How to Prevent IT Project Failure (3 of 3)

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3. Data for the CXO

For executives, it is impossible to make effective decisions without knowing what people are working on or how the projects are doing. Additionally, if strategic projects do not have priority for critical, scarce resources, it will cause stress for the organization as a whole. Many organizations feel that it is enough to track project progress on a percentage complete basis. Unfortunately, this is not consistent with established methodologies, which nearly always suggest that the only accurate measure of progress is tracking work effort (i.e., time).

It is extremely important to present project data to management in an easily consumable way. Executives just want to know, at a glance, what is broken or about to be broken. They are problem solvers, and they can only succeed if they have up-to-date, accurate information. Such data will also allow executives to prioritize projects based on their value to the organization and its core strategy.

Curt Finch is the founder & CEO of a resource management software company.

Curt Finch has more than two decades of software development and distributed workforce management experience. In 1997, Curt created the world's first internet-based timesheet application and the foundation for the current Journyx product offering. Curt has a B.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech. His book, All Your Money, is available on Amazon. @curtfinch