Change to Overcome IT Project Failure

Change Management in IT Overcoming IT Project Failure Any enterprises' ability to remain agile and quick to respond to external opportunities and threats is in large part predicated on the innate skill sets of the project and programme managers guiding projects in progress. The synchronized efforts of project and programme managers working in conjunction with cross-functional department leads and senior management form the foundation that assures an enterprise can change rapidly in response to opportunities and threats.

Not only is this ability to manage change at a corporate, cross-functional level important, it is an essential attribute of any effectively managed organization (Partington, Pellegrinelli, Young, 2005). In the case of exceptionally costly and time-consuming project failures, the capacity of project and programme managers, in addition to entire enterprises to recover from setbacks and develop a corporate-wide resilience is essential if change is going to be made an innate strength of the enterprise (Lycett, Rassau, Danson, 2004).

Taking Change Into Account In Overcoming IT Project Failures The mindset of enterprises and the engrained nature of how they perceive failure has a direct influence on how change is perceived and valued or not in their cultures. The greater the acceptance of failure as a means to continually improve over time including the adopting of a "fail fast" mentality so prevalent in start-up businesses is critical for any IT organization to overcome IT project failure as well.

This view of failure as a stepping stone or learning cycle to greater success must be balanced against the accountability and precision that projects and initiatives are managed to (Partington, Pellegrinelli, Young, 2005). Navigating this dichotomy is essential for any organization to stay agile enough to capitalize on new opportunities or counter threats yet also stay aligned and focus on project goals and objectives so their core business continues to operate efficiently and profitability (Pellegrinelli, Partington, Hemingway, et. al., 2007).

Project managers that have exceptional skills in emotional intelligence (EI), transformational leadership and the ability to navigate their organizations while ensuring tight synchronization of departments succeed more often than their peers who often rely on authoritarian-driven leadership styles. It takes a balancing of contextual intelligence and the ability to selectively bring EI and leadership skills to bear on specific problems of change if the organization is to succeed.

Contextual leadership is a very valuable skill for project and programme managers given the need for making change management a core competency and competitive advantage in enterprises today (Partington, Pellegrinelli, Young, 2005). The project and programme managers must also concentrate on driving the capacity for agility, change and the willingness in the culture of look at failure not as an absolute but as a means to add to the collective intelligence of the enterprise quicker than more static, regimented approaches to change management (Partington, Pellegrinelli, Young, 2005).

Conclusion Programme management must be the champion of change in an enterprise, choosing to direct.