Title: Analysing success criteria for ICT projects

Authors: Koen Milis, Koen Vanhoof

Addresses: EHSAL, European University College Brussels, Centre for External Cooperation, Campus Economische Hogeschool, Stormstraat 2, 1000 Brussels, Belgium. ' Transportation Research Institute (IMOB), Universiteit Hasselt, Wetenschapspark 5 bus 6, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium

Abstract: Since the 1960s many authors have accepted the triple constraints (time, cost, specification) as a standard measure of success and this still appears to be extremely important in evaluating the success of ICT (information communication technology) projects. However, an ICT project cannot always be seen as a complete success or a complete failure. Moreover, the parties involved may perceive the terms |success| and |failure| differently. A quasi-experiment (gaming) has been developed in order to determine the measures for success used by the different parties involved in judging an ICT project. The results of this quasi-experiment were analysed using aggregation theory and validated by probabilistic feature models. In general the figures do not contradict. This research indicates that the impact of the triple constraints on the judgement of success is rather small. Other criteria, such as user happiness and financial or commercial success, are far more important. Surprisingly, whether or not a project was able to meet the predefined specifications was of little importance for the appreciation of the project|s success.

Keywords: gaming; multicriteria analysis; project management; project scheduling; ICT projects; information technology; communications; success criteria.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNKM.2007.014040

International Journal of Nuclear Knowledge Management, 2007 Vol.2 No.4, pp.449 - 455

Published online: 12 Jun 2007 *

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