Evaluating and managing risk in IT projects

Projects have an unenviable reputation of their high failure rate. The rate of failure of IT projects have not changed significantly over the span of time and it is found survey after survey that the rate of failure of IT projects hovers around 40-50%. Successful management of IT projects, in terms of meeting cost, time and functionality targets, continues to be an elusive achievement. Risk management, and in particular, the failure to manage uncertainties that typically surrounds an IT project, has been consistently identified as a critical area of IT project management. The foregoing discussion provides the motivating factors behind the writing of this paper with an objective of: Providing a methodology for dealing with IT-related issues and risks Providing an approach for identifying and tracking issues and risks This research paper will provide support for the conjecture that a practical alternative to traditional formal prescriptions may be needed if project managers have to succeed in managing highly uncertain situations with limited resources.