Abstract:
Government IT mega-projects often end in costly failure, despite attempts to identify
those Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that lead to project success. This raises questions
about whether these CSFs are understood, applied and, if so, whether they are having an
impact on the management and subsequent performance of government IT mega-projects.
The literature review compared CSFs from the generic and IT project management
literature to find that they are broadly similar. CSF frameworks were then assessed to
find a measure of the impact of CSFs and a measure of ‘performance’ was also defined.
CSFs were then identified from fifteen reports on IT and information infrastructure
projects and verified against the CSFs identified in the literature to produce a synthesised
list of twelve CSFs. The understanding, application and impact of these CSFs were
examined through a case study of the MoD’s Defence Information Infrastructure (DII)
Programme, a government IT mega-project to provide a more integrated and coherent
Defence infrastructure.
It was evident that the CSFs were recognised and they appeared to have been understood
within the DII Programme. However, the extent to which they have been applied is
variable with differing effect. Therefore, the impact that CSFs have had on the
management of the DII Programme is debatable. There were areas where the project
could have been managed better and, therefore, could be performing better, suggesting
that the overall success of the project is potentially at risk.
The overarching conclusion of this study is that, in terms of the management of the DII
Programme, the impact of the identified CSFs is variable and, where they are not applied,
there is an adverse effect on its performance, suggesting a causal relationship. More
generally, not applying generic CSFs to project management is likely to lead to failure,
but is unlikely to assure success. Unique projects operating in highly specific and
complex contexts require more contingent solutions. As a result of these conclusions,
further case studies are suggested, along with further study into government and MoD IT
project management and the management of trust in contractual relationships.
