Every business has a goal in mind when it comes to their IT department. For some, it’s updating infrastructure to adapt to new demands created by technological developments. For others, it’s introducing new types of software or services to increase productivity.
However, despite the best intentions, not all IT projects go the distance. For many reasons, some ultimately fail. Here are five of the biggest detractors for any IT related project.
1. Lack of visibility. Every tier of a project is handled by different people and different sections of a company. A big reason why a project might collapse is because these tiers do not have necessary information (or access to it) at the right time. For instance, project leads need to be able to access crucial files at all times.
Additionally, poorly communicated goals or messages through these development tiers can lead to delays and incorrect conclusions.
2. Unclear goals. Nothing hurts a project more than having an unclear idea about where it’s going. This also includes the necessary resources for the project, the people to bring on board, and deadlines.
This occurs when project leads do not have a clear plan of execution, as well as having too many obligations to fulfill at once.
3. Improper use of resources. Tying back into visibility, project leads who are not aware of the resources available tend to overuse them. Or they have an unclear idea of the project’s true needs.
This extends to the workers, who are then given too large a workload and often fail to deliver by deadlines because they’re stretched too thin. Additionally, because of the mentioned lack of visibility, leads do not get the necessary resources based on either misinformation or no information at all.
4. Poor communication. Above all, keeping everyone in the loop is the key to success. Giving clear and direct messages to workers allows them to effectively deliver. With poor communication, they either don’t understand what they need to do or don’t get necessary project files to each other when necessary.
Additionally, project leads must stay on top of guidelines and deadlines. With poor management, others cannot properly address questions they might have or understand what the overall project goal is.
5. Ineffective management. Team leads who cannot properly consolidate both resources and plans can easily sink IT projects. Leads must have a clear idea of what they’re aiming for and how to allocate properly.
Each project member or work group should have a designated task with all necessary resources to reach their end point by a specific date. Management that doesn’t enforce the latter can be as detrimental as technical failures.
While there are still many other reasons IT projects tend to go belly up, these are some of the most common. It’s important to make sure your business has all of the proper resources set up, with a clear objective, trained staff, and a point of expected delivery.
