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Management of risks in information technology projects

David Baccarini (Faculty of the Built Environment, Art and Design, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia)
Geoff Salm (Dimension Data, West Perth, Australia)
Peter E.D. Love (School of Management Information Systems, Edith Cowan University, Joondulap, Australia)

Industrial Management & Data Systems

ISSN: 0263-5577

Article publication date: 1 May 2004

18814

Abstract

Information technology (IT) projects are renowned for their high failure rate. Risk management is an essential process for the successful delivery of IT projects. In‐depth interviews with IT professionals from leading firms in Western Australia were undertaken to determine how IT risks were managed in their projects. The respondents ranked 27 IT risks in terms of likelihood and consequences to identify the most important risks. The top five risks, in order, were: personnel shortfalls; unreasonable project schedule and budget; unrealistic expectations; incomplete requirements; and diminished window of opportunity due to late delivery of software. The respondents overwhelmingly applied the treatment strategy of risk reduction to manage these risks. Furthermore, these strategies were primarily project management processes, rather than technical processes. This demonstrates that project management is a risk management strategy. Scope, quality management, and human resource management were solutions applied to several risks. In particular, managing stakeholders’ expectations is a specific risk treatment that helps to manage several key IT risks.

Keywords

Citation

Baccarini, D., Salm, G. and Love, P.E.D. (2004), "Management of risks in information technology projects", Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 104 No. 4, pp. 286-295. https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570410530702

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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