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An Investigation Into the Causes of Failure of a Large-Scale IT Project

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An Investigation Into the Causes of Failure of a Large-Scale IT Project Situational Incompetence: an investigation into the causes of failure of a large-scale IT project DARRYL JEFFREY CARLTON Graduate Diploma of Computing and Information Systems (Monash) Master of Business (Information Technology) with Distinction (RMIT) Master of Commerce with Distinction (RMIT) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Business Information Technology and Logistics College of Business RMIT University Submission Date: December 2018 Wednesday, December 12, 2018 DECLARATION I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. I acknowledge the support I have received for my research through the provision of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Darryl Carlton December 2018 ii Wednesday, December 12, 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Undertaking a PhD appears to be a solo activity, very isolated. One pursues it on their own, huddled over a computer screen. But the number of people that are supporting the effort make a PhD a team sport. I started this journey in 2011, commencing a Masters degree, then another, and in 2014 I enrolled into the PhD program. I was approaching my sixtieth birthday and have spent more than 40 years in IT. I wanted to understand some things about the industry to which I had devoted my entire adult life. My Supervisors: Dr Konrad Peszynski, who inspired me, and quietly led me through the very difficult times. I asked Konrad to be my supervisor because of his intellect and humanity. He is also a massive geek, and the toys in his office are always amusing. He gave me great advice, tolerated my stress, allowed me to work at my own pace in my own way. Dr Huan Vo-Tran, a true gentleman. His observations on content and writing style, his attention to detail helped me find answers and complete the writing. Dr Martin Dick, who was never short of a penetrating question. Martin challenged and questioned until I could find the most appropriate way to present my findings. Editing: Huan introduced me to Dr Andrew Churchill who is a retired academic living in Vietnam. I got to a point about six months prior to completion where I could no longer deal with the document - I could not see the wood for the trees. Andrew gave me a massive edit, and put the writing back on track. My very good friend Adis Fazlic has invested massive amounts of his personal time reading every draft that I have produced and sending me messages constantly with suggestions for improvement. Family & Friends: My friends have supported me and encouraged me for years, they have borne the brunt of my efforts, and listened to me discussing barely formed theories that were rattling around in my head. Gordon who always had a good bottle of iii Wednesday, December 12, 2018 wine to share when the going got tough. Siobhan who would spend Sundays sampling oysters and champagne, pushing me to finish. Bill who gave my ideas a voice at Asta. Tony who always asked “hows the PhD going?” … he kept the guilt alive, so I would keep working. My greatest support came from my family. Sasha who would make me cups of tea and bake cookies for me, and would tell her friends that I was “sort of like a scientist”. Olga, my beautiful wife who loves me and supports me in everything I do, and who believes in me even when I have run so low on energy and self-esteem that I no longer believed in myself. And finally, Mishka, who sat patiently at my feet through the whole process. Mishka, who demanded to be taken for a walk which got me out of the house and away from the computer. Without all these people I would not have been able to undertake this course of study. The work is hard, brutally hard. You become so focused on your research and writing that it is impossible to think about anything else … the absent minded professor stops being a caricature and becomes you! I thank everyone who has helped me on this journey. Darryl Carlton December 2018 Melbourne, Australia iv Wednesday, December 12, 2018 Table of Contents Table of Figures ................................................................................................... vii Publications ........................................................................................................ viii Abstract ................................................................................................................. ix Chapter One - Introduction ................................................................................... 1 1.1 Why IT Project Management? .......................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Background ........................................................................................ 2 1.3 Research Aims ................................................................................................... 4 1.4 The Project Management Domain .................................................................... 5 1.5 Case Study Selection ........................................................................................ 8 1.6 Research Approach and Outcomes ............................................................... 10 1.7 Research Objective ......................................................................................... 11 1.8 Significance of the Research ......................................................................... 12 1.9 Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................... 12 Chapter One .............................................................................................................. 13 Chapter Two .............................................................................................................. 13 Chapter Three ........................................................................................................... 14 Chapter Four ............................................................................................................. 14 Chapter Five .............................................................................................................. 15 Chapter Six ................................................................................................................ 15 Chapter Two – Literature Review ....................................................................... 17 2.1 Scale and Magnitude of the IT Project Delivery Problem ............................ 17 2.2 Measuring Project Success ............................................................................ 20 2.3 Factor Analysis ................................................................................................ 25 2.4 The Complexity of an IT Solution ................................................................... 29 2.5 Project Reporting ............................................................................................ 31 2.6 Normalisation of Project Failure .................................................................... 32 2.7 Expert Leadership in IT Projects .................................................................... 41 2.8 Experts Require Deliberate Practice .............................................................. 44 2.9 The Peter Principle .......................................................................................... 45 2.10 Summary .......................................................................................................... 46 Chapter Three - Research Methodology ........................................................... 51 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 51 3.2 Research Approach ......................................................................................... 54 3.3 Inductive Case Study Methods ...................................................................... 56 3.4 What, When, How and Why ............................................................................ 59 3.5 Primary Data Collection .................................................................................. 60 STEP 1: ..................................................................................................................... 65 STEP 3: ..................................................................................................................... 66 STEP 4: ..................................................................................................................... 69 STEP 5: ..................................................................................................................... 70 3.6 Issues of Reliability and Validity .................................................................... 70 3.7 Summary .......................................................................................................... 73 Chapter Four - The Case Study .......................................................................... 75 4.1 Background to the QH Payroll Project .......................................................... 75 4.2 The Players in the project ..............................................................................
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