Managing IT Project Failure Risk

Studies consistently show that a significant portion of IT projects either fail completely or are late, over budget or do not deliver expected benefits. The risk of IT project failure is due in part to the conventional IT procurement process, which often requires customers to make important procurement decisions based upon incomplete and inaccurate information, and to accept the risk of project failure. An alternative approach to IT procurement can avoid unnecessary risks of project failure to the benefit of both customers and IT vendors and service providers.

Sophisticated IT solutions are often based on commercial off-the-shelf ("COTS") technologies and implementation services provided by one or more technology vendors and IT service providers. The typical implementation project usually involves a detailed analysis of the customer's requirements (known as "discovery"), identification of gaps between the customer's requirements and the out-of-the-box