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MIS 5203.001 - Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management

MIS5203

Question 2

January 12, 2019 by David Lanter 39 Comments

What should organizations do to control risks of IS project failures?

Filed Under: Unit 02: IS Development Lifecycle (SDLC) Tagged With:

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Comments

  1. Feng Gao says

    January 15, 2019 at 10:50 pm

    Incorporate risk management in your project controls so that you have early warning of when a risk could potentially cause a project to collapse. Implement robust escalation processes so that project teams know what to do when a serious risk is identified and who should be making the decisions about what to do next.
    the best thing you can do to avoid risk is to identify, analyze and respond to the risk factors. Identifying and resolving risk factors will help the project manager to reduce the chances of project failure.

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    • Zhu Li says

      January 20, 2019 at 11:40 am

      The risk in any project is unavoidable. Risk analysis has become an important discipline within the field of project management. It assessing each identified risk’s probability of potential impact, whether positive or negative. Make some methods to identify and analyze potential threats so that appropriate risk response will be controlled in the early.

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    • Mei X Wang says

      January 21, 2019 at 1:37 am

      With each investment or project, there would be risk involved, with an earning there will also be a chance with a loss. Rather than avoiding risk altogether, it’s better to identify potential risk factors first and create a risk management strategy to mitigate/lessen that potential risk.

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  2. Zhu Li says

    January 18, 2019 at 11:34 am

    Iteration is attributed to the level of end-user usage or adoption or acceptance of the implemented information system. Each project iteration has management and planning, analysis, design, and implementation and operation activities. During each iteration helps the project manager gain a better understanding. Improve technical competence and user level, make the clear goal of the systems design. So, many experienced project managers believe that it is a mistake to make project plans too detailed early in the project when much is still unknown.

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    • Adam J Wolf says

      January 20, 2019 at 1:31 pm

      The value of project iteration is undeniable, but to it is also important for the manager to ensure that the project objectives are not too rigid. Part of the planning and design process is making sure that if something goes wrong between iterations, there is a possibility to adapt the project and deviate from the original plan. To get the most out of iteration, it is important to have flexible goals.

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  3. Yuchong Wang says

    January 18, 2019 at 5:08 pm

    Organizations should always question themselves a lot to make sure they are moving on the right track, thus controlled the risks of IS project failures.
    Organizations need to know the department, the project, the supplier. Organizations should know clearly who is in charge of each position and what knowledge could each member provide to achieve the project. The project itself should be understood across the whole department so the project is steering in the right direction. The supplier needs to understand what the business needs to provide better service.
    The most important quality of risk control is to acknowledge the risk and everybody should do their best to mitigate the risk by knowing what they are doing.

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  4. Panayiotis Laskaridis says

    January 18, 2019 at 7:17 pm

    There should be full understanding and relevant support from all stakeholders involved in the process. Certain Risk Management processes have to be in place in order to prevent risks or mitigate the fallout from a problem. There should be constant communication from the project manager and the client. A solid understanding is necessary to make sure there are no discrepancies in the project. Most importantly, the business purpose of the IT Project has to be worth the cost, or else you could be overpaying.

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    • Feng Gao says

      January 19, 2019 at 9:16 pm

      I agree with this point. Communication is very important. The project manager need to understand client’s needs. According to the client’s requirement, the project’s team can improve IT project. Therefore, the company can avoid any unnecessary losses.

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    • Shuyue Ding says

      January 20, 2019 at 8:23 pm

      Hi, Panayiotis

      Thank you for brought the point of full understanding of stakeholder. Developing a risk management plan highly depending on the understanding of stakeholder and business needs of the company, which I did not mention in my post. Developing a communication plan and change management plan would also help to control the risk of misunderstanding.

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    • Alexander Reichart-Anderson says

      January 22, 2019 at 1:41 am

      Panayiotis, in all relationships communication is key. This carries over the the relationships that the stakeholders in an organization have with each other during the execution of a project. From the top level management’s vision, to the middle managers delegation, and the ground level implementation the message as to be the same. In order to ensure that the end product matched the desired outcomes of leadership channels have to be open. An important thing to take note of here is that, communication upstream needs to be as relevant as downstream. Oftentimes, the employees who do the coding, implementation, elicitation, etc. are the ones who will recognize problems first. Have you ever been in a situation where communication was lacking and the project suffered because of it?

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  5. Shuyue Ding says

    January 18, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    Having a risk management plan and risk register could help organizations control the risks of IS projects.
    Organizations should also follow A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge ( PMBOK® Guide), which is a set of standard terminology and guidelines for project management. Besides the best practice of project management, identify business requirements, documentation and communication are also important to keep IS projects away from failures.

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    • Yuchong Wang says

      January 21, 2019 at 1:03 pm

      Hi Shuyue, I agree that having a risk management plan and risk register could help organizations control the risks of IS projects would be a good way to control risks of IS project failure. It is always recommended to have people dedicated to the risk department of IS project plan. Knowing your risk is the best way to prevent the disaster from happening.

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  6. Sarah Puffen says

    January 19, 2019 at 3:25 am

    Communication and transparency within an organization and with all parties involved in an IS project are key components for success. The organization should understand what risks are involved, identify the most serious possibilities and, should the project fail, have a contingency plan in order to mitigate any negative impacts. Additionally, it is essential to understand that while failure is common in more complex IS projects, it should not be a sole reason to nix a project, which is often a conversation that is avoided between upper management and project developers. Each party should clarify their needs and expectations, then compromise on possible differing approaches to managing the project.

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  7. Imran Jordan Kharabsheh says

    January 19, 2019 at 5:16 am

    In order for an organization to manage the risks associated with its various information systems projects, the company must first perform a risk analysis by identifying and classifying the risks associated with each individual project. It then becomes necessary for project management to decide on the best course of action to take in regards to each risk, with the primary options being to accept the risk, avoid the risk, or mitigate the risk. A large deciding factor for this decision is whether the risk is worth the price to mitigate it. The next step an organization would take to control the risks of its information systems projects is to enact and enforce the risk mitigating strategies decided upon, as well as consider contingency planning.

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    • Yuchong Wang says

      January 21, 2019 at 10:59 am

      Hi Jordan, I agree that in order to deal with risk, organizations first need to acknowledge the risk and perform a risk analysis by identifying and classifying the risks associated with each individual project. I also would like to add the whole organization’s member should communicate and acknowledge the risk together. A risk awareness program for all members could improve the overall security of an organization.

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    • Deepa Kuppuswamy says

      January 21, 2019 at 1:04 pm

      Nice answer Imran. I agree with your point, effective risk management process contributes to project success by identifying internal and external risks, project’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It helps in achieving the strategic business goals. And also Risk management process helps with preparation and ensure that employees can respond effectively when challenges emerge and requires intervention.

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  8. Haixin Sun says

    January 19, 2019 at 9:37 am

    Effective and practical techniques in administration and training based on a realistic understanding of the complex problems facing multiple situations.
    Good project evaluation and later step-by-step actions with comprehensive internal reporting and monitoring procedures.
    Reasonable start-up and activation process.
    Reasonable project design with adequate and appropriate detailed design for frequent changes in subsequent steps of project planning.

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    • Raisa Ahmed says

      January 20, 2019 at 2:11 am

      To control risks of IS project failures, an organization should take the time to identify, analyze and respond to the risk factors. As stated on the website below, “Every enterprise that employs projects to achieve its business goals needs to develop a formal assessment process for failing projects and needs to have trained resources, ready to respond to project “911” calls.” The website does a very good job in assessing a failing project’s performance and planning corrective action to make the project successful.

      https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/seven-causes-project-failure-initiate-recovery-7195

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      • Haixin Sun says

        January 21, 2019 at 11:51 am

        Thank you for sharing your idea.

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    • Xinye Yang says

      April 9, 2019 at 9:53 pm

      Hey Haixin

      I’m agree with you that understanding of critical step to prevent project failure. And acknowledging failure and understanding why do projects fail is the best way to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Besides, look inward to see what went wrong and take appropriate steps to eliminate the issues. Successful projects have a great project leader, good project teams, and know their weaknesses

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  9. Mei X Wang says

    January 19, 2019 at 9:54 am

    To control risks of IS project failures, the organization should work to identify the real issues first and have continued dialog between all parties. Organization should set realistic time frames, assign roles, monitor and test on a regular basis, manage expectations to maintain control, and seek objectivity from external assessments as well. Going beyond traditional project management with project assurance discipline helps identify and resolve strategic, tactical, and intangible issues. By seeking independent and objective oversight in the beginning, risks can be dealt with before they become insurmountable and gives everyone involved peace of mind that the project is on the right track.

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  10. Adam J Wolf says

    January 19, 2019 at 11:18 am

    Organizations can use formal planning tools and formal control mechanisms to control risks of IS project failures. Formal planning tools are important in structuring the project and sequencing tasks in advance to facilitate accurate estimates of time, cost, and requirements. Project approval processes, milestone phase selection, and systems specification standards are examples of planning tools to control possible risks during a project. Formal control mechanisms give managers a way to evaluate progress and spot potential discrepancies throughout a projects lifespan and allows for corrective actions if necessary. Periodic status reports, change control policies, and formal plan deviations are examples of control mechanisms that help mitigate project risks.

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    • Panayiotis Laskaridis says

      January 20, 2019 at 7:32 pm

      I think you did a really good job here of explaining your point. Some perils are inevitable, and it’s important to measure and handle risk accordingly. Certain relevant control mechanisms can be implemented, as long as the price is worth it, to mitigate risks. There definitely has to be control mechanisms and other formal planning tools in place to handle the inevitable.

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  11. Alexander Reichart-Anderson says

    January 19, 2019 at 11:39 am

    “The Core of IT Auditing” — a week one reading — outlines that IT Auditing is all about ‘identifying risk and the appropriate controls to mitigate risk to an acceptable level.” Many of the techniques that an IT Auditor deploys can be used by organizations to control their risks. Upon identifying a risk that could cause catastrophic failure — i.e. who holds decision making power — controls need to be implemented. A control is something that aims to mitigate an inherent risk. In the current example, a substantial control would be implementing a workflow for approving any impactful (high-level) decisions. By having an approval process, the possibility of failure as a result of too much power resting with one person is mitigated. The idea of implementing a control on all identified risks can be applied to any and all risks.

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    • Imran Jordan Kharabsheh says

      January 21, 2019 at 7:01 am

      Hello,
      I appreciate the clarity and detail of your response regarding the precautions organizations need to take to manage the risks associated with information system projects. Your use of examples also really helped convey the need for organization’s to analyze the risks associated with these projects and decide the most appropriate way to handle them. This really helps demonstrate your understanding of the week one reading, and how it sets up a foundation for risk management functions we will learn later on.

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    • Deepa Kuppuswamy says

      January 21, 2019 at 1:33 pm

      Hi Alex,

      I really liked the way you tied the risk and the need to have the controls in place to mitigate the risk is very good. And, also the example that you related with your explanation is excellent.

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  12. Raisa Ahmed says

    January 19, 2019 at 3:34 pm

    What should organizations do to control risks of IS project failures?

    To control risks of IS project failures, organizations should identify the risks, analyze the risks (determine probability of occurrence and impact on business), develop strategies to mitigate the risks (putting appropriate controls in place), and monitor the risks continuously. Organizations should also consider if cost outweighs the risk.

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    • Sarah Puffen says

      January 21, 2019 at 6:42 am

      Cost outweighing risk is an excellent point to consider, since this determines to what extent controls will be implemented within the project itself. By understanding an organization’s risk appetite, we can possibly prepare for an emergency situation where the initial plan does begin to fail due to lack of controls, thus avoiding a major setback.

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  13. Yuqing Tang says

    January 19, 2019 at 8:59 pm

    The failure of information system development projects would cause three typical problems: project delay, waste input, did not achieve the desired effect. Therefore, the company needs to control the risks to avoid potential losses caused by IS project failures. in order to avoid those problems, the company could take the following actions:
    • Strengthen the management’s emphasis on projects.
    • Have the scientific management as the premise including reasonable management system, precise rules and policies.
    • Cultivate the special talents of managing information system.
    • Make the overall plan of information system development.

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    • Ryu Takatsuki says

      January 21, 2019 at 5:11 am

      Hi Yuqing, I agree with your idea. I also think that the project delay and waste input mean the failure of the information system development project. The project delay will affect the use of the product and cause a business loss, to reduce this risk the team should have a detailed overall plan and efficiently manage the resources to reduce the waste.

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    • Yuchong Wang says

      January 21, 2019 at 11:07 am

      Hi Yuqing, I like your point that in order to deal with the risk, we need to identify where the problems are first. Having one project manager specifically for risk department will always help. The project manager can evaluate the probability and impact of each risk and mitigate the risk to an acceptable level.

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  14. Ryu Takatsuki says

    January 19, 2019 at 9:17 pm

    As I mentioned in the previous question, the main problems could be planning, communication, and staffing. Therefore, the organization should fully understand the purpose of the project and set up the deadline for each phase. Also, make sure the developer need to continuously communicate with the users to make sure that it met their needs. If the final product did not meet the needs, it means the project fail. Moreover, the team needs to conduct a risk analysis to know what kinds of risk they are facing and how to mitigate the risk. After the analysis, it will know more about the risk.

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    • Yuqing Tang says

      January 21, 2019 at 3:03 am

      Hi Ryu, I agree with your points of the necessary steps for developing the information system. The risks exist along with the whole development process and effective communication is a great way to keep the project on the right track. The company needs to do risk assessment and find ways to mitigate those risks that are found during the assessment.

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  15. Deepa Kuppuswamy says

    January 21, 2019 at 6:06 am

    From my understanding of project development life-cycle, I think that following are some of the project management techniques to avoid IS project failures:

    Project Planning and strategies:
    Project planning is the most important and curtail stage in the project development process. Proper planning helps to increase the probability of project’s success. Appropriate planning helps in determining the cost, project scheduling, resource allocation, setting-up milestones and helps to march a clear path towards goals.

    Risk Identification and Risk management:
    This is an important part of project management which if done correctly leads to success of the project. This process helps to identify, analyze and mitigate the risks that can affect the project.

    Set realistic expectations:
    This is the stage were most of the project managers makes mistake. It is very important to set a realistic expectation with team members, stakeholders and the customers to meet project deadline. Based on the capability of the team members, the PM should identify and set realistic expectations.

    Set Milestones and track project progress:
    Setting the project milestones helps the whole team to plan, execute and meet the deadline as per the schedule. It helps every person in the team to know about where the project should be at any given time. So, I think this is one of the key areas to focus during the planning phase.

    Use correct project management methodology:
    Depending on the project requirements, project manager should consider the best suitable methodology for the project like Waterfall model, Agile, Hybrid approach etc., Selection of the correct model helps in reaching the project deadline within the planned time.

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    • Yuan Liu says

      January 21, 2019 at 9:43 am

      Thank you for your sharing, really agree with your five point about information system project focuses. Project planning and strategy are essential because it shows the project purpose and estimation of risk and what would happen if there is any vulnerabilities. planning and strategy give organization or company a general idea about the project and to push investigation. Risk identification is important for the project development because it shows the responsibilities about each employees and management, which is good for finding vulnerabilities and avoid situation happening.

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  16. Yuan Liu says

    January 21, 2019 at 9:36 am

    I think the first of all, there would be a completed project planning, which should include the information project development purpose and its employees responsibilities. In addition, there should be a accurate estimation of recourse the information system will use, which can give the organization a general idea about how much budget, labor and equipment organization would provide. The second point is good management and communication. Workers in the system need to coordinate with others to finish job, so communication is really important for information system project development. Good management is basement for the system development because management shows workers responsibilities to avoid Irresponsible behavior situation and easier to check vulnerabilities. The last thing in my opinion is risk management, which risk management would help project have a general idea about what would happen.

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    • Penghui Ai says

      January 22, 2019 at 1:38 pm

      Hi, Yuan, I could not agree more with your opinion about the completed project planning help the organizations to control the risks of IS project failures. My understanding is kind of the same way of your thinking, which to have a reliable project manager to make a reasonable project planning.

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  17. Penghui Ai says

    January 22, 2019 at 1:35 pm

    A good project manager can perceive the red flags of an undertaking. This capacity will enable them to catch and address issues before they become risky. Early location of any potential issues is the distinction between a little measure of revise and demolition to the total of a task. Audit Time Cards and Labor Productivity: The greatest risk to benefit on development ventures is work. In this way, time cards are basic to the following work expenses and work effectiveness. Venture the board programming with coordinated time card capacities permits venture chiefs to follow continuous work costs. Contrasting actual labor work costs with appraisals all through the venture advances proactive arranging and hazard the board.

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  18. Xinye Yang says

    April 9, 2019 at 9:49 pm

    The companies should fully understand the project and then begin with a blueprint of strategic project assurance which establishes clear understanding of expectations among all people involved – from the executives, to the business and IT management, to vendor partners and end-users. project assurance gives everyone involved peace of mind that the project is on the right track

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