by Nicholas
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A number of studies have been completed that look into the success and failure rates of projects. These studies indicate that serious problems exist across a broad cross-section of the ICT profession.
Among the key findings quoted are:
- 17 percent of large ICT projects go so badly that they threaten the very existence of the company.
- On average, large ICT projects run 45 percent over budget and 7 percent over time, while delivering 56 percent less value than predicted
This is scary to say the least. The thing is that there are more failures with ICT projects than any other profession.
So why do so many ICT Projects fail? There are probably a number of reasons. These include:
- The ICT Profession is young, with many unchartered areas.
- The ICT Profession is constantly changing.
- ICT Project Managers lack proper training.
The fact that the ICT Profession is young and constantly changing makes it exciting. A lot of what happens is Project Based. This means it is vitally important to know how to manage ICT Projects.
Project Management is very complex. There are so many variables and stakeholders at play, timeframes can easily slide and budgets can be quickly exceeded.
There will always be reactive elements in managing your ICT projects. There are some key things to consider that will allow you to remain in control as work progresses.
A good place to start is good Project Management training. There are many paths that can be taken. Some of these paths such as PMI or Prince Certification can get expensive. Even text books are costly.
A very good cost effective place to start is the ICT Project Management Training Course from Nick’s Digital Solutions Limited. For $20 you will soon be able to download a comprehensive E-Book which has been the basis for a Level 7 eight week training course.
Project Management text books can be very expensive. Some excellent examples include:
An Introduction to Project Management by Kathy Schwalbe $US72.39
Project Management in Practice by Mantell, Meredith et al $US61.00
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) $US37.39
Project Management: Achieving Competive Advantage $271.89
I’ll be honest. They are all very good. However, two things to say:
- ICT Project Management from Nick’s Digital Solutions is more specific to ICT
- ICT Project Management from Nick’s Digital Solutions is cheaper.
Project Management is a very good skill to have, and the E-Book on ICT Project Management is a very good place to start your ICT Project Management training.
For more blogs please go to www.NicksDigitalSolutions.com and choose Nicks blog.
For E-Learning material, please go to www.NicksDigitalSolutions.com and choose E-Learning Shop and, in particular, the Project Management and Business Analysis option.
Nicholas (Nick Thorne) is the founder of NicksDigitalSolutions Limited a company that specialises in Education and Training; ICT Consultancy; Infopreneur; and Writing. He lives in Levin, New Zealand.