The reasons for and prevention of IT project failure.

M.A.The rate of change in the business arena is continuously increasing and companies are constantly seeking innovative products, services and knowledge-enabled processes to enable them to compete effectively against each other. IT plays an important role as an enabler of these processes. The problem is that the implementations of IT projects, commissioned to support and enable the business functions, often fail. The high rate of failing IT projects is a real and relevant concern of the business environment. Companies are wasting a significant portion of their resources on failed IT projects. More than often, IT projects fail to realize their intended purpose of reducing operating costs, increasing worker productivity, increasing cycle times and eventually increasing companies' market share. Management of these companies continues to complain about costly IT expenditure returning only a portion of the expected return on investment. The phenomenon of IT project failure has been in existence for many years and has in more recent years become a relevant topic calling for investigation and further study. Accordingly, this document is the culmination of the results of a study of the reasons why IT projects fail and offers possible measures to be taken to counter the failure of IT projects. The most significant and relevant reasons for IT project failure are listed in this document. These reasons span from the internal project environment through to the external project environment. Aligning these reasons with the environment of any anticiPated IT project will establish a base from which a successful IT project could be initiated. It is hoped that this document will serve as valuable input to the decision makers in the IT and business arenas that need to be made aware of the reasons for IT project failure in order for them to better manage their IT projects