Volume 6

Volume 6, Number 63

December 23, 2008

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16 pages932 K bytes

Systematic and Holistic IT Project Management Approach for Commercial Software with Case Studies


Theresa A. Kraft
University of Michigan Flint
Flint, MI 48502 USA

Abstract: IT is fast becoming intrinsic to our daily existence. Companies invest large sums of monies for major IT projects with very limited success. Despite the abundance of IT project management (ITPM) resources (Body of Knowledge, IT standards, governance), a large percentage of IT projects continue to be scrapped, over budget, and/or delayed. In a few decades, a large-scale IT failure will become more than just an expensive inconvenience: it will put our way of life at risk. Recent studies have shown a 66% IT project failure rate, with 52% of the projects being cancelled, and 82% being delivered late. Of the companies surveyed, 67% feel their PM programs/practices are “in need of repair”. Thus, complying with traditional IT/Business governances and project management methodology may not be enough to ensure enterprise IT project success/performance. Implementing a more systematic and holistic approach might demonstrate improved project success factors. A systematic and holistic project management methodology would address the following questions to improve the success of IT projects: • How should business processes be redesigned to be aligned with the overall system design and functionality in order to improve the outcomes/performance of IT project? • What is the relationship between business requirements and the overall system IT architecture and infrastructure? • How could alignment be achieved between the overall system architecture and IT Governance in today’s business environments? • Case histories of IT Commercial Off-the-shelf Software (COTS) projects will be researched based upon these questions and utilized to develop a conceptual model.

Keywords: Project Management, Commercial Software, Conceptual Model, Business Processing, IT Architecture

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Recommended Citation: Kraft (2008). Systematic and Holistic IT Project Management Approach for Commercial Software with Case Studies. Information Systems Education Journal, 6 (63). http://isedj.org/6/63/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2007: §3152. ISSN: 1542-7382.)