Blowing the whistle on troubled software projects

Abstract

The article focuses on various challenges of project failure that software development community is facing despite advances in software engineering. According to the Standish Group's 1998 survey, only 26% of such projects were delivered on time, on budget, and with promised functionality, wasting billions of dollars annually. 46% were completed over budget and behind schedule, with fewer functions and features than originally specified. A runaway is a project that has failed significantly to achieve its objectives and/or has exceeded its original budget by at least 30%. When evidence of a failing project may exist in the lower ranks of an organization, accurate information about failure may fail to move up the organizational hierarchy. Consequently, decision makers with the authority to change the direction of the project are too often unaware of its true status. In case of failure many people blame technology, but the mum and deaf effects are likely to be major contributing factors behind runaway projects. INSET: How the Study Was Done.