The anatomy of IT projects: why they’re hard, and why they fail

It is well known that IT projects are very often characterised by significant delays, cost over-runs and post implementation performance problems – and it is not unusual for them to be cancelled without delivering anything at all. What is less well understood is why this should be the case. In this book, based on his own experience as the director of a number of major IT projects, drawing on a detailed case study of the NHS’s National Programme for IT, and through analogies with engineering and construction projects, the author sets out to explain the complexities that organisations are likely to encounter when they engage in such undertakings and the pitfalls that they frequently fall into, and provides guidance as to how best to negotiate these and ensure success.