Get these in order – the foundations of a successful IT project

Falling behind schedule. Running out of budget halfway through. Finishing only after complaints are resolved. The end result being something entirely different from what was intended. 

Most of us have either experienced or at least heard of failed IT projects. 

But why are failed projects so common?

As a consultant, I have spent almost a decade working on various types of projects. Throughout this time, I’ve witnessed all kinds of projects, learned a lot along the way, and discovered what’s most important to focus on. 

In this article, I’ll share strategies for avoiding failure based on my experience and practical examples. I’ll also highlight five key areas that deserve attention in every technology-related project. 

1) Clarify the vision

Let’s start with the most obvious factor: the vision. It’s absolutely critical for every project to have a clear vision. In simple terms, a vision answers why the project is being undertaken and what it aims to achieve. A well-defined vision establishes a shared understanding of the end result (typically a tool in IT projects) at a high level. A clear vision also helps project leaders make the right decisions during the project about which functionalities to develop and which to leave out. 

Think of the vision as the destination of a journey. It keeps the project on course, even when there’s a temptation to deviate from the plan. The temptation to stray from the plan can be strong. This is when a clear vision is especially important. 

In many technology projects, for example, clients sometimes realize partway through just how much is possible with the chosen technology platform. In these situations, the temptation to diverge from the plan can be significant. This is when a clear vision becomes indispensable. 

Once the vision is defined, the project team determines the implementation approach. The vision sets the direction but doesn’t lock the team into a predefined way of executing tasks. Without a vision, a project lacks clear objectives. This often leads to aimless activity during the project, resulting in a patchwork solution. 

The goal is for everyone involved to understand and agree on the direction. Keep in mind that within the same organization, different departments—like sales and IT—might view things from very different perspectives. Even within a single department, there may be varying opinions about the ideal outcome. 

2) Define business processes 

Too often, projects start by focusing on technical functionalities or features. However, before diving into these, it’s essential to define the business processes the chosen solution should support. 

In other words, business processes should guide the solution—not the other way around. 

If business processes aren’t clearly defined, the project may result in a solution that doesn’t meet the end users’ real needs. In the worst-case scenario, the solution might even slow down or hinder work. 

For instance, in the sales world, there’s something known as “Friday data entry,” where entire workdays are spent entering information into a system. This is a symptom of a poorly implemented system. What’s needed is a solution that can adapt to different business processes. It’s also crucial to think long-term, as business processes may evolve over time. Systems and tools should be able to adapt to these changes. 

It’s important to think long-term since business processes may change over time. 

One of the greatest strengths of modern technology platforms is their adaptability and scalability. These platforms are designed to grow and evolve alongside business needs. When business processes change, a company grows, or new tool requirements emerge, the solution doesn’t require another major IT project. Often, it’s as simple as clicking a few buttons. 

At Twoday, we frequently talk about data-driven decision-making, which relies on data rather than intuition. To lead effectively with data, your employees need to follow roughly the same processes. If these processes are undefined, they should be established early in the project. This is often a valuable exercise, as it helps organizations become more systematic. 

For example, in a marketing automation project, the starting point might be defining marketing processes. How do you turn a website visitor into a paying customer? How do you nurture a potential customer to the point where marketing can pass them to sales as a lead? How is this handover managed? 

Only after defining and clarifying these marketing processes does the project delve into technical implementation. 

Another common example in CRM projects involves sales processes. Many CRM systems are inherently limited to supporting just one type of sales process—often a generic new business sales funnel. This doesn’t fit every sales need, and the result is often a tool that fails to support sales teams or sales leadership effectively. 

3) Choose the right project model

The project model is a critical part of any initiative, as it defines how the project team operates daily. While I could write endlessly on project models, I’ll focus on the key points here. 

First and foremost: agile methodologies are the norm today. I recommend that all companies and IT project participants familiarize themselves with agile approaches if they’re not already familiar. At Twoday, we aim to deliver projects following the principles of agile software development. 

In agile software development, the project is delivered in small increments, ensuring the highest-value components are completed first and enabling early iterations to be used as soon as possible.  An agile approach also allows for adjustments if the original project plan changes and makes it possible to apply learnings gathered along the way. 

One major benefit of the agile model is the rapid feedback from end users, who can test the tool early in the project. This feedback enables corrective action and optimization during the project. If end users only test the tool and provide feedback at the end of the project—when time and budget have already been exhausted—the risk of project failure becomes unreasonably high. 

4) Assemble the right team

Borrowing from hockey terminology: once the goals, strategies, and power-play plans are in place, the only thing left is to get the right players on the ice. 

It’s crucial to assemble the right people for the right roles in the project team. A successful IT project naturally requires skilled experts for solution development and project management. A consulting firm or the company’s IT department alone cannot make the entire project work. 

End users—business experts—are also essential. For instance, when developing a tool for sales, the project must include both sales representatives and sales leadership. The solution needs to serve all of them—not just sales leadership or individual sales reps. 

Additionally, team members need to have the authority to make decisions, so work doesn’t stall waiting for approvals from higher-ups. 

5) Change management (and embedding change)

Finally, I want to emphasize change management. In the IT world, it’s often assumed that a project ends the moment a new system is implemented. Unfortunately, change management is often absent. 

Change management ensures that new practices are adopted and new tools are effectively implemented. The most effective change management begins during the project itself. The goal is to avoid a situation where the benefits of a successful project are lost because people don’t adjust their behavior or fail to adopt new tools in their daily routines. This could involve phased rollouts, training employees on new tools and processes, supporting tool adoption, or measuring business outcomes to confirm the benefits. The most important thing to accept from the start is that a project doesn’t end at a specific date or time. 

With the right approach to change management and the other factors listed, your IT project is far more likely to succeed.