How to prevent failure: project education
According to Standish Group, top causes of failed IT project are these:
- lack of end-user engagement,
- unclear specification,
- changes in scope,
- lack of management support,
- lack of planning,
- unrealistic and unclear goals.
I haven’t seen too many failed Microsoft Dynamics NAV implementation projects, but those that I did see fail, have failed precisely for a selection of these reasons.
Take a closer look at the list above. Doesn’t it seem that the blame lays mostly on the customer? But is it really customer’s fault?
Last week I participated in a discussion about budgets and whether you should ask your potential customers their budget. It made me think: how often do customers reveal their project budgets before the consultants bid?