A survey of IT experts revealed 43 percent of their organisations had recently killed an IT project. The study, conducted by ISACA, an independent IT governance group, highlighted the top 5 reasons these organisations named for terminating projects prior to completion. Here’s the list, with my commentary on each issue: 1. Business needs changed: 30% [...]

Bridging the Communication Gap Through Technical Awareness Many project managers are extremely successful in their role by simply managing a project plan and checking off tasks as they become “100% complete.” They’re able to manage teams, create budgets, assess risk, pretty much perform all of the basic and yet complex project manager duties. And more [...]

“Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.” Dale Carnegie Depending on the structure of your organisation, the project manager is most likely the person who interacts with the broadest range of stakeholders. Sure the managing director will intermingle with project managers, business development, maybe even the client at early stages. But [...]

How do you know when your part of the development race is over? Learn how to establish a clear finish line for your project! When undertaking a software development project, an effectively designed closure plan serves as an outline of required tasks that must be carried out appropriately in order to result in successful project [...]

One of the most challenging aspects of Enterprise Architecture (EA), and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) in particular, is that rather than address a discrete problem or set of problems in the enterprise, it attempts to address a range of interconnected and perplexing issues that have long troubled IT. Specifically, SOA approaches to EA address long-term issues [...]

Many job roles have claimed the title “project manager,” but in reality they are a far-cry from the traditional role with responsibility for the initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, control and closing of a project. So how can you be sure you are recruiting the right person? Firstly you need to profile the kind of person [...]

Must project managers be technically savvy? This topic always seems to cause quite a stir. While some believe that all you need to manage a project is a PMP certification, others are convinced that you can’t successfully manage a software development project unless you truly understand the intricacies of the product. I agree! To be [...]

Studies on project failure are easy to find and make depressing reading. Gartner studies suggest that 75% of all US IT projects are considered to be failures by those responsible for initiating them. But what do they mean by failure? They mean the solutions fundamentally did not do what was agreed. Or they missed deadlines. [...]

Even when a good governance structure is in place the structure of an IT project is more important than is often assumed. The structure can make estimating difficult, and make it impossible to deliver whilst retaining the confidence of the management and external stakeholders. Yet the structure is often assumed without proper debate – either [...]