete a given project within the parameters of established time and budgetary constraints. Oftentimes, team members lack the necessary training and technological support to do their jobs efficiently, leading them to waste precious time (and thus monetary resources) attempting to overcome complex problems that arise.
McKinsey & Company report that large IT projects run on average 45 percent over budget and 7 percent over time, while still delivering 56 percent less value than predicted. The Harvard Business Review reports even gloomier numbers: they found that one in six IT projects have an average cost overrun of 200% and a schedule overrun of 70%. Nevertheless, as PricewaterhouseCoopers reports, 97% of all organizations identify project management as critical to business performance and organizational success.
One of the most viable—and affordable—means of increasing your chance of project success is to invest in online project management software such as ConductorLIVE. A web-based platform can solve many of the problems that accompany IT project management by offering a dynamic online environment for all of your communication and collaboration needs. Employing leading-edge technology, online project management encompasses a powerful suite of organizational tools that enable managers to schedule and review tasks, and team members to communicate and share files instantly. By making time and budgetary constraints evident, expectations clear, and communication easy, a secure online portal is the ideal IT project management solution to dramatically boost your chances of success.
Web-based project management software can help you eliminate some of the top barriers to project success by facilitating improved communication, collaboration, and efficiency. If you’re seeking to streamline your processes and achieve optimal productivity, consider adopting a powerful, cost-effective, and user-friendly online collaboration solution such as ConductorLIVE.
