Ten IT Project Pitfalls

Baseline Magazine published an article called “Top 10 Project Pitfalls You Can Avoid.” This list is hardy definitive, but does describe a bunch of good points:

1. A project’s scope is too monolithic and gargantuan.
   
2. Processes and technology aren’t synched up.
   
3. Poor data quality leads to increased costs.
   
4. A project is slowed down because it requires approval across multiple divisions.
   
5. Managers don’t take advantage of information systems to make quick business decisions.
   
6. Poor design results in data-entry errors.
   
7. Aging, disparate systems can become impossible to keep fully integrated.
   
8. A system is rushed into production too quickly, resulting in duplication of effort and bugs.
   
9. Access rights to existing systems are undocumented.
   
10. A system’s interface is hard to use.

Once again, we can see that the causes of IT project failure lie in business issues, rather than in technology-related problems. The single most important determinant of IT success is management capability. Conversely, projects fail when someone falls asleep at the switch. Look at the list above, and you’ll see a checklist of common project items begging for careful management.