US research has revealed that over 30 per cent of IT projects are cancelled before completion, and only 16 per cent are delivered on time. The Standish Group - Chaos Report (1994)

However, there are established methods which improve the chances of project success, The Standish Group - Unfinished Voyages (1996), and more recent research by Standish revealed that by 1998, success rates had increased to 26%.

Just because only a relatively small proportion of projects are regarded as successful within their original terms of reference does not mean that the rest were abandoned. According to Standish, around 46% are implemented in a “challenged” form. In other words, they are rescued and recovered, avoiding a lost commercial opportunity and wasted time and resources.

It’s not just a case of applying a project management methodology and expecting the project to right itself. Generally, by the time projects are recognised as in need of rescuing, they are running very late, costs are well over budget, users are fed up and the project team has lost credibility and perhaps motivation. Determination and effort are needed to turn the project round.

Here are some case studies of projects I have rescued or helped to recover, together with an indication of the main problems faced:

Staff Benefit Communications service – team recruitment & knowledge transfer, strategic direction, database design, performance & quality control issues

Group Risk insurance system – release management, user morale, business requirements, database design, usability, performance & quality control issues

Credit insurance system - business requirements analysis, package selection, overall design and performance issues

Retail Broking & Financial Services branch systems - user relationships, system deployment, usability, performance & quality control issues

The list above shows only the project rescue roles I have completed, I have also considerable experience from other IT programme management assignments, please view all my case studies