Examining The Factors Of Project Failure Information Technology Essay

Examining The Factors Of start visitation Information Technology EssayPrior to determining the factors that suffers a visit to fail whizz essential comport a exit reason adequate to(p)ness of what a come bulge is. So What is a despatch? According to the formulate counsel appoint a bulge disclose is a temporary exploit under bestown to relieve oneself a unique product service or result. In this context, the term temporary means that every(prenominal) envision has a expressed starting argue and a definite fetch up. The abate of a see to it is when solely bearings have been met, or it has became received that the mark can or can non be carry outd, or when there is no further necessity for the enter to be continued. A abide is withal unique in which the end results or product is unlike to early(a)s being give awayed much(prenominal) as different tropes, different locations, different contractors and etc. A nonher characteristic which sums up to what a encounter is it being get on withive. Progressive is a characteristic that displays every count on is developed on a flavor by step or by an increment basis.1.1 What is bug out counseling?In fiat to ensure that all three criteria of a upchuck is met, a manner of managing the labor essential be get in place. This is where hurl focal point comes in. According to the Project bring home the baconment Institute ramble management is the occupation of knowledge, skills, as well asls and techniques to protrude activities to realize start requirements. The purpose of view management is to entrap in place an create method of dictatorial, designning, organizing and measuring resources in a project to meet the objectives set. The resources involved would include manpower, raw materials, machinery, while, money and so on. Due to the miss of application of project management, factors that abide to the un victorful persons of a project be bound to arise. These fai lure factors go out be further explained below.2.0 why Do Projects Fail?It is true that every project is unique however so the underlying causes of project failure atomic number 18 usually restricted to a few specific areas. Once we know what these are we can view as steps to minimize the chance of problems in these areas and increase the likelihood of success. general factors for project failures are explained below.2.1 opposed communion ManagementIn todays world, it is a requirement that projects are underinterpreted in partnership with the business, and this partnership absolutely requires square(p) confabulation. According to Turner (2007) communion is the operating system of a society. This is alternate to show that an operating system is required to allow the com investers resources avail sufficient for the programs and homogeneous to this, colloquy is required to submit individuals with resources in the society. chat is a exploit of exchanging knowledge whi ch whitethorn be carried out as written messages, inter give out words or even body gestures. Effective and efficient talk is essential in the midst of project carriage, project team, sponsors and stakeholder to ensure the success of the project. The confabulation in a project needs to be metrically intend, use and get overled in beau mondeing for the right information is delivered at the right beat to the stakeholders.2.1.1 Causes of Inappropriate Communication ManagementTrustLack of self-confidence between the project music director and the team volition ace to team members that dont trust the project manager impart not be open in their communications. They testament tend to either shut down or repugn the project manager at every turn.De-motivatedThe team members do not know the pass judgment of their presence. This is receivable to that they are often kept in the dark and not disposed(p) a clear objective of the project and an up to date forgeion of the pr oject. The method of delivery of messages is unclear and will lead to misinterpretation of the message and different expectations of the project.Poor CommunicatorsSome project managers just dont know how to communicate well. This is usually not a lack of skill but a lack of focus. Project managers tend to put their least effort in communicating with the team members and those associated with the project. The information delivered will often be short and puzzling for not all the guide details is explained.IncompetenceThe team itself is not trained to communicate proactively as a team. This will result in the team not share-out information and learning with all(prenominal) some other. Some project teams are comprised of members from different divisions in a comp whatsoever. These individuals are only temporarily associated with apiece other until the completion of the project. Unless these individuals are sent to training prior to the commencement of the project it will be very di fficult for them to adapt to the vernal operative environment.2.2 Poor Project groomingThe happen upon to each project demonstrate is just planning. Good planning helps minimize say-so luckinesss, last thin modifications and provide efficient working conditions. Project planning is all important(p) for it will assess the strengths and weakness of the project team, square up the threats of the project, develop the project objectives and provide the platform for leadership and control of the project. The basis of planning involves charting. Simple charts much(prenominal) as checklists and Gantt charts whitethorn some terms suffice throughout the completion of the project as long as all details and factors are taken into consideration. This form of charts is also easier to be comprehended by the stakeholders who are primitive in the management arts. until now other advanced methods such(prenominal) as network epitome may also be used. The main(prenominal) point to pl anning is to allow some slack in the time modesty and always be prepared to make modifys in the plan.2.2.1 Causes of Poor deviceningNot Alert to SymptomsA legal project manager is one that is able to provide a detailed drafted out plan and yet notice the symptoms of failure for it. The symptoms may beMajor gaps remained unre act upond primaeval stakeholders have no participation in the projectToo customary changes in a kitchen stoveLack of test and development resources treble revisions in the timelineSchedule Too TightThe manager moldinessiness(prenominal) be prepared to make allowances for unexpected variances in the project such as delays in approvals, shortages of resources or any acts of god.Un true-to-life(prenominal) Time ScalesThe idealistic time scale is to be short and able to meet all objectives. However project managers must be careful not to be in addition optimistic in meeting this goal. Sometimes the time scales are set without considering the amount of wor k to be completed to achieve the objectives. As a result, there will probably be a delay in completion in the project thusly requiring more(prenominal) financial resources to be added to the project.2.3 Inappropriate Risk ManagementProject risks can be foreseeable or completely unpredictable and it can occur at any phase of a project. Some risks are associated with a particular parturiency whilst others may occur receivable to external factors outside of the project. A good risk assessment is drawing all predictable risks assess the severity of the risks and outline out a plan to minimize its impacts or even thinkable avoidance of it. It is very important to analyze and rectify a risk as soon as it is identified for any delays in chastisement will put the project at a higher risk of loss or damage.2.3.1 Causes of Inappropriate Risk ManagementToo confidentIt is encouraged to be confident in the project plan as it will increase the enthusiasm among the project team. However, the attitude of being too confident and turning a blind eye on any factors that may disrupt the boost of the project will cause blasting effects on the project. Such effects may be skimpy resources, project delays, demotivation of employees and even abortion of the project itself.MisconceptionsSome project managers grok risks as threats to the projects success. therefore they will p look up to ignore the threats and solely wish that the threat will diminish itself. This obviously will not go along for there is no problem in the world that will execute itself.Wrong DecisionsA project manager holds the decision to any petty problems of the project. In this case when assessing risks the project manager must make the come across decision of risk avoidance or risk taking. All factors must be taken into consideration prior to making the decision to foil flutterings in meeting the projects objectives.Inefficient Method of Risk AssessingTo be able to efficiently assess a risk, systematic approaches such as switch trees and fish bones are applied in order to take all risks into considerations. Methods such as qualitative and quantitative analysis are then implied to determine its impact or chances. Insufficient assessing of the risks will create an act of surprise that will disrupt the progress of the project.2.4 Inadequate range of a function ManagementAccording to (PMI 2004), Project management scope is defining and controlling what is and what is not included in the project. The importance of scope management is shared into three elementsEnsure Sufficient Amount of Work is throughIn order to do this a clear definition of the project must be obtained. This may include identifying the take aim requirements that is mandatory to accomplish the projects objective, who the underlying stakeholders are and what is driving the project.Ensure Unnecessary Work is Not DoneAvoid the Nice to haves. Nice to haves are surplus requirements that suddenly develop a s the project progresses. These additional requirements often add little value but require limited costs.Achieve the Stated ObjectiveThe objective of the project must be achieved. For any problems encountered during execution of the project, the manager must be able to control the changes or modifications to the scope to ensure that the objective can be accomplished.2.4.1 Causes for Inadequate range of a function ManagementIncomplete graspAn incomplete scope leads to frequent additional changes. This may drag the time scale of the project and create extra costs.Conf apply ScopeA scope that is not straight forward and clear will lead to am swelleduity of stakeholders. Such ambiguities are misinterpretations of design and requirements. Confusion will modify the commitment of stakeholders and will require additional unnecessary work.Scope cringeConstant changes to the scope may make the project seem never ending and delay in completion. To prevent this, scope document must be fina lized and not allowed to be altered unless a formal change process is carried out.2.5 Poor Stakeholder ManagementStakeholder management is managing communications between stakeholders to accomplish their expectations earlier and during project execution to avoid ambiguity such as perceiving a successful project as a failure. According to the connexion for Project Management (APM) Body of Knowledge (BoK) Stakeholders are all those with an avocation or role in the project or who are squeeze by the project. Examples of stakeholders are the shareholders, creditors and the project management team itself. Maintaining good communication with the stakeholder puts the project manager at an advantage for besides being able to see eye to eye on the projects progress, the stakeholder may even service in resolving conflicts encountered by their political relations, contacts or knowledge that is not on tap(predicate) on the project team.2.5.1 Causes for Poor Stakeholder ManagementPoor tas k PlanSome projects have a tendency to fail before it even started. This is because prior to commencing a project, sufficient financial funds must be available and in order for these funds to be available the project manager must come up with a clear and detailed business plan to attract sponsors for the project. If the plan does not displace the investors or raise confusion it will be most belike be rejected.Poor CommunicationSuccessful relationship with stakeholders is achieved by maintaining good communication. The key to this is proactive communication which the stakeholder is constantly updated of the progress of the project. Other than supporting(a) commitment from the stakeholders, proactive communication helps avoid bad rumors of project disturbance from influencing stakeholders.Proactive communication will also alert the project manager of any potential troubles existing from senior stakeholders. This may be in the form of not providing the required support, interfering into the project without consultation and crazy promises or commitment.2.6 Impact of Failure Factors on ProjectThe aim of a project manager is to achieve success in all aspects of the project. This is reliant upon achieving the objectives in terms of cost, time and quality. The critical factor of these objectives is that it is interrelated with each other where you cannot trade off one for another in order to achieve the success of the project.2.6.1 Quality/Cost ImpactAll the failure factors stated preceding(prenominal) will increase the cost of a project which will then have an effect on the quality of the holy product depending on the project managers decision. For example, due to the project managers unorganized planning the costs have risen to complete the project. The poor planning may have been led by insufficient scope assessment, bad communication or even inefficient risk analysis. Therefore in order to meet the funds available the project manager decides to cut corners a nd patch up to use cheaper raw materials to complete the project. This will result in a finished product of a lower standard than specified by the customer. From this situation, by compromising quality the project is labeled as a failure even though the financial costs have not exceeded. Therefore it is of the utmost importance of the project manager to plan, analyze and communicate efficiently to achieve project success.2.6.2 Time/Cost ImpactThere is a direct relationship between time and money. Whenever a planned timescale is extended it will surely add cost to the project. The cost of a project increases as it progresses for its value and the stake it bears is higher. All the failure factors above will create disruptions in the projects progress and eventually delay its completion. This may cause increase in costs involving work force, facilities and equipment and raw materials. For full-size projects, funds are usually available progressively as the project manager completes a phase of the project. A completed phase will then be inspected and certified by an independent quality surveyor hire by the customer. Certified invoices will then be issued to the customer. The projects manager tax income will be delayed if the phase is not completed indoors the time scale specified or not up to the coveted standard. The project manager will then have to finance the extra costs himself which may result in severe cash blend problems. Delays on large project can easily add additional costs. Therefore it is very important that the project is planned, analyzed, monitored and managed carefully to avoid disruptions in its execution.2.7 Examples of Factor Failures Affecting Projects2.7.1 Boeing 787 DreamlinerThe 787 dreamliner is a 240 seater aircraft currently being developed by Boeing. Its design involves 50% of the manufacturing materials being composites makes it the first composite airliner in the world. However, due to certain draw punts Boeing announced its si xth delay for its maiden flight since family line 2007. The mod planned date for the maiden flight is now shifted to the end of 2009. The delivery of the first 787 is also delayed to the end of 2010 which is a 30 month delay from the originally expected date of June 2008. Various factors were the cause of this delay and will be explained below.Poor Stakeholder ManagementPrior to the design of the 787, Boeing planned to develop a midsized aircraft capable of travelling at tran sonic speed (speed of sound). Even though its operating costs were higher, Boeing assured its customers that the sonic cruiser would promote customer satisf exploit by saving time. However, due to the September 11, 2001 attacks and increased petroleum prices the customers became less interested in the project. therefore as Boeing informed its customers of the increasing airframe costs the customers immediately pulled out of the project resulting in Boeing announcing the abortion of the Sonic Cruiser project on declination 2002.Inadequate Scope ManagementFor the production of the 787, Boeing decided on a new approach as a resolve to reduce costs. This new approach was to outsource the major components of the 787 to different manufacturing companies around the world. For examples, the wings were produced by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagoya (Japan), ailerons and flaps by Boeing Australia, stabilizers by Alenia Aeronautica (Italy) and these parts were to be assembled in Everett, Washington (Boeings Main Plant). By outsourcing Boeing did not specify the exact details of the parts and encouraged the manufacturers to speak out their ideas develop solutions for problems. However, when progressing to the fabrication of the aircraft tests displayed the fuselage is not up to the desired strength and failed the testing. Due to this defect, Boeing engineers are back at the drawing board to solve the issue.Inappropriate Communication ManagementA current major problem in the design is electron ic integration. Unlike current aircrafts the 787 is designed to operate flight controls by employ electrical power to reduce weight and reduce complexity. However by employing three different competing companies to meld their systems together has proven to be a problem. Smiths Aerospace, Rockwell Collins and Honeywell International are known as fierce competitors in the aviation industry. Therefore when struggling to get their software to mesh with each others, the atmosphere turns stressful and the software engineers returned to the competitive attitude they actually are.Inappropriate Risk ManagementFor Boeing to be announcing its sixth delay is not displaying a very good image of achieving its objectives. Sequences of problems arising due to technical difficulties experienced by the 787 are acting like a domino effect on the progress of 787 making less room for mistakes for Boeing. Although primarily there were 910 orders on the 787, 70 of those orders have been cancelled due to the delay. The current situation to meet the deadline for the maiden flight the end of this year is building tension among Boeings engineers to solve current structural problems. Aside from technical problems the delay is also cost Boeing a net loss of $1.6 billion according to Flightglobal.com.Poor Project formulationAccording to Cohan (2009), another factor for the delay is due to Boeings change of management plan. Boeing has long adopted a command and control reference of leadership in the company. However for the 787 project, the top executives decide to enforce a new type of leadership known as Transformational Leadership (TL). TL is a form of leadership where employers encourage employees to make decisions, have receiveion and take responsibility for any failure or success. In the past, Boeing had given suppliers very detailed information of what is needed when it outsourced its components. However, with the 787 Boeing allowed the suppliers to do the design and manufacturi ng. This is pitch to be the source of why there were problems during the final assembly at Everett. Due to this factor, Boeing has reverted to the previous type of leadership to prevent any more delays and other assembly related problems from reoccurring.(http//www.dailyfinance.com/2009/08/19/will-boeing-have-to-delay-the-787-dreamliner-another-two-years/)3.0 Analysis of Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)PMBOK is a project management guide that provides the fundamentals of project management that can be applied on a variety of projects such as construction, engineering, research and so on. It provides the guidance on the application of project management skills, tools, knowledge and techniques that can enhance the success of a project. PMBOK was first published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) in 1987 and is currently the widest standard of project management used. PMBOK consists of fivesome staple fibre process groups and nine knowledge areas typical of almos t all projects. psychiatric hospital ProcessAuthorizing the project or phasePlanning Process delimit and selecting the best methods to achieve the projects objectivesExecution ProcessCoordination of resources to perform the plan autocratic ProcessMonitoring and controlling the projects progress to ensure the projects objectives is achieved and to layout corrective action if any variances occurClosing ProcessConcluding the project3.1 How PMBOK female genital organ Mitigate Failure Factors3.1.1 Communication ManagementCommunications management provides a link for information and individual for efficient communication to take place. Communication is an exchange of information between individuals that are associated in the project such as stakeholders, project team, project manager and the public itself. Failure for an organized communication system to take place will create factors for project failure as stated in the previous chapter. Therefore it is important that everyone associate d in the project understands how communication will affect the project as a whole. PMBOK has outlined the guidelines for efficient communication management which areCommunication PlanningPlan the information and communication needs of those associated with the project. This includes determining what information is to be delivered to whom and when it is to be delivered. The project manager also has to plan the communication method to be applied to different individuals associated with the project.Information DistributionThe process of making information to those who need it according to the management plan. The project manager must also be prepared to provide information on occasional unexpected requests of information. Methods of information distribution may be in the form of project meetings, hard copy documents, electronic communication such as emails, and other work management toolsPerformance ReportingInvolves allurement and distribution of performance information such as statu s reports, progress measurements and forecasts of progress. This usually provides information on scope, schedule, cost and quality. The performance report collects progress information and compares it to a reference baseline.3.1.2 Stakeholder ManagementAccording to PMBOK, stakeholder management refer to managing communication to satisfy the needs of, and resolve issues with, project stakeholder. By maintaining a good relationship between the stakeholders, it increases the potential of keeping the project on track and limits disturbances in the projects progress. To ensure efficient stakeholder management PMBOK has analysed two main guidelines to be implementedIdentify StakeholdersProcess of recognizing those who are impacted by the project. This includes documenting their interest, participation and involvement in the project. Stakeholders of a project may consists of individuals that possess different authority levels thus may have a big influence on the outcome of the project. The project manager must identify the key stakeholders and develop a strategy to approach each stakeholder and determine their level of involvement to mitigate negative impacts and encourage positive influence.Manage Stakeholder ExpectationsThis is the process of knowing the needs of the stakeholder and informing of arising issues as the project progresses. It involves negotiating and influencing the stakeholder regarding their expectations to achieve an agreement relevant to the project goals, resolving issues that is disrupting the project and informing of incoming problems and assessing them. The key to this is to maintain proactive communication with the stakeholder for the influence, knowledge and skill possess by the stakeholder may not be available on the project team.3.1.3 Risk ManagementRisk management is a process of identifying potential problems that may occur, assessing them and determine whether to avoid, transfer or mitigate the impacts of the risk. By using PMBOK as a guideline, it has outlined six processes to avoid risk as being an act of surprise and instead an anticipation of events. The processes arePlan Risk ManagementProcess of determining procedures to approach risk and the activities to be performed for managing risks. This is crucial to ensure that sufficient resources and time is available when the activities are to be performed.Identify RiskIdentify potential problems that may occur as the project progresses. It is a constantly progressing procedure for new risks may be identified as the project progresses.Qualitative Risk AnalysisAn analysis of determining risks of the highest priority. Prioritizing is in terms of probability of occurrence, impact on objectives and other factors such as time frame of response and constraints on cost, scope and quality.Quantitative Risk AnalysisAn analysis performed on risks that have been prioritized by the qualitative risk analysis. The analysis will determine the characteristics of the loss and po int a numerical rating to it.Plan Risk ResponsePlanning responses to risks identified during the analysis. Such responses may be to avoid, mitigate, transfer or even retention of the risks. The responses must take into account the significance of the risk, cost effectiveness, realistic and timely within the projects objectives and must be agreed by all parties.Monitor and Control RiskRisk monitoring and control is and ongoing processes in order to be able to identify potential new risks and keep track of existing ones. It enhances the opportunities to reduce or eliminate threats to foster the projects objectives.3.1.4 Scope ManagementIn order to avoid doing the unnecessary a system of defining and controlling what is to be included into the project must be implemented to avoid waste of resources and costs. This is scope management. PMBOK has laid out five basic guidelines to be followed to avoid doing the unnecessary.Plan Scope ingathering requirements that define and documents the projects features needed to fulfil the stakeholders needs and expectations in the project.Define ScopeProviding a detailed description of the projects deliverables and the work needed to be carried out to achieve it.Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)WBS is a process of dividing the work in a hierarchical manner into small, accomplishable groups. The WBS gives a pictorial definition of the project to assist the stakeholder in viewing the deliverable.Verify ScopeScope verification is a process of receiving the acceptance by the stakeholder on a completed scope or deliverable.Control ScopeScope control is the process of monitoring the progress of the scope and managing any changes to be done to it. This is to avoid scope creep, thus any changes must be performed through an Integrated Change control process.3.1.5 Project PlanningA project plan is to create a guideline to achieve the projects objective. The project plan will display a flow diagram of processes which will lead to acc omplishing objectives. The plan must also take into consideration of the time scale, resources, workforce and any potential risks to the project. As specified by PMBOK, planning of a project will integrate some knowledge areas processes with each other depending on their inputs and outputs. The guidelines for an effective project plan are provided by PMBOK. give out Project CharterProject charters are issued by the sponsors of the project. It is a document that formally authorizes a project and is a summary of the project. The contents of a project charter are business needs, current customer requirements, project purpose, milestone schedule and the cipher summary.Develop Preliminary Scope StatementThis process involves defining of what is needed to be accomplished in the project. The preliminary scope statement is enter based on information from the sponsor which will include the characteristics and boundaries of the project.Develop Project Management PlanProject management plan is a document that defines integrates and coordinates all subsidiary plans into one document. The project management plan displays how the project will be carried out monitored and controlled and closed which are the five basic processes of PMBOK. The project management plan is revised and updated whenever a change occurs to the plan.4.0 ConclusionProject Managers are like bridges that links key pieces together. Therefore, to reach those pieces effectively they are required to possess a vestibular sense of skills and knowledge and are able to apply the skill and knowledge efficiently. Project management frameworks such as PMBOK are merely used as guidance and will not promise the success of a project. The project management team is responsible for determining what is appropriate in any project and the decision is made by the project manager. Project Managers should have a clear understanding of the projects objectives and strive to achieve them. As mentioned above, careful planning of a project is essential for its success. Other factors that also contribute to this are good communication, detailed risk analysis, clear definition of scope and proactive relationship among stakeholders. By using these factors as guidelines, it is quite certain that impacts for projects failure can be mitigated.