I have to answer  - What role does Lack of a plan, Upper management, 
Restricted budget, Restricted time, Power struggles, Personality conflicts, 
and Resistance to change play in  failed projects?
Don't really have the time to research, and a general web search did not turn 
up much on project management (which is hard to believe) Some good website 
resources on Technology and Project Management for IT professionals would be 
helpful. I am Looking for some items to quote and give credit (MLA) and add 
background.  At this point, I only have my personal opinion on this topic 
which sounds like complaints, a more objective viewpoint would be nice.  Some 
examples of well known IT failures that are documented.

Dear Keldin2k2,

Thank you for your inquiry.

This is a very common predicament for many of today’s organizations.  It is 
interesting to note that through all my research, it seems the reason projects 
fail – project failure defined as not meeting the triple constraints of 
schedule, cost, scope & quality – are all due to basically the same factors 
regardless of industry.

I believe I have found some resources to put in your arsenal.  

The Standish Group
This is the most quoted analyst of project management statistics.  They have a 
free sample section where you can find some statistics that you are looking for.

“Chaos a recipe for success”
http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/chaos1998.pdf

“The Chaos report”
http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/chaos_1994_2.php

PMBoulevard.com
This is basically a free e-zine for project managers.  You have to become a 
registered user.  Here are some articles that may be of interest to you.

"Double your IT capacity without increasing your budget"
http://www.pmboulevard.com/pwdocs/reg/pdf/pw_sanjose_1998/trk6/pleczko.pdf
This presentation has a good matrix of the benefits of the various level of the 
Capability Maturity Model (CMM) in dollars, always an eye-catcher!

Case study of Trane, an American Standard company 
http://www.pmboulevard.com/pwdocs/reg/pdf/pw_boston_2001/trk2/dpieper.pdf
Presentation has the following stats:

26% of all application development projects succeed
74% FAILED outright or were completed over budget or past original deadline.  
(Analysis of over 23,000 application development program reported in the 9/98 
issue of PM Network)

50%  Increase project success rate by user involvement, executive support, 
clear statement of biz objective
65%  Increase project success rate by hiring an experienced Project Manager
(Chaos report, a 1998 survey conducted by The Standish Group International, 
West Yarmouth Mass.)

Note: **The Project Management Institute publishes PM Network magazine.

The Computer Bulletin Professional Practice
http://www.bcs.org.uk/publicat/ebull/jan2000/article1.htm
“IT projects: sink or swim?”
An interesting research project whose results closely follow those of The 
Standish Group.
 


Additional Information

Standish Group Chaos Chronicles
http://www.pm2go.com/chaos_chronicles/index.php
Requires membership.
Strategic Technology Partners
http://www.stratpartners.com/Why_Technical_Projects_Fail_2.1b.pdf
“Why Technical Project Fail”

PMBoulevard.com
http://www.pmboulevard.com/pwdocs/reg/pdf/pw_boston_2001/trk2/dpieper.pdf
“How to implement Project Management in any organization”




Further reading on Project Management

Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and 
Controlling, 7th Edition 
by Dr Harold Kerzner  Our Price: $63.75 Used Price: $48.24
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471393428/qid=1019433555/sr=8-
1/ref=sr_8_3_1/102-1181225-0668165


Project Planning, Scheduling & Control, 3rd Edition 
By James P., Lewis  Our Price: $35.00  Used Price: $15.00
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071360506/qid=1019433613/sr=1-
2/ref=sr_1_2/102-1181225-0668165


Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: Pmbok Guide 2000 (Guide to 
the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 2000 (Cd-Rom)) 
by Project Management Inst Our Price: $34.97
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-
author=Project%20Management%20Inst/102-1181225-0668165


I hope this information helps you and your organization.

RD, PMP

Sufficient to satisfy my needs for now

A good listing of Project Management websites can be found at 
http://www.fek.umu.se/irnop/projweb.html

Hmmm... I get the feel that you are looking for a rule book or checklist kind 
of thing, so that you can point and say "OK here is what is going on". 
Unfortunately that is not the case. The factors you have mentioned (and many 
more) contribute to failed projects. Some factors are more responsible than 
others and that might not be the case for all projects. I'd suggest you reading 
a book by Alistair Cockburn, "Agile Software Development". Now don't think that 
I'm suggesting you to follow Agile Methodologies, but this book has lot of good 
insights in to the aspect of software development. Another book you might try 
is by James Highsmith, "Adaptive Software Development".

I work in I.T., although I'd prefer not to say for whom! ;-)

A few months ago, I encountered an article about how and why many (most?) 
software projects end up as 'a big ball of mud'.

You can find a copy of the article here:

http://www.laputan.org/mud/mud.html

It doesn't address all project management issues in detail, but it's an amusing 
and informative look at some of the key problems that tend to arise.

Enjoy!

Louise

I don't have official access to answer questions yet, so a comment will have to 
do.

You might poke around the Harvard Business School Press (or Stanford, or ...)
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu 

These titles might be helpful (I searched for "fail"):

1.  The Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail 
(Hardcover) (Books) [Forthcoming] 
Manzoni, Jean-Francois; Barsoux, Jean-Louis
Product Number: 9490 
In the ever-present challenge of walking the tightrope between wanting to give 
employees freedom and needing to stay informed, supervisors go down one...  
  
2.  Are You Being Set Up to Fail? (Articles) [Downloadable, Faculty Sample] 
Von Hoffman, Constantine
Product Number: U9811C 
A recent study published in Harvard Business Review shows that managers all 
over the world "create their own poor performers" by setting employees up 
to...  

3.  The Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition) (Articles) 
[Downloadable, Faculty Sample, New] 
Manzoni, Jean-Francois; Barsoux, Jean-Louis
Product Number: 861X 
This is an enhanced edition of the HBR reprint 98209, originally published in 
March/April 1998. HBR OnPoint Articles save you time by enhancing an 
original...  

4.  The Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome (Articles) [Downloadable, Faculty Sample, 
Bestseller] 
Manzoni, Jean-Francois; Barsoux, Jean-Louis
Product Number: 98209 
Why do some employees perform poorly? Most managers would answer this question 
by ticking off a list that includes weak skills, insufficient experience,...  

5.  Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail (HBR OnPoint Enhanced 
Edition) (Articles) [Downloadable, Faculty Sample] 
Kotter, John P.
Product Number: 4231 
HBR OnPoint Articles save you time by enhancing an original Harvard Business 
Review article with an overview that draws out the main points and an 
annotated...  

6.  How to Fail in Project Management (Without Really Trying) (Case Studies; 
Articles) [Faculty Sample] 
Pinto, Jeffrey K.; Kharbanda, Om P.
Product Number: BH010 
Project management techniques have met with widespread acceptance as a means of 
expediting product development, making efficient use of resources, and...  

7.  Too Big to Fail? Walter Wriston and Citibank (Articles) [Downloadable, 
Faculty Sample] 
Grant, James
Product Number: 96404 
In his review of Phillip L. Zweig's Wriston: Walter Wriston, Citibank, and the 
Rise and Fall of American Financial Supremacy, James Grant puts the career...

I just remembered there are some good books by Robert Glass:

- "Computing Calamities: Lessons Learned From Products, Projects, and Companies 
that Failed"

- "Software Runaways"

- "ComputingFailure.com: War Stories from the Electronic Revolution"

NASA has long been the standard for the success of their software project 
success and how their development teams work together, sometimes, looking at 
what makes a project succeed will help you see what will lead to a project's 
failure....perhaps these links will help you:


http://www.team-appl.com/about/team_study.htm
http://appl.nasa.gov/knowledge/issues/press_intact_team.html
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/hqlibrary/ppm/ppm17.htm
http://ranier.hq.nasa.gov/telerobotics_page/FutureOfTR.html
http://www.pmforum.org/pmwt02/practices02-03.htm
http://www.startwright.com/project2.htm
http://www.ercb.com/brief/brief.0066.html
http://www.blonnet.com/businessline/2001/07/02/stories/210239wp.htm
http://www.rspa.com/spi/project-mgmt.html
http://www.devx.com/premier/mgznarch/entdev/1998/10oct98/sm1098/sm1098.asp
http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~aaa/SQJ00.pdf
http://www.stsc.hill.af.mil/crosstalk/2000/feb/risk.asp
http://www.cs.uta.fi/~jyrki/ohto00/lecture1.ppt

other project management and project failure resources:
http://www.dacs.dtic.mil/awareness/newsletters/technews2-2/fesma.pdf
http://www.dulcian.com/papers/Top%2010%20Reasons%20Why%20Systems%20Projects%
20Fail.htm
http://www.itstime.com/dec2000a.htm
http://www.ercb.com/brief/brief.0074.html
http://home.gwu.edu/~kwak/mgt266.html
http://vig.pearsoned.com/store/product/1,3498,store-562_isbn-0273652966_type-
TOC_editmode-1,00.html
http://www.bcs.org.uk/review/2001/html/p055.htm
http://www.cpas.com/Bryan_Stephenson.pdf

HOW JACK WELCH RUNS GE
A Close-up Look at How America's #1 Manager Runs GE 
Whisked by chopper from New York City, Jack Welch arrives early at the <a 
href="http://host.businessweek.com/businessweek/corporate_snapshot.html?
Symbol=GE&Timespan=260">(GE)</a> training center at Croton-on-Hudson. He scoots 
down to The Pit--the well of a bright, multitiered lecture hall--peels off his 
blue suit jacket, and drapes it over one of the swivel seats.

This is face-to-face with Jack, not so much as the celebrated chairman and 
chief executive of GE, the company he has made the most valuable in the world, 
but rather as Professor Welch, coach and teacher to 71 high-potential managers 
attending a three-week development course.

The class sits transfixed as Welch's laser-blue eyes scan the auditorium. He 
hardly appears professorial. With his squat, muscular, five-foot, eight-inch 
frame, pasty complexion, and Boston accent, the 62-year-old balding man looks 
and sounds more like the guy behind the wheel of a bus on Beacon Hill. And he 
isn't there to deliver a monologue to a polite group.

For nearly four hours, he listens, lectures, cajoles, and questions. The 
managers push right back, too. They grouse that despite the rhetoric about 
managing for the long term at GE, they are under too much pressure to produce 
short-term results. They say that for all the Welch talk about ''sharing best 
practices'' and ''boundaryless behavior,'' they are missing many opportunities 
to learn and sell services across the vast network of GE companies. Some worry 
that the company's gargantuan Six Sigma program, the largest quality initiative 
ever mounted in Corporate America, is allowing bureaucracy to creep back into 
GE.

Pacing the floor with a bottle of water in hand, Welch passionately attacks 
each question.

''You can't grow long-term if you can't eat short-term,'' he states 
flatly. ''Anybody can manage short. Anybody can manage long. Balancing those 
two things is what management is.''

''I think someone is smoking pot here,'' he quips about the complaint over the 
lack of synergy among GE units. ''We've got enormous sharing going on.''

As for the concern over Six Sigma, Welch retorts: ''I don't give a damn if we 
get a little bureaucracy as long as we get the results. If it bothers you, yell 
at it. Kick it. Scream at it. Break it!''

In this classroom, where Welch has appeared more than 250 times in the past 17 
years to engage some 15,000 GE managers and executives, something extraordinary 
happens. The legendary chairman of GE, the take-no-prisoners tough guy who gets 
results at any cost, becomes human. His slight stutter, a handicap that has 
bedeviled him since childhood, makes him oddly vulnerable. The students see all 
of Jack here: the management theorist, strategic thinker, business teacher, and 
corporate icon who made it to the top despite his working-class background. No 
one leaves the room untouched.

If leadership is an art, then surely Welch has proved himself a master painter. 
Few have personified corporate leadership more dramatically. Fewer still have 
so consistently delivered on the results of that leadership. For 17 years, 
while big companies and their chieftains tumbled like dominoes in an 
unforgiving global economy, Welch has led GE to one revenue and earnings record 
after another.

''The two greatest corporate leaders of this century are Alfred Sloan of 
General Motors <a 
href="http://host.businessweek.com/businessweek/corporate_snapshot.html?
Symbol=GM&Timespan=260">(GM)</a> and Jack Welch of GE,'' says Noel Tichy, a 
longtime GE observer and University of Michigan management professor. ''And 
Welch would be the greater of the two because he set a new, contemporary 
paradigm for the corporation that is the model for the 21st century.''

It is a model that has delivered extraordinary growth, increasing the market 
value of GE from just $12 billion in 1981 to about $280 billion today. No one, 
not Microsoft's (MSFT) William H. Gates III or Intel's (INTC) Andrew S. Grove, 
not Walt Disney's (DIS) Michael D. Eisner or Berkshire Hathaway's (BKR.A) 
Warren E. Buffett, not even the late Coca-Cola (KO) chieftain Roberto C. 
Goizueta or the late Wal-Mart (WMT) founder Sam Walton has created more 
shareholder value than Jack Welch. So giddy are some Wall Street analysts at 
GE's prospects that they believe that when Welch leaves at the end of the year 
2000, GE's stock could trade at $150 to $200 a share, up from $82 now, and the 
company could be worth $490 billion to $650 billion. ''This guy's legacy will 
be to create more shareholder value on the face of the planet than ever--
forever,'' says Nicholas P. Heymann, a onetime GE auditor who follows the 
company for Prudential Securities.

Of course, GE's success is hardly Welch's alone. The company boasts what most 
headhunters believe to be the most talent-rich management bench in the world. 
Gary C. Wendt has led GE Capital Corp. to extraordinary heights, where it 
contributes nearly 40% of the company's total earnings. Robert C. Wright has 
managed an astonishing turnaround at NBC, leading it to a fifth straight year 
of double-digit earnings gains in 1997 and a No.1 position in prime-time 
ratings. Nor does Welch's magic work everywhere in GE. The huge appliance 
operation, for instance, saw operating earnings fall 39% last year, to $458 
million, largely due to restructuring charges. Nonetheless, Welch has led and 
managed GE to nearly unprecedented prosperity.

Much has been said and written about how Welch has transformed what was an old-
line American industrial giant into a keenly competitive global growth engine, 
how he has astutely moved the once-Establishment maker of things into services. 
Welch has reshaped the company through more than 600 acquisitions and a 
forceful push abroad into newly emerging markets.

Less well understood, however, is how Jack Welch is able to wield so much 
influence and power over the most far-flung, complex organization in all of 
American business. Many managers struggle daily to lead and motivate mere 
handfuls of people. Many CEOs wrestle to squeeze just average performance from 
companies a fraction of GE's size. How does Welch, who sits atop a business 
empire with $304 billion in assets, $89.3 billion in sales, and 276,000 
employees scattered in more than 100 countries around the globe, do it?

He does it through sheer force of personality, coupled with an unbridled 
passion for winning the game of business and a keen attention to details many 
chieftains would simply overlook. He does it because he encourages near-brutal 
candor in the meetings he holds to guide the company through each work year. 
And he does it because, above all else, he's a fierce believer in the power of 
his people.

<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/1998/23/b3581001.htm">Rest of story</a>

Two useful pages on project failure.

Underestimating Complexity
http://www.smpstech.com/undest.htm

Problem Solving
http://www.smpstech.com/problem0.htm

I hope they help.