√  Successful IT Projects
√  Turning Distress into
    "De-stress"
√  Disaster Plans
√  Dangerous Malware
√  Survivor or Statistic
 

5 Essential Keys to Successful IT Projects
reprinted with permission from the HP Small Business Center

	Despite being a hot topic in business for many years, the truth is that project management still isn’t well understood among many businesses. And the success rate of projects appears to be lower than ever.

According to The Standish Group’s April report, "CHAOS Summary 2009," 44 percent of all projects are late, over budget, and/or have less than the required features and functions. Even worse, 24 percent fail altogether – either cancelled prior to completion, or delivered and never used.

"These numbers represent a downtick in the success rates from the previous study, as well as a significant increase in the number of failures," says Jim Crear, Standish Group CIO. "They are a low point in the last five study periods. This year's results represent the highest failure rate in over a decade."

Some experts and analysts have disputed the accuracy of these statistics, but there are few who would argue that the use of basic project management best practices can help ensure that IT projects don’t end up in the bin. Here, some simple points to keep in mind.

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Turning Distress into 'De-stress'
reprinted with permission from the HP Small Business Center

How often do you see it? An IT project team starts out collaborating well, showing great thought leadership and proactive management, only to end up in firefighting mode three months later, constantly laying blame on others and treating contradictory points of view as direct assaults. The team starts complaining and falling apart.

Is it poor project management? Dig deeper and you’ll find the ugly side of too much stress.

More employees are in a constant state of primitive fight or flight response today than ever before. Corporate problems are more complex, cycles of information and change are faster, there are fewer managers yet more to be managed, and day-to-day pressures are greater. Factor in the popular view that stress is a badge of honor–the more pressure you face the more important you must be–and instead of experiencing the occasional stress that motivates, you end up with constant stress that kicks people into survival mode and negatively impacts their work.

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Making Sure Disaster Plans
Aren't Disasters
It's like practicing a fire drill and discovering that the fire alarm doesn't work.

Since the early 1990s, Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC - News) kept a well-honed and updated business continuity plan on how to keep running in the face of a disaster.

The $10.5 billion company based in Calabasas, Calif., issues, buys and services mortgages for clients nationally. It was ahead of the curve in prepping for such events.

But it didn't take long for soft spots to develop. During a disaster drill this year, the company found it lacked the redundant networking needed at one location to keep data safe.

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