What To Do When Your IT Project Is Late, Over Budget, and Looks Like It?s Never Going To Work

Here's a scary statistic. According to four prominent research firms, only around 20% of all IT projects are finished in a timely manner. By "timely" the researchers mean without loss of quality or being over budget. They go on to say the average project runs approximately 200 percent late, roughly 200 percent over budget, and contains only 2/3 of the original functionality.

Failure is the norm in the IT industry. But why? And more importantly, how do we fix it?

There must be a way to dissect the problem, and create a solution to the diagnosis of "doomed failure." Trust me, there is!

Top 7 Problems and Their Solutions

Let's take a look at the top 7 reasons IT projects are late or over budget. Then I'll show you some proven solutions taken straight from the trenches.

1. Not Enough Time

Whether it's a misunderstanding of the complexity of computer system designs or some other reason, many times little time is devoted to gathering the necessary data. Because this is one of the first steps in the process, when adequate time isn't given to data collection, everything else suffers.

Likewise, enough time is rarely allotted to creating a good design. While the planning stage may not offer the excitement that development does, it is equally, if not more, important. Lack of planning in the design phase almost always leads to ongoing changes during the development phase. When this happens, budget dollars and man-hours are eaten away.

SOLUTION: Give it more time. This vital step must be given due consideration. Adjust your schedule as needed, and you'll find the rest of the process goes much smoother. Yes, you have to make it to market before your competition. But if you make it to market and your product is filled with bugs, what do you get? A pile of returns and complaints, and a bad reputation.

2. Open the Lines of Communication

It sounds like a cliché, but communication is absolutely vital to the success of any project. The communication between the development team and the users, and also the communication inside the development team must be crystal clear. Does everyone understand you? Do they know exactly what's expected of them or have you assumed they know? Do they communicate well with each other? With users? With other departments?

SOLUTION: Identify communication breakdowns now. These can only lead to confusion and complications down the road. Never assume that everyone understands. Take just a little extra time to create an environment that is destined to produce a product on time and under budget.

3. Testing a New Program in the Production Server

Testing in the production server leads to a breach of security, which can lead to "immediate" release without testing which can ultimately disrupt the production environment.

SOLUTION: There should be specific protocol setup for security and quality control considerations for new program tests.

4. Inadequate Testing

Experience and studies show that testing is almost always pushed to the end of the development cycle. Since the development is usually bad, the testers run out of time. The result? Running over schedule and over budget. Not to mention the release of an inadequate product.

SOLUTION: Remember problem #1? Ditto! Yes, you have to make it to market before your competition. But if you make it to market and your product is filled with bugs, what do you get? A pile of returns and complaints, and a bad reputation. Test all the way through the process, and you'll save a lot of time in the end.

5. Pressing the Budget Too Tight

When you have unrealistic goals for a project's budget to start with, chaos is bound to set in. Departments fall behind, resources are slow to arrive, and - because of budget constraints - the project, once again, runs off the road.

SOLUTION: Create an accurate budget. Also, outline ways to develop better upfront planning of the resources.

6. Never/Rarely Checking the Progress of the Project

As the project goes along, the unexpected happens. Various people implement their ideas as to how to fix these challenges and - when launch day comes - you're surprised with an entire list of challenges that need your immediate attention.

SOLUTION: Define "checkpoints" throughout the project. Give attention to those things that need to be adjusted along the way, even if they cause minor delays. Fixing them now, rather than later, will take less time overall.

7. Not Reviewing Existing Standards

Do most or all of your projects run late and over budget? Do you keep the same standards in place time after time? How's that working for you? If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you get. Let's face it? things change, and if you want to keep pace, you have to change, too.

SOLUTION: Take time to review the standards used for each and every project. Keep a running list of what worked, what didn't, and how to do it better next time.

The next time your IT project is late, over budget, and looks like it is never going to work, review this list again. Make the necessary adjustments, and you'll be downright amazed at the difference!

About The Author

Frank Schmidt is a seasoned Project Predictability Specialist specializing in Executive Coaching and Project Management Methodologies. He has worked with a wide range of companies, software developers, and human resource personnel to effectively meet the deadlines of urgent projects. Frank is available to consult on your next IT project. Visit his site today for additional details: http://www.GeniusOne.com; FrankSchmidt@GeniusOne.com

In The News:
Yahoo! News: Top Stories
Job losses stack up as recession deepens (AP)

A sign instructs job seekers at the California Employment Development Department in Sunnyvale, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. The country lost nearly 2 million jobs through November and more bad news is expected this week when the government releases data on weekly jobless claims and December unemployment. No matter how bad those numbers are, and economists expect at least another 500,000 jobs were lost last month, the pain is stretching into 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.



Illinois House on verge of impeaching Blagojevich (AP)

Rep. Roger L. Eddy, right, votes to recommend the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the House during an Illinois House Impeachment Committee hearing Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Springfield, Ill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend impeachment putting the matter before the full house. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces almost certain impeachment by the Illinois House, a historic step that would trigger a trial to determine whether the Democratic governor should be tossed out of office.



Rifts show as Obama urges quick action on stimulus (AP)

President-elect Barack Obama arrives to speak about the economy, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - Lawmakers are under orders to finish action on President-elect Barack Obama's nearly $800 billion economic recovery plan by mid-February. But already it is plain that a set of serious fissures need to be bridged if the bill is to be completed within five weeks.



Israel to continue offensive despite UN resolution (AP)

Palestinians survey a kindergarten destroyed after an Israeli air strike in Gaza January 8, 2009. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)AP - Israeli jets and helicopters bombarded Gaza Friday and Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets, as Israel's government said it will press forward with its offensive despite a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.



Obama to finalize national security team Friday (AP)

In this Jan. 29, 2002 file photo, then Admiral Dennis Blair, center, commander-in-chief of the United States Pacific Command, reviews a guard of honor at the Singapore Ministry of Defense headquarters. (AP Photo/Naashon Zalk)AP - President-elect Barack Obama is completing his national security team by announcing his unusual choices for CIA director and a national intelligence director who may face tough Senate confirmation questioning over how he confronted the Indonesian military when civilian massacres were occurring in East Timor.



Stocks point lower ahead of employment report (AP)

Traders gather at the post that handles Wal-Mart on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009 (AP Photo/Richard Drew)AP - Investors showed nervousness Friday ahead of the government's monthly employment report, sending stock futures moderately lower.



Democrats begin new session with labor bills (AP)

Pay Equity pioneer Lily Ledbetter addresses the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008 file photo. Democrats are ushering in what they believe will be a new labor-friendly era in Washington with House votes on two bills aimed at helping women fight pay discrimination in the workplace. The House was to vote on the bills Friday Jan. 9, 2009, and they could reach Barack Obama's desk soon after he enters the White House. One of the bills, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, is a response to a 2007 Supreme Court decision that made it more difficult to sue over past pay discrimination. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, FILE)AP - Democrats are ushering in what they believe will be a new labor-friendly era in Washington with House votes on two bills aimed at helping women fight pay discrimination in the workplace.



Broadcasts to mobile devices to start in 22 cities (AP)

An LG cell phone shows live TV during a demonstration at an OMVC news conference at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas,Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)AP - TV stations in 22 U.S. cities announced Thursday that they will start broadcasting their signals this year in a format designed to be received by mobile devices like cell phones, MP3 players, GPS units and in-car entertainment systems.



Ex-'Sopranos' actor faces prison for burglary try (AP)
AP - A former actor on "The Sopranos" faces up to 15 years in prison for a botched burglary in the Bronx in which an accomplice shot and killed a police officer.

Tebow leads Fla. past Okla. 24-14 for BCS title (AP)

Florida's Tim Tebow (15) throws a pass over Oklahoma's Auston English (33) during the third quarter of the BCS Championship NCAA college football game in Miami, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)AP - Tim Tebow gave Florida the jolt it needed, and the Gators toughed out a second BCS title in three years. Their 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in a choppy, sloppy affair Thursday night made them a national champion.



World waits on jobs data as recession weighs (Reuters)

Jaclyn Holt (R) fills out an application form at a job fair organized by the New Hampshire Employment Security agency in Salem, New Hampshire December 17, 2008. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)Reuters - Steep falls in European industrial output underlined the severity of the world economic crisis on Friday and more grim news was on the way with the United States expected to report the biggest monthly job cuts in more than 30 years.



U.N. calls for immediate Gaza truce (Reuters)

An Israeli soldier stands atop a vehicle after crossing into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip January 7, 2009. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)Reuters - Israel pushed ahead with its two-week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, defying a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.



Panel steps up criticism of Treasury: report (Reuters)
Reuters - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

Obama team working on overhaul of financial rescue (Reuters)

President-elect Barack Obama (L) leaves the podium with Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, after announcing that he will become Treasury Secretary during a news conference in Chicago, November 24, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is working on an overhaul the $700 billion financial rescue program with the aim of doing more to spur the flow of credit to the struggling economy, an Obama aide said on Friday.



EU seeks gas supply return after deal on monitors (Reuters)

A pressure gauge is seen at a Ukrainian gas compressor station in the village of Boyarka near Kiev January 9, 2009 (Konstantin Chernichkin - UKRAINE/Reuters)Reuters - Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly said a deal to monitor gas exports via Ukraine would be signed on Friday, allowing for the resumption of supplies to Europe cut off by Moscow's price row with Kiev.



Citi backs measure to help avoid foreclosures (Reuters)

People taking the Long Island Foreclosure Tour arrive at a foreclosed home for sale in New Hyde Park, New York in this May 17, 2008 file photo. Citigroup could soon agree to principles that would let troubled borrowers save their homes through bankruptcy, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday, while industry groups are easing their opposition to the plan. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.



Illinois panel recommends governor's impeachment (Reuters)

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich gestures as he announces former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as his choice to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois December 30, 2008. (Frank Polich/Reuters)Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.



Health care overhaul needn't break bank: study (Reuters)

A doctor checks the blood pressure of a patient at the J.W.C.H. safety-net clinic in the center of skid row in downtown Los Angeles July 30, 2007. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)Reuters - An analysis of proposals to overhaul U.S. health care by President-elect Barack Obama and members of Congress suggests it is possible to insure all Americans without significantly raising total health spending.



Israel presses on with Gaza strikes despite UN resolution (AFP)

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks to an unidentified aide during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations. Israel has battered Gaza with bombs and shells, vowing its offensive on Hamas would go on despite an order by the UN Security Council to stop the assault that has killed hundreds of civilians.(AFP/File/Timothy A. Clary)AFP - Israel battered Gaza with bombs and shells on Friday, vowing its offensive on Hamas would go on despite an order by the UN Security Council to stop the assault that has killed hundreds of civilians.



Russia hopeful of resuming Europe gas supplies (AFP)

A man carries firewood in the suburbs of Sofia, Bulgaria. Russian gas deliveries to Europe could resume, the head of Russia's state gas firm said, raising hopes for an end to a transit dispute with Ukraine that has left several European states without gas at a moment of bitter cold.(AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)AFP - Russian gas deliveries to Europe could resume later Friday, the head of Russia's state gas firm said, raising hopes for an end to a transit dispute with Ukraine that has left several European states without gas at a moment of bitter cold.




Delegation: When to Delegate, Who to Delegate to

There are some very simple guides for delegation.Most people delegate based on... Read More

Which ITIL Process Should We Implement First?

The following question is usually debated a lot amongst IT managers. "With... Read More

CEO: The Key To Fix ingThe Marketing/Sales Collaboration Problem

We all know that achieving better alignment, synergy and cooperation between company... Read More

What Every HR Manager Should Know About Hiring Productive Employees

The characteristics of job applicants have a strong influence on whether or... Read More

My Companys Leadership Sucks!

Maybe it's the season or just a more buoyant job market; but... Read More

More Problem-Solving Success Tips

The ability to solve complicated problems quickly is more important than ever... Read More

Can Your Business Run Without You?

If you are a business owner or a business owner to be,... Read More

50 Great Ways to Motivate and Not Break the Bank

Quick, Easy, and Even Fun! 1. Smile, say "Hi! How are you... Read More

Are You A B.O.S.S. -- Boisterous, Omnipotent, Self Indulgent, Sociopath

Boisterous, Omnipotent, Self- indulgent Sociopath. Avoid the B.O.S.S. syndrome with five leadership... Read More

So, You Want to be in Management? Five Essential Factors that Will Determine Your Chances

The following information is based upon over 500 interviews with senior executives... Read More

Performance Appraisals: Nightmares or Sweet Dreams

Some managers think of performance appraisal meetings and recollections of torn Achilles'... Read More

The Crisis of Modernity

Since the beginning of the industrial era our world has been facing... Read More

Well-Defined Processes ? How to Create

Interested in learning how to reduce development time, save money and stay... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Adapting Human Resource Functions

This article relates to the human resource functions competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More

Tales From the Corporate Frontlines:The Importance of a Competitive Wage and Benefit Package

This article relates to the Compensation and Benefits competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management in Conservative, Staid Organisations

Conservative and staid organisations generally have a harder time implementing creativity and... Read More

Time Management Tips for Managers

Late last year I was presenting a workshop for the senior managers... Read More

What Makes a Good Appraisal Interview?

WHAT MAKES A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW?Here is a tip for supervisors that... Read More

In Leadership, The Critical Convergence Drives Great Results

The Leader's Fallacy lives! We subscribe to the Fallacy when we believe... Read More

ISO 9001 Registration ? 8 Steps for Success

You've made the plans, built the quality system and conducted the audit.... Read More

Management - Mary Poppins Style!

Mary Poppins describes a style of management which has for too long... Read More

Building A Stellar Business One Employee At A Time

Top businesses that continually lead their industry clearly understand a simple fact:People... Read More

Successful Managing Through Delegation

Managers should avoid the tendency to constantly delegate to the same one... Read More

Three Professional Services Resolutions for 2005

With client expectations higher than ever before, and the gradual industry recovery... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Human Resources at Work

This article relates to the Human Resource Functions competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More

Effective Meetings - Quick Survey

Here's an easy quiz to check the health of your meetings.1) Who... Read More

When Business Becomes A Battlefield

"We have to be careful it's like a minefield out there" "I... Read More

Your Biggest Problem in Business? Work Ethic

US Work Ethic Issues and Lack of serviceWell many of us... Read More

Innovation Management ? IBM Opens Lid On Its Treasure Chest

IBM, which registered 3248 patents last year, has decided that sharing technology... Read More

Effective Multi Cultural International Business Meetings

Of the many areas in international business where cultural differences manifest is... Read More

Birds of a Feather May Be Turkeys

Birds of a Feather May Be TurkeysBy Gene Griessman, PhD Birds... Read More

Spirits in the Corporate Boardroom.......Oh, sure......

There is a growing movement in the spiritual and holistic... Read More

Understanding How Change Has Changed

There seems to be an assumption that change is a single traumatic... Read More

Work Priorities: Where Can You Spend Your Time Most Effectively?

Understanding where you can spend time most effectively requires concentration in three... Read More

Paretos Law- Your Formula For Success

A 'dirt-world' retail business I used to manage had a large turnover,... Read More

ISO 9001 Okay Now You Have It How Do You Market It?

Marketing ISO 9001 2000.Lately we've been seeing a lot of press releases... Read More

Performance Appraisals: Questions for Smarties and Dummies

In numerous programs I've conducted on performance appraisals, with Human Resource people... Read More

Effective Meetings: Why Most Meetings are a Waste of Time

Whether your company holds one meeting a week or dozens of meetings... Read More

Planning For Growth

Are you planning your business or are you planning your... Read More

Finding Common Ground Through Consensus Decision-Making

It's clear to me that a workplace is a better place when... Read More

Year 2010: Permanent Employees No Longer Required

Jack Welch joined a conference that was held in Duke Fuquay Business... Read More

Innovation Management ? Six Crucial Steps

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation... Read More

The Truth About Performance Reviews

Now that it is January, many of you are putting together, or... Read More

Performance Evaluations Can Be Beneficial

THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW MEETING: It's a fact - most supervisors and employees... Read More

Dont Get Side-Tracked By The Nay-Sayers

You, the Entrepreneur, are 'normally' a type-A individual. One who has little... Read More

5 Interviewing Mistakes That Can Lead To Hiring The Wrong Person

Mistake #1: Going with the flowInexperienced interviewers sometimes fall into the trap... Read More

Improved Communication to Improve Results

Facilitating good communication can make the difference between a well oiled, effective... Read More