Why Most IT Projects Fail

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How Projects Really Work

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How the customer explained it

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How the project leader understood it

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How the analyst designed it

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How the programmer wrote it

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How the business consultant described it

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How the project was documented

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How much the project cost

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What the customer really needed

1995 – The CHAOS ReportFirst comprehensive study on success and

failure of software projects– Conducted by The Standish Group

– Updated roughly every two years

Survey of IT executive managers– large and small businesses

– various industries • inc. banking, securities, manufacturing, retail,

wholeale, health care, insurance, services and government

Classifications•• ““SuccessfulSuccessful””

– On time, on budget, all features•• ““ChallengedChallenged””

– Completed but over-budget, over time estimate, missing features

•• ““ImpairedImpaired””– Canceled

Result of first study - 1994 data

Successful16%

Challenged53%

Canceled31%

Reasons for Challenged/Canceled, 1994

Lack of User Involvement

Incomplete Requirements

Changing Requirements

Lack of Executive Support

Unrealistic Expectations

Unrealistic Time Frames

Lack of Planning

Project No Longer Needed

Lack of Resources

Lack of Competence with Technology Used

Reasons for Success, 1994 User InvolvementUser Involvement Executive

Management Support

Clear Statement of Requirements

Proper Planning

Realistic Expectations

Smaller Project Smaller Project MilestonesMilestones

Competent Staff

OwnershipOwnership Clear Vision &

Objectives

Hard-Working, FocusedFocused Staff

How Are Big IT Projects Run?IT is left to IT

Lack of involvement by stakeholders

Matrix organizationsPeople not dedicated & focusedAccountability is to department head, not project

leadPoor communication

• No co-location• Simple issues take a long time to resolve

How Are Big IT Projects Run?Big, upfront requirements

Stakeholders will ask for the moonDocumentation so voluminous that often inconsistent &

conflicting• Thick documentation = false sense of confidence

Business outcomes poorly/not definedLack of measurable, observable criteria for success

despite voluminous requirements documentation• Ex. cost reduction targets, customer satisfaction,

market share, process handling time

The Problem with “Waterfall”

Mistakes are hard to find in early stages

Change becomes more expensive in later stages

CHAOS Results, '94 - '08

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Successful 16% 27% 26% 28% 34% 29% 35% 32%

Challenged 53% 33% 46% 49% 51% 53% 46% 44%

Canceled 31% 40% 28% 23% 15% 18% 19% 24%

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 20080%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Successful 16% 27% 26% 28% 34% 29% 35% 32%

Challenged 53% 33% 46% 49% 51% 53% 46% 44%

Canceled 31% 40% 28% 23% 15% 18% 19% 24%

1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 20080%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Reasons for Success, '04 - '08

• User involvement

• Executive management support

• Clear businessbusiness objectives

• Optimizing scope

•• Agile processAgile process

• Project manager expertise

• Financial management

• Skilled resources

• Formal methodology

• Standard tools and methodology

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What is Agile?Family of methodologies that

advocate “lightweight” and “human” software development processes– Extreme Programming (XP), Scrum,

Kanban, Lean, Crystal, Agile Unified Process...

Coined in 2001 by the creators of similar methodologies reacting to “heavyweight” methodologies– “heavyweight”: too much work that does

not contribute to successful software project

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What is Agile?Emphasis on

Customer satisfactionJob satisfactionRemoval of things that do not contribute to above

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What is Agile?Culture

Values and attitude of people involved are just as important as processes

Automation for Quick FeedbackAutomated tests, code quality metrics, acceptance

criteria, automated build & deployment...

Agile Adoption, Forrester 2009

Agile35%

No Formal Process31%

Iterative21%

Waterfall13%

Aspects of Software Development

• Project Management

• Engineering• Business Analysis• Quality Assurance• User Experience• Others...

- No one methodology covers all aspects

- No one methodology covers all situations

Some Agile PracticesInterdisciplinary, co-located teams

Ex. Qwest Communications project

Short iterationsDeliver working systems for customer feedback

Test-Driven DevelopmentDefine success before you build, down to the

smallest unit

Some Agile PracticesContinuous Integration

Automatically build and deploy entire system multiple times a day, running automated tests and other quality tools

RefactoringConstantly improving code design to make it easy

to accommodate change

DevOpsIntegrate development and operations into a

seamless, automated practice

Are Agile PracticesAgile Practices the Answer?

NO

Many organizations have adopted Agile practices with poor results

Are Agile PracticesAgile Practices the Answer?

Beware of the hypehype surrounding Agile

Why Agile Fails• Culture of mistrust• Performance measures not aligned towards

collaboration• Capability of personnel• Agile authors and consultants that preach

silver bullets & snake oil– Example... “leaderless teams”... what?

Improving the Success Rate• No silver bullets

– Slow and steady changes– Each company is different

• Changing not just practices, but also culture and performance measures– Align towards collaboration

• Ex: Reward overall project success, not just specific department deliverables

• Smaller project scopes, measurable outcomes

Improving the Success Rate• Focused, multidisciplinary, co-located teams

– Avoid matrix organization– IT is too important to leave to IT!

• Teams with end-to-end responsibility– Requirements definition, design, development,

testing, deployment, and business results• Did I say no silver bullets?

– Experienced, pragmatic coaches can help

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The Agile ManifestoWe are uncovering better ways of developing software

by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiationResponding to change over following a planThat is, while there is value in the items on the right,

we value the items on the left more.

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Agile at Agile at OrangeOrange & & BronzeBronzeBeen doing Agile since its foundation in 2005Been doing Agile since its foundation in 2005

Before it became mainstreamBefore it became mainstreamWe've tried different methodologies and practicesWe've tried different methodologies and practices

XP, Scrum, Kanban, Lean...XP, Scrum, Kanban, Lean...Not all practices work in all conditionsNot all practices work in all conditions

The first to offer The first to offer training & coaching in Agiletraining & coaching in Agile methodologies and practicesmethodologies and practicesScrum, TDD, Agile Business Analysis, Agile QA, etcScrum, TDD, Agile Business Analysis, Agile QA, etcTrainers/coaches are seasoned practitionersTrainers/coaches are seasoned practitioners

Officers & architects speak at Agile conferences Officers & architects speak at Agile conferences here and abroadhere and abroad

Some of Our ClientsSome of Our ClientsSoftware DevelopmentSoftware Development Training & CoachingTraining & Coaching

BothBoth