Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 13

Project Management - Essay Example Despite a few known cases of successful project development and implementation, it is widely accepted in the industry that a number of unacceptable projects fail, especially in the IT/IS sector. According to Lyytinen and Hirschheim (1987), the estimated number of project failures is half of all the systems implemented. Galloway and Whyte (1989) concurred with the survey of project failures. Whyte and Bytheway (1996) further argued that more projects fail than succeed. Bozman (1994) claims that project failures are common in every parts of the world – it is an international phenomenon. Industries view project failures as either a pathological state to be avoided or a logical problem of goal definition (Lindahl & Rehn, 2007).This paper will focus on the different key factors that influence the failure of projects especially on the field of information technology (IT). It will discuss the different stages in the project lifecycle and the possible areas of failures in each stage. Furthermore, the paper will tackle the concept of risk management and its benefits in a successful project development as well as in preventing failures. A successful risk management system incorporated in a project will create a programme for handling probable causes of project failures.IT projects fail when it does not meet one or more of its criteria for success. The criteria for successful IT projects are delivery on time, completion on or under budget, and satisfaction of user requirements.