Information Systems Project Failure: A Comparative Study of Two Countries

Many organizations, regardless of size, engage in at least one, and often many information system projects each year. Many of these projects consume massive amounts of resources, and may cost as little as a few thousand dollars to ten, and even hundreds of millions of dollars. Needless to say, the investment of time and resources into these ventures are of significant concern to chief information officers (CIOs), executives staff members, project managers, and others in leadership positions. This paper describes the results of a survey performed between Australia and the United States regarding factors leading to IS project failure. The findings suggest that, among other things, end user involvement and executive management leadership are key indicators influencing IS project failure.