Early Indicators of Troubled IS Development Projects

A field study was performed to determine early indicators or symptoms of troubled information systems development (ISD) projects. The purpose is to identify, define, and prioritize these indicators into factors to allow managers to improve, measure, or take corrective action on projects that are in trouble or may be heading for trouble. The study is significant for business managers and ISD project managers dealing with the project management process as well as to IS researchers attempting to better understand the ISD process. The output includes a comprehensive set of early indicators for troubled projects, a ranked list of potential early indicator factors, and a proposed framework for further study of these early indicators. Preliminary results indicate several symptoms that are common across the groups that were used.