Complexity as a Cause of Failure in Information Technology Project Management

Project management success is often elusive, particularly in a complex, systems of systems environment (SOSE). In the information technology (IT) industry, failure rates are approaching 70 percent. Many reasons are cited for this high failure rate, including the shortage of skilled staff, constant changes in technology, too many known IT application constraints, inadequately defined requirements, and poor project management skills among others. This paper proposes a main cause of failure as complexity caused by discontinuities among project objectives and the worldviews, tools and ideas in standard practice in IT project management. This paper will also assert that many IT projects, by their very nature, are complex in design. An understanding of complexity and a change in thinking about IT project management in the modern engineering organization may be indicated. The conclusion of this paper will summarize future research necessary to close this gap.