1. IT PROJECT
MANAGEME
NT:
INFAMOUS
FAILURES,
CLASSIC
OMARI CRAWFORD, MATTHEW GLENN, MARCUS THOMAS
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

2. Many ORGANIZATIONS CONDUCT RETROSPECTIVES AFTER
A FAILURE TO AVOID FUTURE DISASTERS.
An individual retrospective tells a unique story, but more insight can be gained by examining
multiple retrospectives.
99 retrospectives across across 74 organizations were used to conduct this research.
From this research many common mistakes and best practices can be extracted for better
project management.
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

3. INFAMOUS FAILURES
MCDONALDS 0 0 0 0 0
1 2 3 4 5
“INNOVATE” PROJECT
(2001)
This project aimed to create a real-time global
network to link over 30,000 stores in 121
countries to headquarters by Intranet.
It would have given executives a bird’s eye
view of the entire system at any minute of the
day.
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

4. INFAMOUS FAILURES
MCDONALDS 0 0 0 0 0
1 2 3 4 5
AN EPIC ‘MC-FAILURE’
At cost estimates of over $1 billion, Innovate
was the most expensive information
technology project in McDonalds’s history.
Innovate project failed before it even got off
the ground.
McDonalds wrote off $170 million in the 2002
and Innovate was cancelled.
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

5. INFAMOUS FAILURES
MCDONALDS 0 0 0 0 0
1 2 3 4 5
WHY INNOVATE
FAILED?
Scope Management: $1 billion would have
only covered the first 5 years of design and
implementation. Millions more would need to
be spent to maintaining the system.
Linking all 30,000+ locations via broadband
was impossible
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

6. INFAMOUS FAILURES
MCDONALDS 0 0 0 0 0
1 2 3 4 5
WHY INNOVATE
FAILED?
Implementation: Attempted to go company
wide in a one fell swoop or big bang approach.
Acceptance: Franchisees reluctant to accept
after “Made For You” system in 1998 slowed
service. Senior executives also had a lack of IT
knowledge.
Experience: No prior experience in large scale
software implementation.
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

7. INFAMOUS FAILURES
MCDONALDS 0 0 0 0 0
1 2 3 4 5
TAKEAWAYS
• Project should have been broken down into
manageable chunks.
• Hired a project manager with large-scale
software implementation expertise
• Eased concerns and discomfort of Senior
Management and Franchisees
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

8. Classic
Mistakes
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

9. CLASSIC MISTAKES
DEFINED
Definition
• “Ineffective project management practices
that were identified so often, by so many
people, with such predictable, negative results
that they deserve to be called “classic
mistakes.”
-Steve McConell
Failure is generally rooted in errors by project
mangers and is rarely attributed to chance.
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

10. CLASSIC MISTAKES
4 Categories of Mistakes
People
IT Human Capital
Process
Management Processes and Technical Methodologies
Product
Product Size and Product Characteristics
Technology
Use and Misuse of Modern Technology
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

11. People
• Undermined Motivation
• Capabilities of the individual team members/ the
working relationship among the team members
• Leaders failure to take action to deal with a problem
employee
• Adding people to a late project
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

12. Process
• Wasted time in the “Fuzzy Front End”
• Underestimating and producing overly optimistic
schedules
• Insufficient Risk Management
• Contract Failure
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

13. Product
• Requirements Gold-Plating
• Feature Creep
• Developer Gold-Plating
• Research Oriented Development
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

14. Technology
• Silver-bullet syndrome
• Overestimated savings from new tools or methods
• Switching tools in the middle of a project
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

15. A Meta-Retrospective of 99 IT
Projects
Overview
• 502 Masters level Mgmt Info Systems students were assigned to complete
retrospectives on completed IT projects of various magnitude.
• The IT projects were assessed under the following criteria:
1. Project Context and Description
2. Project Timeline
3. Lessons Learned (What Went Right vs. What Went Wrong)
4. Recommendations for the Future
5. Evaluation of Success/Failure
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

16. Case Findings
1. The majority of the classic mistakes were
categorized as either process or people mistakes.
2. Scope Creep did not make the top ten list
3. The Top 3 Mistakes occurred in about 50% of all the
projects examined.
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

17. Summary
Project mangers should closely examine past mistakes
to determine which are the most common and search
for patterns that will help them avoid repeating these
mistakes.
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

18. BEST
PRACTICES
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

19. WIN WITHIN DEFEAT
• One of the best advantages of uncovering what went wrong in
projects studied is to discover what went right.
• Properly used methods, tools, and techniques can help
organizations avoid the classic mistakes from occurring in the first
place.
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

20. How to Avoid Poor Estimating
and/or Scheduling
• The Estimation and Scheduling Process consists of:
• Sizing or scoping the project
• Estimating the Effort and Time Required
• Developing a Calendar
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

21. Accurate Estimates Will Include
1.Fewer Mistakes
2.Better Budgeting
3.Less Overtime
4.More Credibility for the Project Team
5.Less Schedule Pressure
6.Less Staff Turnover
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

22. The Current Pattern
Standish Group’s longitudinal findings show that:
The IT field is betting somewhat better at estimating cost but worse
at estimating time.
In 1994, the average cost overrun was 180%. The average
dropped to 43% by 2003.
In 2000, average time overruns reached a low of 63% but have
increased significantly to 82%.
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

23. How To Improve Estimating and
Scheduling?
• Using Developer-Based Estimates
• A modified Delphi Approach
• Historical Data
• Algorithms
• Estimation Software
• Estimate-Convergence Graphs
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

24. 4 Valuable Approaches to
Improving Project Estimation and
Scheduling
1. Time Box Development
2. Creating a Work Break Down Structure
3. Retrospectives to Capture Actual Size, Effort, and Time
4. A Project Management Office
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

25. Cone of uncertainty
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

26. INEFFECTIVE STAKEHOLDER
MANAGEMENT IS THE 2ND
LARGEST CAUSE OF
PROJECT FAILURE
1. Using a Stakeholder worksheets and assessment graphs
2. Communication Plans
3. Creation of a Project Management Office
4. Portfolio Management
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

27. How to Avoid Insufficient Risk
Management
“WITH GREATER
POWER COMES
GREATER
RESPONSIBILITY”
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

28. The Process of Risk
Management
• Risk Identification
• Analysis
• Prioritization
• Risk-Management
• Planning
• Resolution
• Monitoring
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

29. Best Practice For Avoiding Risk
Use a Risk Table
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

30. How to Avoid Insufficient
Planning
• Comprehensive Project Charter
• Clearly Defined Project Governance
• Portfolio Management
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

31. How to Avoid Short changing
Quality Assurance
• Agile Development
• Joint Application Design Sessions
• Automated Testing Tools
• Daily Build-and Smoke Tests
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

32. Get The Right Person For the Job
“One of the key problems during the development phase of the project was
the relatively low skill level of the programmers assigned to the project.
The weak programming skills caused schedule lapses, poor quality, and
eventually caused changes in personnel.”
Reoccurring and Common Issues
Reduction in face-to-face meetings
Time-Zone Barriers
Language and Cultural Issues
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES

33. WHO’S PAYING FOR THIS?
• A project must have the “Right” Sponsor.
That means that a project must have a
sponsor who will be with the project from
the beginning, and managing the
relationship throughout the life of the
project.
BUT SOME CHANGE
CAN BE BETTER
• “There were CEOs on calls all the time.
Nobody wanted to be written up in the
‘Wall Street Journal.’ That was what
motivated people to change. Fear that
the stock price would get hammered and
fear that they would lose too much
INFAMOUS FAILURES, CLASSIC MISTAKES AND BEST PRACTICES