An analysis of non-technical factors influencing Information Technology projects

• Main Author: Letseka, Motshidisi
• Other Authors: Iyamu, T.
• Format: Others
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://encore.tut.ac.za/iii/cpro/DigitalItemViewPage.external?sp=1000176

M. Tech. Business Information Systems.Tshwane University of Technology === Information Technology (IT) artefacts are deployed in organisations with the intention to enable and support their business objectives, processes and activities, and to create a competitive advantage. The deployment of IT projects can be a cumbersome exercise. Different methods and approaches have been tried in the last decades and many studies have been conducted, but the challenges appear to remain. Academics and industry practitioners have identified some factors that lead to the failure of IT projects. However, what has not actually been examined is what manifests those factors; in other words, what is the root cause of failure? This research explores non-technical factors that affect the deployment of IT projects. The challenges encountered attributed to the non technical factors during IT project have been characterised by behavioural issues and not the technical issues according to Sarker (2000). The view highlights the need to explore how the “behavioural issues have affected IT project deployments in the past. The issue of contention is to gain an understanding on how to deal with the behavioural issues that plague organisations and affect project deployments. This work acknowledges the work of previous authors and continues from where the factors were identified to mitigating those factors that could be detrimental to project deployment. A framework is proposed to guide organisations with identifying and mitigating the non-technical factors identified.