Question

According to Roberts, the industry deems only 25% of technology projects successful. Analyze why this statistic is so low. Suggest strategies that an IT department could use in order to increase the success rate of projects. Give your opinion on whether the structure of the PMO contributes to this statistic. Justify your response. I

magine that you are a senior business analyst with a multinational corporation. Examine the process of requirements gathering discussed in Chapter 9 of the Roberts text. Suggest your strategy for gathering requirements from across divisional lines. Determine at least two (2) obstacles that you may encounter, and propose one (1) method for overcoming each. Provide a rationale for your response.

Answer 1

Q1) Below are the reasons why only 25% of technology projects are successful -

1. They involve huge capital investments and continuous maintenance.

2. A number of risks associated with technology implementation as it is difficult to predict the system behavior and any interruptions.

3. The complexity involved in technology implementation is high

4. Ineffective scope definition and improper requirement gathering and mapping to system capabilities.

5. Other common reasons like lack of effective leadership, internal conflicts, lack of accountability etc.

Q2) Below are the strategies an IT department could use in order to increase the success rate of projects -

1. Clearly identify and define the scope of the project and get it reviewed and approved before working on the project.

2. Conduct a detailed requirement gathering and map it accurately to the system capabilities.

3. Identify the gaps in the requirements and ensure they are addressed as custom objects or removed from scope.

4. Ensure there is a project management team handling the project with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

5. Provide all the required support to the team in terms of staffing of resources etc.

Q3) PMO contributes to the project success rate as -

1. It maps the requirements for roles in the project to the resources and their skills.

2. Staffs the resources to ensure project is delievered in time.

3. Schedule the deliverables and deadlines

4. Identify and manage risks.

Q4) Below is the process of requirement gathering -

1. Identify all business requirements as per the functional departments and share with the respective functional consultants.

2. Ensure the requirements are mapped accurately either as a fit or as a gap in the system.

3. Design the deliverables and schedule as per the criticality of the requirements

4. Staff the resources and the timelines depending on the complexity of the requirements.

Q5) Below are few obstacles that may be encountered while gathering business requirements -

1. Non-cooperation of the functional or divisional teams -

Overcoming strategy - Cross-functional team meetings are the best way to ensure cooperation is maintained within the project.

2. Ambiguity in the requirements and difficulty in mapping and associating them.

Overcoming strategy - The requirement needs to be analyzed with the functional teams in depth and a clear ownership needs to be identified.