Business Leadership for IT Projects

The track record of IT projects is poor. Less than a third of IT projects deliver what they said they would, on schedule and on budget. The major cause of IT project failure is not, as you might expect, poor IT leadership or difficult technology but poor business leadership. One of the reasons for this is that, unlike their IT peers, business managers often get little training or education in project delivery, let alone the special case represented by an IT project. Business Leadership for IT Projects addresses the gap by providing tools and ideas that are applicable to all sizes of IT projects, from those in large multinational corporations, down to small growing businesses. It sets out the key project touchpoints where business leadership can have a major impact on project success. The book combines psychological research and project best practice to create a practical toolbox that can be dipped into, as needs arise, or followed as an overall approach to IT project leadership. The toolbox weaves together three key strands of thought. First, that the concept of value should be at the forefront of project design and delivery. Second, that business managers need to take active leadership of IT projects to secure value. Third, that project teams need tools to slow down their thinking and ensure that actions and decisions are well thought through.